UN rights experts urge reforms to address violations in The Gambia News
UN rights experts urge reforms to address violations in The Gambia

The UNWorking Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) [mandate] reported [press release] on Monday that The Gambia is experiencing “encouraging signs in moves to shed light on past human rights violations.” In addressing the recurring enforced disappearances of many Gambians, the UNWGEID’s Chair, Houria Es-Slami and fellow delegation member Henrikas Mickevicius said, “we welcome the commitments made by the Government of The Gambia to embark on comprehensive reforms, including measures to ensure truth, justice and reparation for victims, as well as prevent any recurrence of disappearances in the future.” The UNWGEID also announced its support for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which the Government declared as one of the main measures to address human rights violations.

Human rights violations in The Gambia greatly worsened under former president Yahya Jammeh. In May the newly-inaugurated president of The Gambia, Adama Barrow [BBC profile] promised to end human rights violations [JURIST report] in his country and ordered the release of 171 inmates who had been detained without a trial. Barrow’s inauguration speech restated the emphasis he will place on human rights and the rule of law in the small west-African nation. In addition, Barrow announced that The Gambia will remain in the International Criminal Court [official website], whose primary purpose is “trying individuals for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

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