Two years after it was filed at the regional court, a case challenging Sierra Leone’s laws on loitering has had its first day before judges at the Community Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The women’s rights campaign group, AdvocAid Sierra Leone, is challenging the legality of the piece of legislation that has its roots to the British colonial era, which it argues is discriminatory and targeting vulnerable and marginalized communities.

AdvocAid is backed by the Banjul-based Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), with the legal expertise of Sierra Leonean lawyer Eleanor Thompson.

The activists say the laws violate provisions under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, such as the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to freedom of movement.

The case was first filed in March 2022.

Read full article: Sierra Leone’s Loitering Laws challenged at ECOWAS Court

Photo: AdvocAid/May 2024.