The NHRC chair made the statement during the validation of a report on the status of the implementation of the White Paper on the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Report at the international conference centre in Bijilo.
Addressing the gathering, he said: “This country needs to heal, and it behooves everyone, especially the government, whose primary responsibility is to respect, protect and fulfil fundamental rights and freedoms, to combat the emergence of hate speech and the regrouping of forces whose aim is to sow seeds of discord within our once upon a time peaceful communities where people of different tribes and religions co-existed.”
“We are all in this together and we have to make this a success for the victims and for The Gambia. The whole world is watching our TRRC process and we have to make implementation a success and a positive and admirable case study for the world to admire.”
Also, he reiterated that the primary role of the NHRC in the whole process is not only to monitor the implementation process but to “promote a comprehensive implementation of the White Paper geared towards providing holistic justice for the victims and their families and to give a true meaning to the "Never Again” mantra by advising the government to put in place mechanisms to prevent a repetition of the violations and abuses of the past through the creation of appropriate protective and pre-emptive mechanisms, including especially institutional and legal reforms.”
