The issue of torture has become a serious concern for many people all over the world yet the practice continues to exist.
Even though the perpetrators know that torture annihilates the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being, they still feel happy doing so.
We therefore reiterate our position on condemning torture in all its forms since the practice is inhuman and not inline with our national laws.
Torture is a crime under international law, absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances.
The widespread practice of torture is the order of the day in our part of the world and the international community should view such actions as a crime against humanity.
We are calling for the total eradication of torture and require our state security apparatus to ensure no one is subjected to torture or degrading treatment.
It is very essential to know that human beings are so important to be subjected to torture hence we cannot but call for serious and fair investigation into all torture allegations in the country.
Beating people or torturing them in any way is wrong and against fundamental human rights. International conventions such as the UN convention against torture forbid any ill-treatment of human beings. States which subscribe to this convention have a duty to refrain from the act of torture and to investigate allegations of such wrongdoing. Our own 1997 Gambian constitution condemns all manner of torture.
Over the years, those following our court proceedings would have noticed that there has been a lot of alleged torturing of detainees.
We are very much concerned, therefore, about this issue!