The re-election of Adama Barrow and the long journey to Gambia to justice | Issues of Human Rights

Adama Barrow was announced this week successful of the Gambia which is overseeing the presidential election, to secure a second five-year term.

The vote was seen as a test of democracy in a small country, five years after a peace group forced former governor Yahya Jammeh to leave Gambia after he refused Barrow’s defeat.

But the new leadership role comes with a redefining responsibility for victims and human rights violations did 22 years of previous experience. The election took place just days before the widely anticipated report recommended The government is prosecuting a number of high-profile cases in Jammeh’s case.

“One thing we want to ensure, there will be justice and reconciliation, revenge – it will all happen but we must be patient,” Barrow said at his first meeting after Saturday’s election.

In 2017, Mr Barrow set up the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) to do just that. In the years that followed, the TRRC heard disturbing testimonies from hundreds of witnesses, including former Jammeh government officials and the victims of their relatives.

The commission says 250 people have died as a result of government atrocities, while killings, rapes and torture are on the rise.

At the end of November, the TRRC report was submitted to Barrow, who is now six months old to make a decision. No 14,000-page document, or names of suspected criminals, has not been disclosed.

“Forgiveness and forgetfulness without punishment for abuse and ill-treatment … will not damage the relationship and cover up the wrongdoing that has occurred,” the agency said in a statement.

Amnesty International has also called for “an unwavering commitment from Gambian government officials to justice and retribution” for the victims of the Jammeh era. The former president, who is in exile in Equatorial Guinea, once said he had done wrong.

Since the inception of the council, controversy has erupted over political issues in order to implement the council’s recommendations. Tensions between the victims and human rights activists grew earlier this year after Barrow formed an alliance with the former Jammeh – Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) party to help him secure a second term.

Experts also warn that in addition to the long and difficult process of reporting to parliament and printing white paper, a number of other obstacles could ensure that this is a long journey to justice.

“Do we have money?” asked Gaye Sowe, director of the Human Rights and Development Agency in Africa (IHRDA) from Banjul.

“Such a trial is expensive. Do we have lawyers trained by judges? What is the defense of accusing Jammeh even if the TRRC would agree? They are still very supportive [within The Gambia]. ”

In addition to the legal costs, there are concerns that The Gambia, one of the world’s poorest countries, will not be able to repatriate victims even if they claim to have paid the Gambia $ 150 million ($ 2.8m) in 2022 to do so. budget.

Jeggan Johnson, of the Open Society Foundation’s Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project, said the agency had submitted comments to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, and called on, among other things, to encourage Gambia to establish witness protection.

“People who have testified against Jammeh’s government are being intimidated by other members of the APRC, his former party,” Jeggan said. “This was confirmed by the TRRC secretary at a meeting I attended two weeks before the report was released to Barrow.”

There are also concerns about privacy and respect as long as the information is disclosed. The Jammeh government is said to use rape as a tool to torture and intimidate men, women, and children. Considering that the country is still a caring group with strict anti-LGBTQ laws, there could be discrimination, Johnson said.

“There are women who are married now and do not want to announce this … and boys who are family heads and have children, so how can we protect their loyalty?” he said. “How do we protect their shame? These are the most difficult things I hope we will deal with for a while…

In a country with a population of about 2.5 million, the lines are also sometimes broken between victims and perpetrators that took place at different times during Jammeh’s time – and this has left people with little grief.

Such a change of mindset could only make things worse for the Gambian government and make the process of justice and healing more difficult.

“Anything can happen and nothing can happen,” Johnson said.