inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, prison and detention centre conditions, arbitrary arrest or detention, arrest procedures and treatment of detainees, denial of fair public trial, political prisoners and detainees, civil judicial procedures and remedies, regional human rights court decisions, arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home or correspondence, freedom of speech and press, internet freedom, academic freedom and cultural events, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, internally displaced persons, protection of refugees and stateless persons, protection of refugees, respect for political rights: the right of citizens to change their government, corruption and lack of transparency in government, governmental attitude regarding international and nongovernmental investigation of alleged violations of human rights, discrimination, societal abuses, and trafficking in persons, women, children, anti-Semitism, trafficking in person, persons with disabilities, acts of violence, discrimination, and other abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity, HIV and AIDS Social Stigma, workers’ rights, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, prohibition of forced or compulsory labor, prohibition of child labor and minimum age for employment, discrimination with respect to employment or occupation, acceptable conditions of work. Below is the executive summary of the report. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Gambia is a multi-party democratic republic. In 2011 voters re-elected President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh to a fourth term in a peaceful, orderly election; however, international observers considered it neither free nor fair. President Jammeh’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), continued to dominate the political landscape, winning an overwhelming majority of National Assembly seats in the parliamentary elections in 2012 and in the local government elections held in April 2013. Six of the seven opposition parties boycotted or otherwise did not participate in both the national assembly and local government elections to protest government intervention and intimidation of opponents. Authorities at times failed to maintain effective control over the security forces. A failed coup on December 30 resulted in the arrest of individuals suspected of participating in the coup as well as family members of alleged coup plotters. Security forces reportedly killed three coup plotters during the coup attempt. The most serious human rights problems in the country included torture, arrest, detention, and sometimes enforced disappearance of citizens, and government harassment and abuse of its critics. Government officials routinely used various methods of intimidation to retain power. Other reported human rights problems included poor prison conditions; denial of due process; prolonged pre-trial and incommunicado detention; restrictions on privacy and freedoms of speech, press, and assembly; government interference in the practice of religion; corruption; violence against women and girls, including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); forced child marriage; trafficking in persons, including child prostitution; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals; and child labor. While the government took steps to prosecute or punish some individuals who committed abuses, impunity and lack of sustained enforcement remained problems.]]>
