By Sahr Ibrahim Komba
The Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone (HRCSL), together with civil society actors and international partners, on Monday commemorated International Human Rights Day 2025 with a sobering message: Sierra Leone has failed its war victims.
Despite two decades of peace and repeated political commitments, speakers especially from the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) warned that government inaction, weak institutions, and unfulfilled promises continue to leave thousands of survivors in poverty, pain, and neglect. “We failed to care for victims government did not provide the resources” Dr.Roberts said.
In an emotional address, Dr. Susan Roberts, Deputy Commissioner of NaCSA, delivered a powerful reflection on the state’s failure to honour commitments made under the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
She admitted that NaCSA lacked the support and resources necessary to adequately provide reparations, despite the institution being mandated by law to care for amputees, war-wounded persons, widows, child victims, and families of the dead.
“We did what we could but we did not do enough because we did not have the resources,” Dr. Roberts said.
“Some of the victims still have bullets in their bodies. Others cannot afford medical care. Many widows and orphans still come to our offices begging for support. They had every right to protest because the support promised to them never came.”
She further revealed that several institutions and donor commitments that were supposed to fund reparations “never met their obligations,” leaving victims with broken promises and stalled programmes.
“When I see amputees begging, I feel ashamed that as a nation we could not care for them properly. Their scars will never go away,” she said, calling on the state to revive, fund, and complete outstanding reparations.
Abass Sesay, an amputee who lost his arm at age three, gave a painful testimony.
“My father and grandmother were killed in front of me. I lost my arm”He appealed to the Commission and government: please implement the TRC recommendations fully.
His call echoed the cries of thousands of survivors who say they feel abandoned by successive governments.
He said that the two degrees he acquired from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone are the testament of commitment and resilience of victims of the civil war. He urged government and development partners to embrace inclusive policies and provide jobs for victims of war.
HRCSL Chairperson Madam Patricia Narsu Ndanema drew a direct line between past failures and present risks.
“The TRC revealed that corruption, exclusion, institutional failure and governance breakdown created the conditions for conflict,” she said.
“The same failures that deprived citizens of food, education, justice and security are still with us today.”
She warned that without fully implementing reparations and structural reforms recommended by the TRC, Sierra Leone risks repeating the mistakes that plunged the nation into civil war.
The Executive Secretary of the National Peace Commission, Hawa Samai, emphasized that failing to complete reparations programs undermines peacebuilding and social cohesion.
“Reparations are not charity. They are a peace mechanism. Neglecting victims is not an option,” she said.
“Many promises have been left unfulfilled. Victims feel abandoned. This is dangerous for national unity.”
She called for the establishment of a National Memorial Day, as recommended by the TRC, to honour victims and remind future generations of the human cost of governance failure.
Representatives from Ireland, the UN, and World Vision acknowledged Sierra Leone’s progress, but stressed that unfinished reparations undermine the country’s human rights standing especially ahead of the 2026 Universal Periodic Review.
The Irish Ambassador directly linked Sierra Leone’s experience to Ireland’s own history of civil conflict. “Peace is never perfect. But victims must not be forgotten. Their rights must be respected.”
In his keynote statement, Attorney General and Minister of Justice Alpha Sesay acknowledged that the state bears responsibility for ensuring justice and restitution.He announced Cabinet’s approval of January 18 as National Remembrance Day, a long-delayed TRC recommendation.
Both survivors and civil society stress that symbolic gestures are not enough without funded functioning reparations programmes, medical support, educational assistance, psychosocial care, and livelihood initiatives.
The commemoration ended with a symbolic signing of the “Never Again” banner but the message from victims and civil society was unmistakable:
Sierra Leone cannot claim to defend human rights while ignoring the suffering of those who paid the highest price during the war.
Twenty-three years after the guns went silent, war victims continue to ask the same question.
“When will the government truly fulfil its promises?”
