Bo City, Southern Sierra Leone, 14 October 2025 – His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has officially signed the Child Rights Act 2024 into law, marking a significant milestone in Sierra Leone’s efforts to strengthen protections for children. The announcement was made by the country’s Solicitor General during the ongoing Civic Day Series in Bo City and later confirmed by Mohamed Jaward Nyallay, Outreach Coordinator at the Ministry of Information and Civic Education.
The updated legislation, passed by Parliament in July 2025, introduces a range of progressive reforms aimed at safeguarding children’s rights to education, health, identity, and protection from abuse and exploitation. It aligns with international conventions and seeks to modernize Sierra Leone’s child welfare framework.
However, the Act has sparked public debate and criticism, particularly for its omission of any explicit ban on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), practice that remains widespread across the country. Human rights advocates argue that the law falls short of protecting girls from one of the most harmful and entrenched forms of gender-based violence.
Supporters of the Act maintain that broader cultural engagement is necessary to address FGM, and that legal reform alone may not be sufficient to end the practice. As Sierra Leone moves forward with implementing the new law, civil society groups are calling for further legislative and community-based action to ensure that all children, especially girls, are fully protected under the law.
