Background
In February 1965, The Gambia gained independence from colonial Britain, becoming a republic in April 1970.[1] Dawda Jawara, head of the People’s Progressive Party, was the first prime minister and first elected president of independent Gambia. In July 1981, the government prevented a coup with the help of Senegalese forces. In 1982, Jawara and Senegalese President Abdou Diouf created the Senegambia Confederation,[2] which involved economic, security and partial political integration of the two countries. The Confederation lasted until August 1989.
Seeing the end of the Confederation and the fragility of the Gambian security forces, on 22 July 1994, Colonel Yahya Jammeh and a group of young army officials executed a ‘bloodless’ coup, seizing power from Jawara. Following the coup, the military suspended the Gambian Constitution and issued Decree 89, banning political parties and several politicians. The ban was lifted in August 1996 and the first National Assembly elections occurred in early 1997. Jammeh, with his Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) political party, was elected president, remaining in power for 20 years.[3]
Despite The Gambia being a democratic country and enshrining local, regional and international law, Jammeh and his enablers disregarded the rule of law. Torture, extrajudicial killings, sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and other gross human rights violations characterised the regime.[4] State-sanctioned violence was often carried out by the president’s personal hit squad, known as ‘the Junglers,’ and the armed group ‘the Green Boys.’[5] As a direct consequence of Jammeh’s orders, approximately 240 persons were murdered.[6] The regime’s violence was not limited to Gambians but also affected migrants from surrounding countries.[7]
Moreover, Jammeh envisioned himself as a “godly” figure with absolute control over the Gambian population. He preached sermons and claimed that he was “mandated by God” to cure HIV/AIDS and cancer, which resulted in the creation of the Presidential Alternative Treatment Programme. The programme had negative health effects for many and enabled further civil and political rights violations.[8]
In 1995, Jammeh passed a decree permitting the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and state security to “search, arrest, or detain any person, or seize, impound, or search any vessel, equipment, plant, or property without a warrant.”[9] In 2001, the National Assembly passed amnesty laws for state security forces, enabling immunity from prosecution.
Under Jammeh, civil society and the media were often harassed and accused of being political agitators. In 2002, the National Assembly passed a restrictive media bill, the National Media Commission Bill, designed to control media, the independent press and information circulation. Those considered oppositional to Jammeh were subjected to repression.
Under Jammeh, the government faced multiple failed coups before calling elections. On 21 December 2016, Jammeh lost the presidential election to Adama Barrow. Jammeh cited illegal interference in the elections, calling for new elections, which triggered a constitutional crisis. Diplomatic efforts by regional leaders, a military intervention by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and national protests that included Gambian youth taking to the streets and online under the hashtag #GambiaHasDecided ultimately ended the crisis. The transition resulted in few casualties, but up to 45,000 people were forced to flee to Senegal and another 800 to Guinea-Bissau. With support from regional states and ECOWAS, a peace accord was negotiated that resulted in Jammeh officially stepping down and going into exile to Equatorial Guinea. On 19 January 2017, Barrow became president of The Gambia.[10]
Barrow promised transitional justice processes to address gross human rights violations committed between 1994 and 2017, including a truth-seeking measure.
Commission of Inquiry
After the 2017 election, Barrow launched a Commission of Inquiry into the illicit assets Jammeh accumulated while he was president. The commission was mandated to investigate the management of public enterprises as well as the assets and financial transactions of the former president and his associates.[11] According to the commission’s findings, Jammeh stole an estimated 362 million USD.[12] The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, meanwhile, estimates that Jammeh and his associates “looted and misappropriated” up to 975 million USD through corruption.[13]
The commission found that Jammeh claimed the titles to 281 landed properties in The Gambia, including in his home village of Kanilai, as well as international assets and property in the United States. The commission’s final report was submitted to Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou, but not made public. The Gambian government has since sold some of Jammeh’s assets.
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission
The National Assembly passed the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Act on 13 December 2017. The TRRC was established on 13 January 2018. Headed by 11 commissioners, the TRRC was granted two years to investigate and establish an impartial historical record of the human rights violations committed from July 1994 to January 2017, as well as consider reparations for victims of human rights abuses.
The TRRC was mandated to investigate a list of specific human rights violations, including unlawful killings, SGBV, enforced disappearances, acts of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial. The mandate made no mention of prosecutions, but it did stipulate that no amnesty would be granted to individuals accused of committing crimes against humanity.[14]
From January 2019 to May 2021, the TRRC conducted public hearings that were broadcast across the nation through media partners QTV and different media platforms, including Facebook and YouTube.[15] An estimated 393 witnesses testified before the commission. During its operations, the TRRC collaborated with non-governmental organisations and grassroots groups to develop taskforces and units, including the Victims’ Support Unit, the SGBV Task Force and the Women’s Affairs Unit, to respond to the needs of victims and survivors. These collaborative efforts improved the functioning of the commission, with the collection of data and sensitivity training for both staff and those testifying.
After two and a half years, the TRRC’s final report was made public in December 2021. In 16 volumes, the report details SGBV, arbitrary arrests, witch hunts, killings, torture, enforced disappearances and other abuses. The commission notes that many of the violations were reinforced through systemic discriminatory policies and occurred in both the public and the private sphere.[16]
Alongside the final report, local civil society organisations wrote shadow reports to capture experiences beyond those captured by the TRRC. These shadow reports have specifically documented young people’s experiences of violations[17] and women’s experiences under Jammeh.[18] The commission made 265 recommendations. The government has committed to implementing all but two recommendations: the granting of amnesty to an accused perpetrator, Sana Sabally, and the characterisation of foreign judges as “mercenary Judges” who should be banned from holding public office in The Gambia.[19]
The commission recommended that government institutions and civil society organisations collaborate to provide the resources needed to implement the recommendations, as well as educate and sensitise all relevant institutions and the broader Gambian nation about their rights and responsibilities on the protection of human rights. The commission also recommended reparations for all victims of human rights abuses, including SGBV.
Since the release of the final report, there is significant implementation progress with the TRRC recommendations. Educational initiatives have been implemented by the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Ministry of Justice to dispel misconceptions about the TRRC’s implementation processes.[20] Victims, victim-led organisations, civil society organisations, public and private institutions, educational institutions, religious institutions, regional and international bodies, and other stakeholders are providing input on implementation. In May 2022, a coalition of organisations submitted a shadow white paper that encourages all actors to commit to the full and fair implementation of the TRRC’s recommendations.[21] Organisations also issued a public letter to the government and the Ministry of Justice demanding their full commitment to the recommendations.[22]
Civil society has played an important role in The Gambia’s transitional justice process, with many facilitating the involvement of victims in consultations, decision-making and the prioritisation and designing of measures related to implementation of the TRRC recommendations. Moreover, the civil society shadow white paper acknowledges victims, particularly of SGBV, who did not participate in the TRRC hearings and recommends that the government address their demands during the period of implementation.
In May 2022, the government published a white paper renewing its commitment to the commission’s recommendations. In 2023, the government published an implementation plan for 2023–2027, which has an estimated budget of 4,040,000 USD.[23] The government’s implementation plan was developed in collaboration with civil society organisations, government agencies and international partners. The plan includes a long-term strategy to encourage stability and sustainable development while implementing the recommendations within the target budget and timeline.
Reparations
Throughout the TRRC’s operations, with support from international donors and other actors, interim reparations for medical services were distributed to victims with urgent cases, specifically victims of Jammeh’s witch hunt.[24] The commission also provided other interim relief measures, including educational assistance, financial support, food, rent and housing subsidies to victims who testified.[25] The commission provided the last interim reparations to victims in June 2021.
In December 2020, official regulations were introduced and approved by the government that enable eligible victims of human rights violations access to holistic reparations. The reparations were meant to include material reparations such as compensation, medical support and educational support, as well as symbolic reparations such as memorialisation. So far, most of the reparations have focused on monetary compensation.
On 2 November 2023, Gambian lawmakers passed the Victims’ Reparations Act.[26] The law is geared towards providing reparations for victims who suffered human rights violations under Jammeh’s regime, both those identified by the TRRC as well as those who did not testify.[27] The law provides for the establishment of a fund for reparations and creates a commission responsible for the management of implementation. These are meant to provide a broad range of reparative measures.
Gender
As The Gambia is a predominantly Muslim country, gender is conditioned within a normative, often religious, framework of roles and responsibilities that socialises an unequal power dynamic between women and men. Haddy Mboge Barrow, former national coordinator of the Network against Gender-based Violence, states that “patriarchy is everything that surrounds power and position, and this is the society that exists in The Gambia. It is about the power relations, power dynamics, who has power over what and that power plays in different angles.”[28]
Because of patriarchal dynamics, women often experience gendered discrimination and are positioned in the private sphere as wives, mothers and daughters, while men are given the authority to dominate the public domain, which entitles them to economic, social and political rights. Gambian men are also impacted by gendered roles and responsibilities that often determine their masculinity alongside economic, social and political expectations as heads of household.[29]
While the above is the norm, there is resistance against these gendered norms within the Gambian population. The Tablighi Jama’at,[30] a transnational Islamic missionary movement in The Gambia, subscribes to the reformation of gender norms in Islam. Women are encouraged to be actively involved in the public sphere and men are expected to share responsibilities in the domestic sphere.
Since the progression of transitional justice in The Gambia, women are more visible and involved in the public sphere. There has been a mushrooming of women-led grassroots movements, while victims’ groups mainstream women’s voices, and gender more broadly, in the public sphere.
The TRRC final report documents SGBV to be widespread and often an act to exert power. According to Volume 10 of the report, sexual violence was perpetrated both as a primary human rights violation and as accompanying violence to other human rights abuses. Sexual violations were state-sanctioned and carried out systematically in line with state policy.[31] According to the commission’s findings, Jammeh and senior government ministers and security officials subjected women and girls and men and boys to a range of sexual violations, including rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, sexual torture, forced nudity and, in the case of people living with HIV, depriving access to appropriate treatment.
The TRRC documented that sexual violence took place across the country, including in detention centres, during arrests, at the presidential residence, at Jammeh’s Kanilai family farms, on the premises of the National Intelligence Agency, at the State Central Prison Mile 11 and the Fajara Army Barracks, and in private homes and vehicles. With the normalisation of sexual violence, victims were often shamed into not reporting these violations, which resulted in underreporting of sexual crimes and a culture of silence around them.
Civil society has mobilised to fill the gaps left by the TRRC, creating women-only meeting spaces in an effort to bring attention to women from vulnerable and marginalised communities. However, there is criticism that much of the work on gender in the country is focused on SGBV and not on the impacts of disproportional gendered power that economically, politically and socially disadvantages women. Despite the Women’s Act of 2010, the Sexual Offences Act of 2013 and the Gender and Women’s Empowerment Policy 2010–2020,[32] gender equality and gender parity is stagnant and remains an aspiration in The Gambia. Gambian women continue to be underrepresented, both politically and economically. They are not proportionally involved in government decision-making processes, resulting in technical obstacles to their active participation in the political transition of the country.[33]
International Actors
After the TRRC Act, the Minister of Justice in partnership with international, regional and local stakeholders, such as the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Programme and the International Center for Transitional Justice, organised a national consultation to discuss and build capacity about transitional justice in the country.
The TRRC collaborated with civil society organisations with the aim of developing a victim-centred approach and mainstreaming gender throughout its operations. For example, organisations were involved in the nationwide statement-taking process and organised women’s “listening circles” to accommodate testimonies from women, particularly those in rural Gambia.[34]
The TRRC acknowledges significant technical and material support from international and regional partners like TRIAL International, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, the African Union Commission and the Economic Community of West African States. The United Nations Peacebuilding Fund, through UNDP Gambia’s Transitional Justice Project, also assisted with resources. Core resources and support included nation-wide consultations, advisory services to the government, and technical input on the laws establishing the TRRC and the National Human Rights Commission.[35]
There has been international support and input on the implementation of the TRRC’s recommendations. This includes consulting and providing support in managing the coordination of the implementation process. The organisations involved include Amnesty International, Female Lawyers Association-Gambia, the Gender Platform, Human Rights Watch, Think Young Women, Toufah Foundation, Women’s Association for Victims’ Empowerment, Women in Liberation and Leadership, and Association of Non-Governmental Organisations.[36]
In May 2023, the Gambian government with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the High Commissioner held a Stakeholder Conference and Donor Roundtable to discuss the implementation of the TRRC’s recommendations.[37] Participants included government officials, victims and their families, local civil society, international organisations, development partners and the media. The aim of this event was to garner political will for the implementation process, to target funding opportunities and partnerships, and for civil society and victims’ groups to be involved in decision-making with regard to implementation.[38]
Sources
[1] Momodou Darboe, ‘ASR focus: Islamism in West Africa Gambia,’ African Studies Review, Vol. 47, No. 2 (2004).
[2] Edmun B. Richmond, ‘Senegambia and the confederation: History, expectations, and disillusions,’ Journey of Third World Studies, Vol. 10, No. 2 (1993).
[3] Abdoulaye S. Saine, ‘The military and human rights in the Gambia: 1994-1999,’ Journal of Third World Studies, Vol. 19, No. 2 (2002).
[4] Fabiano Salvioli, ‘Preliminary observations from official visit to The Gambia by the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of non-Recurrence, Fabian Salviolo from 20 to 27 November 2019,’ United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, November 27, 2019, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2019/11/preliminary-observations-official-visit-gambia-special-rapporteur-promotion
[5] Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), ‘Volume 1 (Part B): Compendium on findings and recommendations,’ 2021a, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TRRC-Report-Vol-1B.pdf
[6] Mustapha K. Darboe, ‘TRRC final report: Gambia between prosecutions and amnesties,’ Justice Info, January 7, 2022, https://www.justiceinfo.net/en/86069-trrc-final-report-gambia-between-prosecutions-and-amnesties.html
[7] ‘Gambia: Ex-President tied to killing of 59 migrants, testimony linking Yahya Jammeh to 2005 murders demand justice,’ Human Rights Watch, March 12, 2021, https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/12/gambia-ex-president-tied-killing-59-migrants
[8] ‘Report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission call for position papers,’ Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice, April 6, 2022, https://www.moj.gm/news/697e7762-b58c-11ec-8f4f-025103a708b7
[9] ‘Freedom in the world 2003: The Gambia,’ RefWorld, December 19, 2002, https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/freehou/2002/en/51082
[10] Ibid.
[11] Mustapha K. Darboe, ‘Gambia launches inquiry into Jammeh’s assets,’ Anadolu Ajansi, July 13, 2017, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/gambia-launches-inquiry-into-jammeh-s-assets/860978
[12] ‘Gambia’s ex-President Yahya Jammeh “stole at least $362m,”’ Aljazeera, March 29, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/3/29/gambias-ex-president-yahya-jammeh-stole-at-least-362m
[13] ‘The great Gambia heist,’ Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, March 27, 2019, https://www.occrp.org/en/greatgambiaheist/
[14] Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act, 2017, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Truth-Reconciliation-and-Reparations-Commission-Act-of-2017.pdf
[15] Nelson Manneh, ‘Gambia: CSOs white paper on TRRC report, recommendations to Government,’ All Africa, May 6, 2022, https://allafrica.com/stories/202205090259.html
[16] Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), ‘Volume 10: Sexual and gender-based violence,’ 2021, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TRRC-Report-Vol-10-2021.pdf
[17] ‘Shadow report – Human rights violation during the Jammeh regime: Experiences of the Gambian youth,’ Fantanka, 2022, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TRRC-Shadow-Report-Experiences-of-Gambian-Youth-Fantanka-2022.pdf
[18] ‘TRRC shadow report: Perspectives of women, girls and marginalized groups on Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV),’ Women in Liberation and Leadership, March 2022, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/TRRC-Shadow-Report-Women-and-GBV-WILL-2022.pdf
[19] ‘Government white paper on the report of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission,’ Attorney General’s Chamber and Ministry of Justice (AG & MoJ), 2022, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Govt-White-Paper-on-TRRC-Report-2022.pdf
[20] Musa Saho, ‘AG chambers organizes national discussion on TRRC report,’ May 13, 2022, https://www.moj.gm/news/23f0074f-d2a7-11ec-8f4f-025103a708b7
[21] Manneh, 2022.
[22] ‘Letter to the honourable Minister Jallow: Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission,’ Human Rights Watch, May 12, 2022, https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/05/12/letter-honourable-minister-jallow
[23] ‘Implementation plan to the government’s white paper on the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission,’ Republic of the Gambia, 2023, https://atjhub.csvr.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Implementation-Plan.pdf
[24] TRRC, Volume 10, 45.
[25] ‘Reparations for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence: Country briefing for The Gambia,’ Global Survivors Fund, June 2022, https://www.globalsurvivorsfund.org/fileadmin/uploads/gsf/Documents/Resources/Country_Briefings/GSF_Country_Sheet_The_Gambia_EN_June2022_WEB.pdf
[26] ‘Gambia lawmakers pass Victims Reparations Bill 2023 in landmark decision,’ West Africa Democracy Radio, November 2, 2023, https://wadr.org/gambia-lawmakers-pass-victims-reparations-bill-2023-in-landmark-decision/
[27] ‘Reparations bill for post-Jammeh era victims validated,’ Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Justice, November 2, 2023, https://www.moj.gm/news/e8263cf3-b36b-11ed-8b02-025103a708b7
[28] TRRC, Volume 10.
[29] Satang Nabaneh, ‘Women’s political participation in The Gambia: Gender quotas as fast track to equality,’ IACL-IADC Blog, January 25, 2022, https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/spotlight-on-africa/2022/1/25/womens-political-participation-in-the-gambia-gender-quotas-as-fast-track-to-equality
[30] Marloe Janson, ‘Male wives and female husbands,’ Journal of Religion in Africa, Vol. 46, No. 2–3 (2016).
[31] AG & MoJ, 2022.
[32] Baboucarr Fatty and Maame Akua Amoah Twum, ‘Gender equality in the Gambia: Citizens demand greater government efforts,’ Afrobarometer, July 3, 2023, https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/AD663-Gender-equality-in-Gambia-Citizens-demand-greater-government-efforts-Afrobarometer-1july23.pdf
[33] ‘A conversation on the political empowerment of women in The Gambia,’ United Nations The Gambia, August 1, 2022, https://gambia.un.org/en/194076-conversation-political-empowerment-women-gambia
[34] Tijan Jow and Didier Gbery, ‘ICTJ receives award for contributions to The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission,’ International Center for Transitional Justice, August 10, 2021, https://www.ictj.org/ar/node/26996
[35] ‘Role of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission in promoting national reconciliation and peace in the Gambia,’ United Nations Development Programme, December 13, 2021, https://www.undp.org/gambia/news/role-truth-reconciliation-and-reparations-commission-promoting-national-reconciliation-and-peace-gambia
[36] ‘Gambia civil society organizations set direction to support post TRRC process,’ Chronicle, 2021, https://www.chronicle.gm/gambia-civil-society-organizations-set-direction-to-support-post-trrc-process/
[37] Mama A. Touray and MSS, ‘Stakeholders hold donor conference on implementation of truth commission recommendations,’ The Voice Gambia, May 15, 2023, https://www.voicegambia.com/2023/05/15/stakeholders-hold-donor-conference-on-implementation-of-truth-commission-recommendations/
[38] ‘Stakeholder Conference and Donor Roundtable on the Implementation of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Recommendations,’ United Nations Development Programme, May 8, 2023, https://www.undp.org/gambia/press-releases/stakeholder-conference-and-donor-roundtable-implementation-truth-reconciliation-and-reparations-commission-trrc-recommendations