By Ndeye Aminata D Thiome
The Gambia’s second president was a young military officer by the name of Yahya Abdul-Aziz Jammeh. Jammeh was officially elected in 1996 after holding a bloodless coup against The Gambia’s first President Dawda Jawara in 1994. Within Jammeh’s first years of rule, a lot of developments took place in The Gambia. “In the 11-year period that the Jammeh Government has been in power it has: established a university, which turned out its first graduates in 2004; built three new hospitals staffed by Cuban doctors; constructed over 40 secondary schools, up from only 12 in 1994; and increased life expectancy while reducing infant mortality.” (Davies, 2005) However as the years went by, Jammeh became more of a dictator and began to fall into corruption and abuses that he originally claimed to want to combat. “Yahya Jammeh’s 22-year rule in Gambia was marked by widespread abuses, including forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detention.” (Human Rights Watch, 2019) The Gambian people had enough of these abuses and decided to take fate into their own hands in their 2016 elections. After losing the December 2016 presidential election to Adama Barrow, Jammeh sought exile in Equatorial Guinea in January 2017, where he still resides now.
Upon his election, Barrow bore the heavy task of moving a country previously under a dictatorship forward in all elements, especially human rights. Thus came the birth of The Gambia’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). “The NHRC is a permanent and independent institution established by an Act of National Assembly in 2017 to protect and promote human rights in The Gambia.” (NHRC) The NHRC is guided by five distinguished commissioners. Commissioner and Chairperson Emmanuel Daniel Joof is a Barrister & Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia, a veteran lawyer and former Magistrate and a human rights expert with National and International Experience. (NHRC) Likewise, Commission Vice Chairperson, Jainaba John is a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of The Gambia with more than 20 years of legal experience in human rights lawyer with specialisation in international law. (NHRC) Commissioner Halimatou Dibba also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political science from the University of Ghana, and LLM International Law from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. (NHRC) An Islamic cleric, scholar and human rights activist, Commissioner Imam Baba Leigh was among the founding members of GAMCOTRAP, a human rights organisation fighting against harmful traditional practices, including Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). (NHRC) Imam Leigh’s outspokenness during the regime of Jammeh landed him in prison where he suffered severe torture. (NHRC) He lived in exile in the United States of America and returned home in 2017 and continued fighting for human rights after the regime change. (NHRC) Finally, Commissioner Njundu Drammeh is a child rights activist, with more than 20 years of experience in child rights and child protection law and policies in The Gambia. (NHRC) He was the National Coordinator of the Child Protection Alliance, the only child rights coalition in The Gambia, prior to his appointment as Commissioner. (NHRC)
“Within its broad mandate to promote and protect human rights, the Commission serves the general public by: monitoring/receiving/investigating, and considering complaints of human rights violations; recommending appropriate remedial action to the Government; seeking appropriate redress on behalf of victims; nurturing a culture of respect for human rights through public education and awareness creation; and supporting the Government in formulating appropriate policies and laws to guarantee human rights.” (NHRC) Characterised by its independence from Government control, the NHRC executes the all aforementioned tasks with little to no governmental control/influence, unless in the sphere of partnership to maintain human rights. “The NHRC has the powers, rights and privileges vested in the High Court at trial, which gives it the right to receive and hear complaints from the public on human rights violations, summon witnesses to testify at hearings, examine witness on oath, affirmation, or compel the production of documents, request to examine witnesses abroad, recommend appropriate remedial actions to the government, seek appropriate remedial actions on behalf of victims, and enforce its decisions, including measures to protect the life and safety of an individual.” The public can make a complaint by coming into the NHRC secretariat office in Kotu, file the complaint online through the NHRC’s website, or call/email to the commission.
In addition to the handling/investigation of human rights violation claims, the NHRC promotes human rights both through social media and through holding various capacity building training sessions for their staff and various national staff members (ex. military, police, etc) around the gambia. I personally assisted many of the aforementioned trainings and even got the opportunity to go along on a one-week mission trip to The Gambia’s Northbank region to discuss the dangers and harms of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) with locals. These trainings not only ensure that NHRC staff & commissioners are able to hold themselves accountable to upholding human rights, but ensures that the sentiment of upholding each other’s human rights is widespread within The Gambia. Witnessing the work of The Gambia’s NHRC firsthand, gave me much hope on the advancement of human rights protection specifically within the African context and consequently globally. With the important work being done by NHRC staff & commissioners every day, the NHRC’s vision of establishing, “A Gambia where everyone enjoys their fundamental human rights and freedoms,” becomes more of a reality day by day.
My name is Ndeye Aminata D. Thiome. I am an American of west African descent and a child of immigrants. I am currently embarking on my graduate studies journey at the University of Dayton under the Masters in Public Administration program. I take a particular interest in research and national law and international law. This summer I got the honor of gaining experience in promoting human rights nationally and it is an experience that has allowed me to acquire skills that I will utilize throughout my career. My hopes for the future are to adequately contribute to good causes around the world.
