PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Accountability for Human Rights Abuses in The Gambia (20 July 2021)

That this House welcomes the imminent publication of the report by the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission of the Gambia, following publicly televised testimony for over two years from victims and former officials, including members of an elite death squad, implicating former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh in the killing and torture of political opponents, the murder of almost 60 West African migrants, the rape and sexual assault of women and a sham HIV treatment programme resulting in over 30 deaths; hopes the report recommendations will be implemented, and the criminal prosecution of Jammeh and his main accomplices will follow; notes that since the end of Jammeh’s brutal 22 year dictatorship in 2017, progress in restoring fundamental rights has yet to be consolidated, for instance by ensuring future elections are free and fair and the harassment of journalists and other civil society representatives by the security forces ended; regrets current Gambian President Adama Barrow did not step down as originally agreed with the coalition that backed him and that corruption, female genital mutilation and child marriage remain serious problems; applauds the imposition of sanctions by the UK Government and others on former Gambian President Jammeh, his wife and the former director-general of the country’s National Intelligence Agency; and calls on the Government to continue supporting the Gambia’s democratic transition, to assist with implementing the report recommendations and to back the criminal prosecution of Jammeh and others responsible for gross abuses there.

Sponsored by:
Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party)