At the 66th Session of the Authority of the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) Heads of State and Government which held recently in Abuja, Nigeria, the regional bloc approved he establishment of a Special Tribunal for The Gambia to prosecute perpetrators of gross human rights violations. Specifically, the Tribunal is empowered to ensure justice and accountability for gross atrocities and human rights abuse committed between July 1994 and January 2017 under the repressive regime of Ex-President Yahya Jammeh
Among the major crimes allegedly committed by Jammeh’s special killer squad ‘The Jungulars’ are extrajudicial killings, torture and sexual violence, enforced disappearances, fake HIV and Aids treatment causing deaths, and the 2005 massacre of over 50 West African migrants, including 9 Nigerian citizens.
Upon the restoration of democracy in The Gambia, the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was set up by the Adama Barrow administration to investigate all human rights abuses perpetrated against Gambians and other citizens between July 1994 and January 2017.
After two-and-a-half years of public hearings and iinvestigations, the Commission confirmed that not less than 240 persons were found to have been murdered by state agents under his rule. The Government issued a White Paper on the report of the Commission.
This is the first time the ECOWAS has partnered with a member country to establish an international tribunal to prosecute such crimes. The decision of the Ecowas to ratify the Tribunal is a serious warning to other military and civilian dictators that they may be brought to justice for gross human rights abuse. With the establishment of the Tribunal, the demand for the arrest and trial of Mr. Yahya Jammeh by the International Criminal Court will cease.
Since his fall in December 2016, Ex-President Yahya Jammeh has been in exile in Equatorial Guinea, a central African country. He is expected to be brought to The Gambia to face trial for multiple charges of murder, kidnapping, torture, rape and other sexual offences.
On May 15, 2024, the Federal Criminal Court in Switzerland onvicted a former government minister, Ousman Sonko, of crimes against humanity under ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh and jailed him for 20 years, in a historic verdict under universal jurisdiction in Europe. The Court found the former minister guilty on several counts of intentional homicide, torture and false imprisonment.
The Gambian Bar Association under the leadership of Mr. Salieu Taal deserves commendation for collaborating with the Government to institute and operationalize the court. This is a unique example of a Bar Association proactively leading efforts to ensure justice and accountability for victims of gross human rights abuse.