This research critically analyzed Sierra Leone’s 2010 National Action Plan (SILNAP) that was launched in June 2010 as a response of the United Nations Security Council’s Resolutions 1325 (UNSCR 1325). UNSCR 1325 was adopted unanimously on October 2000 and focuses on the consequences of conflicts on women and girls. It is also the first UN Security Council Resolution to formally link women to the peace and security process. As support for UNSCR 1325, the Security Council adopted UNSCR 1820 on June 19th, 2008 as its 5,916th meeting (Fritz, et al. 2011, p. 7). UNSCR 1820 confronts sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations.
Sierra Leone encountered 11 years of conflict (1991-2002). The conflict left more than half of the population displaced and caused tens of thousands of deaths, thousands of amputations and abductions, and thousands of women coping with the aftermath of sexual violence (Coulter 2009, p. 31). Stressing the horrific atrocities of armed conflict on women and girls, UNSCR 1325 broadly demands that all governments, UN agencies, multilateral agencies, and civil society act in concert to intervene to meet women’s needs and concerns during conflict, post-conflict recovery, and peace building processes (SILNAP 2010, p. 2). Sierra Leone responded to the United Nations call and has published its NAP.
This research used content analysis as its analytical tool. Twenty criteria were used by Fritz, Doering and Gumru (2011) to analyze the first sixteen NAPs based on UNSCR 1325. This research uses those 20 factors – that is, publication date, general organization, agents that led the NAP process, level of involvement of civil society, plan period, timeline for implementation, advertising/promotion, age sensitivity, gender perspectives, geographic/political level of specificity, priority areas, performance measures, reporting/feedback, financial allocation, and monitoring by civil society – to analyze the Sierra Leone National Action Plan.
The research pointed out the efficacy and the importance of a National Action Plan for the implementation of UNSCRs. Many of the criteria in the Sierra Leone’s NAP (SiLNAP) seem to be mentioned and well developed (e.g., publication date, general organization, performance measures, priority areas). Even though the SiLNAP appears to be well developed, there is a lack of details about points in regard to implementing the plan. For instance, there is no precision about the number of times and the frequency of reports, conferences and workshops. Also, there are inadequate efforts to address gender issues, a lack of specificity about where the plan priorities will be implemented (Freetown, Boo, or elsewhere), and the unmatched plan budget framework is only for four years vis-à-vis the plan’s timeline of five years.
This research’s findings are important because they contribute to the small amount of research about the UNSCRs (1325 & 1820) and also are a guide for countries that are planning to publish their NAPs. The research also can be useful to policymakers, citizens, activists, and researchers.