A cross section of Members of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights led by Honourable Abdul Karim Kamara has paid a familiarization visit to the Inspector General of Police , Mr. William Fayia Sellu.

The visit took place at Police Headquarters, in Freetown on on Friday February 23, 2024.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Abdul Karim Kamara said, the purpose of their visit was to meet with IGP Sellu and senior management of the SLP in a bid to discuss the way forward for a sustainable working relationship.

The relationship will bank on what members of parliament and the SLP could do on helping to address human rights issues.

And also, he said, to ensure that both parties always get first-hand information and speed up talks for advocacy on the issues.

He further maintained that over the years, Human Rights Parliamentary Committee has been instrumental as they visit places to identify issues of human rights abuses and proffer possible solutions on the abuses.

“We want to bring out all human rights players to a round table in order to discuss human rights issues of  abuse in the country and map out strategies to address them.”

He added that human rights records are part of the democratic credentials of any nation in the world.

In response, IGP Sellu, thanked  MPs for their engagement with the SLP’s hierarchy, noting that they are aware of the fact that human rights violations do occur in pockets.

And which is why, he said, the SLP has internal control mechanisms that have brought about the establishment of the Complaint Discipline and Internal Investigations Department (CDIID), which is tasked to checkmate the excesses of police officers, making them accountable for their actions.

He made reference to oversight bodies such as the Independent Police Complainant Board (IPCB); the Office of the Ombudsman, Human Rights Commission, among others.

IGP William Fayia Sellu told the Committee that the SLP had incorporated human rights training into their basic recruits- training manual as well as gender related issues.

The IG said police officers needed to know the dos and don’ts when it comes to dealing with human rights related issues.

He also thanked the Committee for the proposed plan of a one-day workshop and promised to include police officers from the provinces — so that they too could benefit.

He assured the committee on Human Rights that he remains fully committed to reducing that issues of human rights’ violations within the SLP are curbed out.