During a virtual ceremony, the Sierra Leone Ambassador and Permanent Representative, His Excellency Mr. Lansana Alison Gberie, presented the instruments of ratification of the following instruments to ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder:

• the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97) ;
• the Migrant Workers (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1975 (No. 143) ;
• the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) ;
• the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) ;
• the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) ;
• the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) ;
• the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) ;
• the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) ;
• the Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention 1930 .

ILO Director-General Guy Ryder underlined that the ratified instruments bring Sierra Leone aligned with other countries in the region, focusing on similar themes (migrant workers and forced labour - anti-trafficking -, occupational safety and health, and domestic workers) and said: “I very much welcome the deposit of these nine key ILO instruments. They are a testimony of the will of the people of Sierra Leone for peace, stability and good governance. They demonstrate its resilience in ensuring that recovery from crisis is founded on human rights and decent work.” He also added that “The workplace is a good place to start improving the life of the people, promoting peace and preventing conflict, enabling crisis recovery and building resilience.”

The Sierra Leone Ambassador and Permanent Representative, His Excellency Mr Lansana Alison Gberie declared that “As a government, we are committed to improving the labour standards of the workforce in Sierra Leone as well as creating a private sector business-friendly environment that makes the law clear, consistent with international standards and easy to comply with for domestic and foreign investors. By ratifying these nine (9) ILO Conventions and Protocols, we have taken steps to eliminate compulsory and forced labour, eliminate discrimination against migrant workers and domestic workers, abolish child labour, promote occupational safety and health standards, and ensure a thriving and responsible private employment agency sector in Sierra Leone.” 

The ratification of these nine instruments, including the two leading Conventions on Occupational Safety and Health, the Labour Administration Convention, and the Labour Statistics Convention, can be seen as a commitment from the people of Sierra Leone and their representatives to continued improved governance and a step closer to meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 1 (No poverty), 3 (Good health and well-being), 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and 10 (Reduced inequalities).