Sierra Leone is a constitutional republic with a directly elected President and a unicameral legislature. A brutal 11-year civil war ended in 2002 when a large UN peacekeeping force assisted an elected government to take control of the country. The President, as head of state, is elected for a 5-year term. The House of Representatives has 124 seats, of which 112 seats are elected through proportional representation for a 4-year term in multi-seat constituencies and 12 seats are set aside for paramount chiefs.

The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) won a majority of 83 seats; only 2 other parties won seats in the elections, which were deemed free and fair despite irregularities. Only the SLPP is represented in Cabinet. The Revolutionary United Front Party (RUFP), the political arm of the rebel forces, won only 1.7% of the vote. There are 16 women in the House, and 3 women among 28 Cabinet ministers. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has issued its final report, and the UN Special Court of Sierra Leone continues trials of those accused of war crimes.

The country is riddled with abject poverty, and its infrastructure has been destroyed. The judiciary is independent in law but reportedly subject to influence and corruption.

Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, tribe, sex, place of origin, political opinions, colour or creed, but the legislation is not enforced.

Security forces and police are accused of violence, extortion and bribery. Mob violence is reported against suspected criminals. Official corruption is perceived to be commonplace, fostered by low salaries and a lack of accountability.

Public access to government information is not legislated, and access to information is sporadic. Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed in law but limited in practice. Articles critical of the government appear in the media, but self-censorship is reported. Corruption among journalists is also said to be widespread. Radio is the medium for public information because of low literacy levels. Internet access is not restricted.

Legislation prohibiting trafficking in persons has been enacted, but reports show the country to be a source, transit route and destination for women and children victims of trafficking. Children work as diamond miners and as sex workers.

Persons with HIV/AIDS are stigmatised in society. Homosexuality is prohibited in law and discriminated against.

Public education is available to university level. Education is compulsory, but not free, for ages 6 to 12. Only 41% of primary school age children are enrolled in school. Families cannot afford the fees imposed to send children to school, so a large number of children receive no formal education, continuing the cycle of poverty. Many schools that were looted and destroyed during the war have been rebuilt.

Fewer girls than boys attend school, continuing the low level of female literacy (20%). Male students predominate in tertiary institutions. The Corporal Punishment Act allows boys under 17 to receive up to 12 lashes as punishment, but this Act would be repealed by the draft Child Protection Bill currently under review.

A 3-year programme begins at age 3.

Education is compulsory for ages 6 to 12. Primary school begins at age 6 and continues for 6 years. 42% of students are girls. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 145% as primary schools are filled with older students trying to make up for the education they missed in the civil war. 17,327 teachers (30% female) work at this level. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 67 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and is completed in 6 years. 46% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The GER is 14%.

9,041 students (29% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a GER of 2%. 853 Sierra Leonean students study overseas, mainly in the USA (306), the United Kingdom (229), Germany (63), Gambia (43) and Saudi Arabia (32).

Discrimination against persons with physical and mental disabilities is not prohibited in legislation, and government programmes have not been instituted to assist children with special needs. Private agencies and NGOs provide some education and job training for disabled persons. Unemployment rates are very high, and disabled persons have virtually no opportunity for employment. Humanitarian organisations assist amputees maimed during the civil war, supplying prostheses, reconstructive surgery and vocational training to help victims acquire new skills. A variety of agencies help rehabilitate child soldiers from the civil war. Incarcerated juveniles do not have adequate access to food, education or vocational training.

The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 protocol. The government cooperates with the UNHCR to assist refugees. Some 47,000 Liberian refugees live in camps and an additional 12,000 live outside the camps. Reports vary widely on the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sierre Leone. Estimates range from 750,000 to 2 million people. Given the huge discrepancy in estimates, and the fact that there is no official registration of IDPs, it is obvious that little is done to assist them. There is a camp still housing 520 war-wounded persons and their families.

In 2006, the Attorney General forwarded draft legislation to the Cabinet to amend the Sierra Leone Citizenship Act. Citizenship at birth is limited to persons of patrilineal Negro-African descent. This has denied citizenship to long-term residents of Lebanese ancestry born in the country. There are 18 ethnic groups of African origin, speaking distinct languages and regionally concentrated.

The Temne and the Mende, the largest ethnic groups, make up 30% of the population and compete for political power. During the civil war the ethnic Temnes led the rebel RUFP, while the SLPP was said to dominate the government. Ethnic origin is used to appoint ministers. Discrimination based on ethnicity is noted in government and military promotions.

The vicious cycle of violence in Sierra Leone has had a deep impact on universities, which are desperately short of funds. Some institutions are trying to work together to meet the new challenges of globalisation. Universities now have to come up with "productive" results: applied research heads the list of budget priorities, and research projects are judged on their market value. The only funding available for research is from private sources, of which there are few in Sierra Leone. Concern is raised about the ability of researchers to have any input into the development of research projects.

Women have equal rights in law, but are discriminated against in fact. Customary law varies from one ethnic group to the other. Women governed by general law can own property, while those under customary law cannot. Temne women cannot become paramount chiefs, though Mende women can. Women do not have equal access to education or to economic opportunity. They perform subsistence farming, which effectively excludes them from formal education.

Sexual harassment is not prohibited by law and is widespread. Police tend not to intervene in domestic disputes. Polygyny is widespread. Women and girls have sometimes had to remain with wartime abductors because they have no other options are cited. Female genital mutilation has been performed on 80% to 90% of women and girls. The majority of victims of trafficking are women and children.

Regulations prohibiting the worst forms of child labour are in place, but enforcement is not effective. The law allows children as young as 12 to engage in some forms of labour, and employers have the authority to determine working hours. An estimated 57% of children aged 5 to 14 work in some form of child labour. Street children are increasingly common. Forced and bonded labour by children is illegal but remains a problem. Primary school attendance is completed by age 12, and many children begin work rather than continue to secondary school.

Rural children work on subsistence farms, while urban children work in family businesses or as street vendors. Few children work in the formal sector. Foreign employers hire local children as domestic labourers outside the country where wages and conditions of work are poor. NGOs help child prostitutes aged 14 to 20 return to school, paying their school fees and supplying educational materials. But alluvial diamond mining continues to employ children in exploitative work alongside parents or relatives.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions, except for police and members of the armed services. In the formal sector, 30% to 60% of workers are reported to be union members, but agricultural and mine workers are largely unorganised. Collective bargaining is permitted and is widespread in the formal sector, where most workers are covered by collective agreements on wages and working conditions. Unions have the right to strike.

Forced and compulsory labour remains a problem. Chiefs may impose forced labour as punishment, and bonded labour is also reported in rural areas. The minimum wage is US$14 (40,000 Leones) a month, which does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The standard work week is 40 hours.