ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical underpinnings to the conflict, the sources of human rights violations, and the social and political cleavages that led to such widespread abuses. The conflict in Sierra Leone resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, and a significant number of the population fell victim to the worst forms of human rights abuses, with rebel forces using maiming and sexual violence as a central strategy for intimidation of civilians. Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain in 1961 and subsequently entered a period of great political unrest, with attempts at democratic multiparty elections resulting in successive coups and one-party government rule. The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) formed the first postcolonial government, from 1961 to 1967. Stevens neglected the apparatus of the state and relied instead on patronage networks to consolidate his power, culminating in the enactment of a new constitution that established Sierra Leone as a one-party state in 1978.
