DEBRIEFING THE ROLE OF TRUTH, RECONCILIATION AND REPARATIONS COMMISSION IN THE GAMBIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND QUEST FOR JUSTICE
DEBRIEFING THE ROLE OF TRUTH, RECONCILIATION AND REPARATIONS COMMISSION IN THE GAMBIA’S HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND QUEST FOR JUSTICE

Summary/Abstract: The study examined the human rights violations under Yahya Jammeh and the Adama Barrow government’s quest for justice through the recently established Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) in the Gambia. It relied on secondary sources of data collection and adopted restorative and reparative justice as its conceptual framework for the overall understanding of the subject matter. It contented that categorising the Jammeh-led government as one of the worst regimes characterised by deliberate human-rights abuses is like stating the obvious. It further argued that establishing the TRRC and assigning it the role of healing the nation via searching for the truth in order to reconcile, restore justice and compensate victims of human rights abuse under Jammeh government is a welcome development. However, the findings of the study revealed that this is not an easy task given the likely impediments that have bedevilled similar commissions in South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, among others in the past. It identified inter alia the challenge of funding, dilemma of bias accusation and politicisation, refusal to accept responsibility or demand for forgiveness by main perpetrators, inadequate publicity and absence’ total community participation and delays or failure to fulfil reparation promises by the sitting government as major challenges that may prevent the TRRC from achieving its mandate. It therefore recommended Barrow government should be sincere and allow TRCC to work without any interference while it is imperative for all forms of media practitioners in Gambia to mobilise for total community participation in the exercise. Also, the donor countries and institutions should not leave any stone unturned to ensure that government immediately fulfil reparation promises at the end of the exercise.

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