For Isatou Ceesay and Tombong Njie, the time period “witch hunt” will not be metaphorical. Beneath the regime of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, they have been each actually condemned as witches.
“He held individuals in custody, tortured them, and that was the top of them,” says Ms. Ceesay. “We have been so embarrassed to exit. We’re not witches,” provides Ms. Njie.
Throughout his 22 years in energy, former President Jammeh severely weakened the nation’s establishments and safety equipment. The regime was characterised by harassment; torture; the homicide of political figures, journalists, activists, and college students; and important sexual and gender-based violence towards girls and kids.
Ms. Ceesay, Ms. Njie, and plenty of different Gambians nonetheless carry the scars of the abuses of the witch hunt marketing campaign, which started in 2009 and lasted a number of years. Victims struggled to flee the stigma related to witches.
UNDP Gambia
Isatou Ceesay, a sufferer of the Gambian ‘witch hunt’ marketing campaign.
Supporting a tough transition
In 2016, the Gambians voted out President Jammeh, and the brand new President, Adama Barrow, was sworn into workplace in February 2017. Nevertheless, the nation of two million individuals confronted a extreme political and social disaster with the absence of impartial or efficient justice establishments and rampant human rights abuses.
The political transition required pressing reforms to overtake the nation’s establishments, promote democratic governance, tackle previous human rights abuses and set up respect for the rule of legislation.
One of many ways in which the UN has helped to assist this transition is thru the UN Secretary-Common’s Peacebuilding Fund, which supplied funds geared toward crucial areas, comparable to safety sector and justice reform.
The UN’s shut collaboration with the authorities, beneath President Barrow, laid the foundations for 2 main establishments in December 2017: The Nationwide Human Rights Fee and the Reality, Reconciliation and Reparations Fee (TRRC), which is made up of 11 individuals, and designed to replicate the various ethnic, non secular, and gender make-up of the nation.
UNDP Gambia
Tombong Njie suffered because of the ‘witch hunts’ instigated by former President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh.
Bringing again hope to The Gambia
In January 2019, public reality and reconciliation hearings started, with victims and perpetrators giving their private testimonies. The hearings and outreach actions generated nice public curiosity and broad widespread participation, together with youth and civil society.
“The TRRC is essential. I’ve seen the way it has helped individuals empathize with us, figuring out that we have been intentionally and wrongfully accused,” mentioned Pa Demba Bojang, a sufferer of the witch hunt marketing campaign.
“Individuals now aspire to reside in peace on this nation. Victims’ lives have grow to be higher due to the assistance they obtained from the challenge. The challenge has introduced again hope in The Gambia,” mentioned one other sufferer.
The hearings have been broadcast reside to on tv, radio, and on-line platforms comparable to YouTube and Fb. They’d not have made for simple viewing, protecting incidents of human rights violations, together with torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrests, illegal detention/killings, and sexual and gender-based violence.
UNDP The Gambia
Ya Jai Bahoum, a sufferer of the repressive regime of Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh
Supporting the victims
The UN Peacebuilding Fund performed a key position in enabling the hearings to happen. It enabled the Fee’s workplace to open, supplied key gear, technical assist to the Commissioners and the employees, and helped guarantee victims entry to the TRRC proceedings, which concerned reaching out to these in probably the most distant areas of the nation.
Some 2,000 individuals benefitted from the Sufferer Participation Assist Fund, which supplied psychosocial assist and important medical interventions. As well as, 30 individuals have been supplied with complete witness safety.
Past the hearings, over 34,000 Gambians have concerned in outreach missions on the transitional justice course of, and brought half in workshops, held in shut partnership with civil society organizations, non secular and conventional leaders.
Because it started holding hearings, the Fee’ participatory and accessible course of has helped to foster nationwide reconciliation. “We have been wrongfully accused. Some pointed fingers at us, however TRRC helped us overcome this disgrace,” mentioned one other sufferer of the witch hunt marketing campaign.
