Three Civil Society Organisations based in the Diaspora have written a letter to President Adama Barrow urging him to prioritise the TRRC Report and recommendations. The three CSOs are DUGA DC, GAMCORD and R2K Gambia. This is coming barely a day after the TRRC Report was published publicly by the Ministry of Justice.
23 December 2021
Prioritize the TRRC report recommendations, elevate the transitional justice agenda and bring closure for victims
Mr. President:
We extend our congratulations to you and the NPP, on your recent presidential elections victory. We wish you well in your second term. In October this year, leading human rights organizations in and outside of the country, met to deliberate on the TRRC. The urgent meeting amply demonstrated that the victims, and indeed the entire country and the world awaits with bated breath your next course of action. We hope that priority will be given to addressing the recommendations of the TRRC, especially in the critical pillars that anchor our transitional justice agenda (access to the report, protection of whistle blowers, prosecution of perpetrators, reparations for victims, reconciliation and healing).
We therefore call on your government to follow through on its commitment to prioritize the
implementation of the recommendations of the TRRC and allow for speedy release of the report to the public in order to close the gap of multiple delays and bring respite to the victims. We also hope that you will commit to protect whistle blowers and those that gave testimonies to the TRRC, and whose testimonies would further assist secure justice for the victims. The urgency to prosecute perpetrators of human rights abuses, cannot be overstated, as well as the need to pay equitable and reasonable reparations to victims who have suffered irreparable harm during the period, which the TRRC probed. We also call on your government to establish a program of national healing and dialogue to foster social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.
Finally, Mr President, we hope that you will lead and give unwavering guidance and support towards transforming the slogan ‘Never Again’ into a living mantra and invest in the process of memorializing the dark episodes of the Gambia’s historical past and honour the dignity of the victims and their families.
Sincerely:
Democratic Union of Gambian Activists (DUGA); Gambia Conference of Reforms and Democracy
(GAMCORD); Right to Know (R2K) Gambia
Copied to:
Gambia Center For Victims of Human Rights Violations
The Speaker of the National Assembly
The Gambia National Human Rights Commission
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights