Speaking during the opening of the 2023 legal year, Justice Jallow said: “The Government is currently working with ECOWAS towards setting up Hybrid Court for prosecutions. While awaiting the launching of the implementation plan to guide the overall implementation process, the Ministry of Justice is actively implementing the White Paper, especially recommendations that do not require significant financial resources to implement.”
He stated that it is commendable to note that the Ministry is playing a key role in the prosecution of some of the ‘Junglers’ in the United States of America, Switzerland and Germany for the human rights violations they committed during the Jammeh regime, saying details of which were discovered by the TRRC findings.
Minister Jallow continued that the Ministry has been relentlessly assisting in the prosecution of these junglers in the stated countries by providing information of witnesses, evidence and that they have expressed their commitment to providing further support in the successful prosecution of the said junglers.
“It is important to highlight that we may be geographically small as a country but the fact remains that we stand tall in the international community when it comes to promoting and protecting human rights. An example can be seen in the case of The Gambia v Myanmar in which The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar in 2020 at the ICJ to prevent further acts of genocide against the Rohingyas in Myanmar,” the Justice minister said.
Recently, he added, the ICJ totally rejected Myanmar's preliminary objections to the Court's jurisdiction and affirmed The Gambia's right as State Party to the Genocide Convention, to hold Myanmar to account to its obligations under the Convention.
“This means that the case will proceed to its full merits and The Gambia continues to show its commitment to proceed with the case. In Geneva, The Gambia continues to play an active role in all the deliberations of the UN Human Rights Council as one of the 13 sitting member states from Africa,” Minister Jallow recounted.
