WHAT IS THE EBOLA ECOWAS LITIGATION?
In January 2018, two plaintiffs—healthcare workers who were
infected with and survived Ebola—and the Centre for Accountability and Rule of
Law (CARL-SL) sued the Government of Sierra Leone at the ECOWAS Court of
Justice. The plaintiffs allege that the government’s mismanagement of $14M in
Ebola response funds caused violations of the rights to life and health of
Sierra Leoneans. The plaintiffs rely on the findings of two special audit
reports released by the Audit Service of Sierra Leone in 2015 and 2016, which
found that the government’s fiscal mismanagement caused “a reduction in the
quality of service delivery in the health sector” during the Ebola crisis.
Specifically, the plaintiffs argue that the government’s
poor stewardship of the Ebola funds diminished the human and physical
infrastructure needed to handle the Ebola crisis including, for example,
sufficient numbers of healthcare workers, ambulances, and treatment facilities.
The result was a greater number of Ebola infections than would have occurred
otherwise. Further, the plaintiffs argue that the government failed to investigate
effectively mismanagement of the Ebola funds. Investigation is critical to
preventing future violations.
The plaintiffs seek from the government, among other things:
·
Review and reform of procurement and budgeting
policies, so that funds will not be mismanaged in the future
·
Ongoing medical and mental health support for
Ebola survivors
·
Stigma reduction initiatives, employment
opportunities, job training, and educational support for Ebola survivors so
that they can reintegrate into Sierra Leonean society
·
As recommended in the 2018 Government Transition
Team report, a commitment by the government to investigate and prosecute
individuals suspected of stealing Ebola funds, and recover said funds to
compensate Ebola victims and survivors.
In July 2018, the Sierra Leone Association of Ebola
Survivors (SLAES) filed a request with the ECOWAS Court to join the Ebola
litigation as a plaintiff. Then, at the end of 2018, the ECOWAS Court set a
hearing date of January 24, 2019 to determine whether SLAES should be allowed
to join
On
January 23, 2019—just one day before the hearing—the Government of Sierra Leone
filed a written objection to SLAES’ request for joinder. The government
narrowly argued that because SLAES is not registered with the Corporate Affairs
Commission of Sierra Leone, it does not have legal personality and therefore
cannot become a plaintiff. The government also claimed that adding SLAES would
be “surplusage” that would bring no added value to the case, as SLAES had
previously adopted the written submissions of the existing plaintiffs in its
joinder request.
In
response, SLAES argued that the government had offered an incomplete picture of
the legal regime underpinning legal personality in Sierra Leone and that, in
any event, SLAES seeks additional relief distinct from that sought by the
existing plaintiffs.
The
court granted SLAES until Tuesday, February 26 to present its counterarguments
in greater detail.
