The Gambia is witnessing encouraging signs in moves to shed light on past human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, but must involve families fully in the process, a delegation of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances said yesterday.
“We
welcome the commitments made by the Government of The Gambia to embark on
comprehensive reforms, including measures to ensure truth, justice and
reparation for victims, as well as prevent any recurrence of disappearances in
the future,” said the Group’s Chair Houria Es-Slami and fellow delegation
member Henrikas Mickevicius at the end of an official visit to the country.
The
experts said they had heard “deeply saddening” stories first-hand from the
families of some of those who had disappeared.
“We
reaffirm our solidarity with all the victims and their relatives,” the experts
said. “Their continued suffering is living proof that enforced disappearance is
a continuous crime and a permanent violation of their human rights until the
fate or whereabouts of the victim is clarified.”
The
delegation welcomed plans for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC),
announced by the Government as one of the first and main measures to address
the violations as part of a transitional justice process.
“We
support the establishment of this mechanism, while stressing that transitional
justice measures must be understood in a broader way,” noted the experts.
“All
measures dealing with truth, justice and reparation should be designed and
implemented simultaneously, and should be inclusive, consultative,
gender-sensitive and participatory.
“It
is of utmost importance to genuinely include from the outset families of people
who disappeared and the organizations representing them in the consultation
process. It is also essential to manage the legitimate expectations of victims,
including through clear and regular communication.”
The
experts also called for human rights vetting in the security sector, and a
strengthening of the efficiency and independence of the judiciary. No one
involved in past human rights violations can take part in the search,
investigation or prosecution of the disappeared persons, they stressed.
They
welcomed the steps already taken to shed light on the disappearances, including
the identification of two burial sites and the exhumation of four bodies.
“In
a few cases suspects have been identified, but the investigation and
prosecution processes face ongoing challenges including a lack of resources for
identifying bodies and the fact that a number of suspects are at large, in some
cases abroad,” observed the expert body.
“It
is essential for the national justice systems and the envisaged transitional
justice processes to work together given that the lack of accountability for
enforced disappearances may be a source for new violations in the future.”
They
added: “Reconciliation is an essential element of this process but it cannot be
achieved at the expense of the rights of the victims.”
The
delegation also called for the creation of an adequate legal and institutional
framework to prevent future disappearances, welcoming confirmation “at the
highest levels” of a commitment to ratify the International Convention on the
Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
A
new law introducing a specific offence of enforced disappearance is another
early step that should be taken, the experts noted, urging international
support for Gambia during its transitional period.
During
the eight-day visit, the Working Group delegation visited the Greater Banjul
area, Bwiam, Kanilai and Tanji.
They
met the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, the Minister of the Interior and other high-level State
authorities, as well as civil society organizations and relatives of the
victims.
A
final report on the visit will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in
September 2018.
UN
News Release