By Abubacarr Saidykhan
Confirmed information’s reaching us, have it, that the Government of the Republic of the Gambia under the leadership of President Jammeh, has recently in March 2014, extended a formal invitation to two UN Special Rapporteurs on the question of torture and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment, and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to visit the country for a fact- finding mission. This eight day country visit to the Gambia has been proposed to take place from the 11-18 of August 2014 this year.
The primordial objective of this fact-finding country visit, will allow the two special Rapporteurs, to look into issues falling within their respective mandates, including patterns of human rights violations and individual cases.
Looking at the alleged Human Right violations in the Gambia, that has long since, never been properly investigated by any international experts, the two special rapporteurs, together with a forensic expert, will meet with Gambia Government officials for proper investigations on human right violations in the Gambia. The information adds that besides meeting with the authorities, the SRs will also meet with international and regional organization, the diplomatic community, civil society and will further visit places of detention.
Inviting the two special rapporteurs to visit the Gambia means that the Government of the Gambia, commits to ensure, free and unrestricted access to all places of detention, including the ability to conduct unmonitored interviews with detainees, torture victims, and their families or their legal representatives, and to meet freely with civil society representatives.
The meetings with actors other than government officials will be coordinated with support from the office of the high commissioner for human rights and the UN country team in the Gambia which can be held either as one-to-one conversations or as group (thematic) discussions.
Well, as many UN agencies including (OHCHR) and the diplomatic community are based in Senegal, the Special Rapporteurs also planned to incorporate into the agenda a two day visit to Dakar which shall be on the (14-15 August) for the purpose of meeting organizations and individuals who may have information relevant to their respective mandates in the context of the country visit to the Gambia. A high level debriefing with Gambian Government to discuss the preliminary findings and a press conference to highlight initial observations is planned to take place on August 18 in Banjul.
It is highly belief that after the visit of the two special rapporteurs, they will communicate their conclusions and final recommendations to the Government of the Gambia and the Country visit reports will also be made public and presented before the UN Human Rights Council, in March 2015.
In preparation of the visit, all interested organizations and individuals are invited to submit information relevant to the mandates and the visit of the two SRs to The Gambia. Name and address of the person or organization submitting the information will be kept confidential. It is crucial that the SR receive submissions for a successful fact-finding visit, as meetings with key actors, visits to places of detention and issues to address will be defined according to the information received. It is said that for all those who are interested to sent relevant informations, can either sent it to the these two annexes by E-mail to Vivian Huijgen ([email protected]) or to Monika Althaus ([email protected]) or by post or in person at their office: Haut Commissariat aux Droits de l’Homme, BP 154, Parcelle n°20, Route du King Fahd Palace, Almadies, Dakar, Sénégal.
Backgound Information:
Created by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1985 [Resolution 1985/33], the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is an independent human rights expert tasked with investigating and reporting on cases and issues involving torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment worldwide [Human Rights Council resolution 25/13]. Since 2010, Juan E. Méndez holds this mandate. During the visit, the SRT will conducts a close assessment of the country’s situation regarding the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This includes, national legislation and its accordance with international law, the State’s obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish all acts of torture, the use of forced confessions before national courts, access to lawyers upon arrest and the right of all victims to redress and reparations. The SRT is also looking into conditions of detention in prisons and pre-trial detention facilities and police stations as well as in mental health institutions, where persons are deprived of their liberties. A particular focus will lie on vulnerable groups, such as children, juveniles and women. The SRT has developed specific follow-up strategies. This means, that the Government’s efforts to implement his recommendations after the visit, will be closely monitored. The SRT may also conduct a follow-up visit within a 1-2 years timeframe in order to assist the Government in improving the situation on the ground in the future.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions is mandated to examine situations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and to monitor the implementation of existing international standards on safeguards and restrictions relating to the imposition of capital punishment. Since 2010, Christof Heyns holds this mandate. During this visit to the Gambia, Mr Heyns will examine the current level of protection of the right to life in law and in practice in the country and analyze in detail the current situation of unlawful killings and death threats, as well as of measures to prevent them and ensure accountability in such cases. In his mission report, the Special Rapporteur will share his findings and formulate recommendations to the Government and other actors on upholding the right to life. The Special Rapporteur also prepares follow-up reports as he considers this as an essential element of his work after the conduct of country visits and the formulation of recommendations on the protection of the right to life. His follow-up reports offer the opportunity to examine the progress made in respecting the right to life and the status of implementation of the respective recommendations within a certain time frame, thus ensuring continuity in the efforts to uphold human rights in the country visited. The Special Rapporteurs operate today under the United Nations Human Rights Council, together with the other UN Special Procedures Mechanisms. Their mandates cover all state members to the United Nations, irrespective of whether a state has ratified relevant international conventions. The methods of work of the SRs include three main activities:
Transmitting urgent appeals and allegation letters to states; Undertaking fact-finding country visits; and submitting annual reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.
Gathered and Written by Abubacarr Saidykhan- Founder, Gambian Union of Forced Migrants-From Dakar.