By Kebba Jeffang
Attorney General and Minister of Justice Mr. Aboubacarr Tambadou, has disclosed the terms of membership of the Truth, Reparation and Reconciliation Commission, which is expected to probe and reconcile Gambians, following two decades of severe human rights violations in the country.
Mr. Tambadou was speaking to journalists yesterday, 9th October 2017, at his office in Banjul.
He said, “all members of the Commission shall be Gambian Nationals of the highest standard of integrity; that all regions in the country shall be represented and that the Commission shall reflect the national character of the country and shall be as representative of the different communities as possible, including women, religious and youth groups and that the Commission shall be established for an initial period of two years.”
He said they had concluded the nation-wide consultations with people across the country, aimed at collecting their views, regarding the model of TRR Commission, for the Gambia.
“The consultations provided us with an opportunity to gauge the public mood and sentiment on several aspects of the work of the Commission. I am pleased to report that over all, the idea of the TRRC, received overwhelming support from all communities across the country,” he said.
He said they are now at the final review stage of the draft TRRC Bill after ample time working with experts in the area of Transitional Justice and Truth Commissions, in particular.
The AG named the International Center for Transitional Justice who were in the country and have concluded a review of the draft bill last week, while they also received comments from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Africa Group for Accountability and Justice and the United Nations.
He assured that several outreach programmes will precede the Commission to keep people including the victims informed, particularly on the radio and television. He urged the religious, youth and women leaders to engage people in a constructive manner.
