Population figures
Total country population
8,977,972
Forcibly displaced population
Refugees (under UNHCR's mandate):
0
Asylum-seekers:
0
IDPs (of concern to UNHCR):
0
Other people in need of international protection:
0
Other
Statelessness persons
0
Host community
0
Others of concern to UNHCR
210
Country context
Sierra Leone is located on the southwestern coast of West Africa, bordered by Guinea to the north and northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. Refugees and asylum-seekers originate from neighbouring countries and further afield, many of whom remain in protracted situations. These individuals reside alongside host communities in urban centres such as Freetown and in reception facilities near border towns, accessing housing and public services under prevailing civil-residency provisions.
Sierra Leone acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol in 1981. Moreover, Sierra Leone acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness in 2016. Sierra Leone is State party to the 2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention), thus the country has not yet transposed the Kampala Convention into national Law.
...The main national legal instrument with regards to refugees and asylum-seekers is the 2007 Refugee Protection Act (Sierra Leone Gazette vol. CXXXVIII, n° 42 30th August). An eligibility committee and an appeal committee are in charge of refugee status determination. The National Commission of Social Action (NaCSA) is the implementer of the 2007 Refugees Protection Act, and the Instance in charge to provide protection and assistance for refugees and asylum seekers.
The Government of Sierra Leone committed to mainstream refugees opting for local integration into national development programs. In this regard, five-year residence and work permits were granted to seventeen households, comprising seventy-seven refugees who opted for local integration in 2018.
Additionally, regarding statelessness prevention, despite progress made on civil registration and identity management, the lack of coverage of birth registration services creates a particularly high risk of statelessness for specific groups, such as refugees and migrants, internally displaced persons, nomadic and border populations as well as in some circumstances, ethnic minorities and people living in remote areas.
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