Child protection in Sierra Leone is characterised by neglect, the unwillingness, and inability
of the structures and practices of government; child unfriendly policies, economic
exploitation, and harmful traditional beliefs. The study investigates the Government of Sierra
Leone’s commitments to international human rights law to fulfilling the provision, protection
and participation rights of children. I argue that the top-bottom approach adopted by the
government and child protection agencies to secure children’s human rights is unsuccessful
since the informal system of child protection and rearing considers children’s rights as
imposition of western norms and denigration of traditional values of Sierra Leone.