By Omar Bah
The Minister of Justice has told a summit of African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights that a dialogue to get the draft constitution back to the National Assembly has been initiated.
Dawda Jallow told the 67th summit of ACHPR, held virtually on Friday, that various programmes are being implemented regarding the country’s transitional justice processes.
The Barrow administration, as part of its transitional justice processes and the transition to a full-fledged democracy, initiated the formulation of a new draft constitution but following extensive consultations nationwide and with Gambian nationals in the diaspora, it failed to pass at the National Assembly.
“The draft which was subsequently submitted to the National Assembly in September couldn’t pass the threshold required to proceed to referendum. A process of dialogue with the leadership of all political parties has been initiated with a view to building consensus on all the contentious issues, with a view to re-submitting the draft to the National Assembly,” Jallow said.
He further stated that the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission which is currently underway, has submitted its interim report in November 2019 and its final report is expected in the early part of 2021. “The Government is already preparing in earnest for post TRRC activities and a multi-sectoral taskforce or working group will soon be constituted to coordinate this process.”
He added: “In preparation for the next cycle of national elections from December, 2021, a review of the Elections Act has been carried out following consultations with the Independent Electoral Commission and stakeholders. The Elections Bill will be tabled before the National Assembly during the December session.
“Our continent undoubtedly, continues to make steady progress and development in the promotion and protection of human rights. Some States have adopted laws to fulfil their human rights obligations under various regional and international instruments and others have adopted various strategies to implement the mechanisms for the establishment of institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights,” he said.
However, Jallow said the continent continues to face challenges such “as election violence resulting in internal conflicts in some parts of the continent; governance deficits, corruption; threats posed by terrorism, conflicts between herders and farmers, insurgencies, inadequate resources and capacity, among other challenges, continue to make our collective efforts ineffectively addressing the human rights concerns of our peoples more difficult.”
“Therefore, we must remain vigilant and be open to new and innovative ways and ideas of addressing these difficult challenges. It is only by working together as states with the ultimate objective of lifting our peoples out of poverty and recognizing their inalienable rights to freedom, justice and the pursuit of happiness, that we shall become truly proud of ourselves as their servants,” he added.
