Post a comment 
Sierra Leone’s Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Samuel U. B. Saffa, Esq., is expected to present a progress report to the 62nd Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The presentation is scheduled for Friday, 26 June 2026, at 10:30 a.m. GMT (Sierra Leone time) and will be streamed live on UN Web TV.
Ambassador Saffa will speak in his capacity as Chair-Rapporteur of the Intergovernmental Working Group established under UN Human Rights Council Resolution 56/5. The group is mandated to explore and draft an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with a focus on making pre-primary and secondary education free globally.
His report, delivered under operational paragraph 9 of the Council’s agenda, will update member states on efforts to strengthen education as a fundamental right for children worldwide. Key areas expected to be highlighted include policy models, funding challenges, and measures countries can adopt to remove barriers to access.
The mandate aligns closely with Sierra Leone’s domestic priorities. Ambassador Saffa’s presentation is expected to link the global push for free education with President Julius Maada Bio’s human capital development agenda and the country’s Free Quality Education initiative, which has expanded access to schooling for millions of children since 2018.
The UN Human Rights Council’s 62nd session brings together diplomats, human rights advocates and education experts in Geneva to review progress on civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. Sierra Leone’s leadership on the education protocol is being viewed as an example of how African nations are shaping international rights standards.
