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| [PHOTO: UNifeed] |
Freetown, Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone held peaceful General Elections over the
weekend.
The elections were the country's third since the end of its
civil war, and the second since the withdrawal of the peacekeeping operation
known as the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) in December 2005. That
mission was replaced by various other UN offices, most recently the UN
Integrated Peacebuilding Office (UNIPSIL), which focuses on political and
development activities.
The UN Human Rights Office present in the country lauded the
participation of persons with disabilities during the polls.
The polls were held under the backdrop of a newly enacted
law on Persons with Disabilities which aimed at ensuring persons with
disabilities enjoyed equal rights and participate in public life.
Last year the UN Human Rights Office published a report on
the rights of persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone titled: "Moving
Forward together; From National commitment to Concrete Action".
Beatriz Balbin, the head of Human Rights section of the UN
mission the country said that the report recommended among other things full
and effective political participation and inclusion on an equal basis of
persons with disabilities.
To encourage persons with disabilities participate freely in
the Elections provisions were made to give them easier access, mainly priority
queues.