WIREDGOV

Sadiq Khan MP, a former leading Human Rights Lawyer, has used his legal expertise to train advocates, paralegals, field officers and volunteers in human rights while volunteering for VSO in . Sadiq spent two weeks of the summer recess taking part in Project PolVol, organised by VSO, which saw 11 MPs spending time volunteering their skills in the developing world.

VSO paired Sadiq with the Sierra Leone based Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDHR) because of his work on human rights, as a barrister, and former Chair of Liberty. Sadiq worked with CDHR to improve local democracy and raise awareness of human rights. In particular Sadiq focused on women’s rights and the rights of young girls to education.

Sadiq said:

‘Lawyers, paralegals and advocates are making a real difference in improving the quality of life for people in . It is encouraging to see ordinary citizens using new laws passed over the last seven years to improve the quality of their lives.

‘The Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Makeni is one example of a human rights group doing tremendous work after a catastrophic eleven year civil war.’

Sadiq was a founding partner of one of the country’s principal Human Rights firms prior to becoming the MP for Tooting. He acted in a number of landmark cases in all major Courts (including the European Court of Human Rights, House of Lords, Court of Appeal), and Tribunals, giving evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and to the Privy Council of the House of Lords. In addition to his legal experience, Sadiq Khan was also the Chair of Liberty (NCCL) for three years and Vice Chair of Legal Action Group (LAG) during which he gave advice to a number of the country’s voluntary and community groups.

In , Sadiq also used his political knowledge, advising Members of Parliament, local Chiefs, and local Councillors on how to improve the participation of residents in the political process and how to improve the flow of information between representatives and their constituents.

Kathy Peach, Policy and Advocacy Manager at VSO, said:

‘VSO is all about finding the right person with the right skills for our partner organisations in developing countries.

‘Sadiq was able to share his expertise in human rights and politics with the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in who feel they benefited from new ideas and increased confidence as a result of his work with them. We hope Sadiq will continue to promote global development issues in the .’

Joseph Bangura, Field Officer, Portloko District Council said:

‘The training with Sadiq Khan made me realize that I have the skills to work as a successful human rights advocate, and that what I need is to build my confidence in this. This was very motivating and inspirational.’

Hawa Conteh, Field Officer, Koinadugu District Council said:

‘Sadiq Khan’s visit gave us an opportunity to learn from each other through the sharing of experiences and getting his insight on some of our laws and issues has given us a new and different perspective on an old problem.’

Adama Yambasa, representative on Bombali District Council, said:

‘It was a pleasure to have an opportunity to work with Sadiq Khan, to learn from his experiences both as a human rights activist and a politician.’

VSO is currently recruiting for volunteers with experience in the areas of lobbying, campaigning and advocacy as well as education, healthcare, or business and management . For more information visit www.vso.org.uk or call 020 8780 7500.

For more information please contact Siobhan Wakely in the VSO Press Office at Siobhan.wakely@vso.org.uk.

Or

Lucy Batten in Sadiq Khan’s Office on 020 7219 6967.

Note to editor:

VSO is the leading international development charity that works through volunteers. For more information about volunteering visit www.vso.org.uk or 020 8780 7500.

suffered a ten year long civil war from 1991 to 2000. The played a major part in bringing the war to an end, staging a military intervention in May 2000. This involvement provided the time for the secure deployment of UN troops into the country. Since then, approximately 72,500 former combatants have been disarmed and the country has re-established a functioning democracy. The continues to be involved in , helping to train the new army, tackle corruption and promote development. The holistic approach taken by the in its support for has been widely considered a model for post-conflict response and reconstruction.

In literacy amongst adults is very low, only 37.1% can read and write, though this is higher amongst young people at 52.2%. However, literacy for women still falls far behind the literacy of men.

Sadiq Khan was listed in his last year as a practicing solicitor, as one of the county's top lawyers in two separate categories of law in the Chambers and Partners directory 2004-05 (Human Rights and Police law).

Past volunteers for the VSO have included the journalists Jon Snow, Brian Hanrahan, Mike Wooldridge and Michael Brunson, and the MP Hilary Armstrong who is volunteering again as part of Project PolVol.

VSO Fact Box

The average age of VSO’s volunteers is 41.

VSO works in 34 countries mostly in Africa and Asia.

There are currently 1,500 volunteers overseas

Visit www.vso.org.uk or call 020 8780 7500.