The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique and efficient process which involves a review of the human rights record. It "has great potential to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world.” As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

Gambia, member of the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH/WAHRDN) and member of the UN, was reviewed on Wednesday 10, february 2010 in Geneva by the UN human rights council. Two days after the reviewing, the working group adopted the national report on Gambia. Read the report made by the editorship of the westafricadefenders.org.

In fact, Gambia was represented by a 16-member delegation and headed by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mrs. Marie Saine-Firdaus. The documents required is made of national report (A/HRC/WG.6/7/GMB/1), a compilation of UN information (A/HRC/WG.6/7/GMB/2) and a summary of stakeholders’ information (A/HRC/WG.6/7/GMB/3).
The national report was presented by H.E. Mrs. Marie Saine-Firdaus. She Highlighted on the death penalty and said that it is limited to the crime of murder and treason resulting in death. As far as human rights are concerned, she showed how Gambia’s constitution provides a whole chapter on fundamental human rights and freedom including civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.

In addition, she emphasized that Health is not guaranteed as a fundamental human right but as a directive principle of State policy. Election, being part of human rights, Mrs. Marie Saine-Firdaus said that Gambia has an Independant Electoral Commission which conducts the electoral process for free and fair elections. She added that her country has adopted a Trafficking in Persons Act.
Following the presentation of the report, an interactive discussion was held. Number of States took part in the discussion, 29 member states and 26 observer states.

As positive achievements, it is noticed that measures has been taken in the safeguard of the rights of the child (Child Trafficking Law and Children’s Act); efforts to combat female genital mutilation and promote increased empowerment of women; comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy and efforts to ensure full access to education was made.

However, issues and questions raised are the proofs that Gambia still have many to do regarding human rights that is the reintroduction of the death penalty in 1995; domestic violence, female genital mutilation and discrimination against women; independence of the judiciary; independence of media and freedom of expression; protection of human rights defenders and journalists; unlawful arrests, extra-judicial executions, ill-treatment and torture; enforced disappearances; human trafficking and Criminalization of consensual same sex intercourse.
The concerned country explained the lack of effectiveness on the questions raised by saying that, regarding the death penalty, the capital punishment is rarely applied and there’s no death sentence under the current administration. Concerning the independence of the judiciary, Gambia stated that Judges are removed only for inability or misconduct and that a Code of Conduct exists.
Freedom of expression is, according to Gambia, restricted only for security reasons and so the Independent Electoral Commission ensures free and fair elections. Human rights defenders enjoy the security guaranteed to them by the States. Different ethnic and religious groups co-exist peacefully.
Talking about homosexuality, Gambia sustained that values vary from one culture to another, and sexual orientation is not deemed a universal human right in Gambia.

As it is customary to do it, the council made 10 recommendations on which Gambia have to make improvement for the coming years:
1. Combat violence (including domestic violence) against women; eliminate the practice of female genital mutilation.
2. Reinforce the protection of child, notably against early marriages and sexual exploitation.
3. Guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
4. Establish a moratorium on death penalty with a view to its abolition.
5. Ensure the protection of human rights defenders.
6. Take legal steps to promote free and independent media and to protect journalists.
7. Ratify the Convention Against Torture.
8. Ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons Against Enforced Disappearance.
9. Withdraw legislation that criminalizes sexual activity between consenting adults and combat violence based on sexual orientation.
10. Set up a National Human Rights Institution.


Reminder

Like Spain and Kenya, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Guinea, three countries of the West African Human Rights Defenders Network  (ROADDH/WAHRDN), will go before the human Rights' council of the UN to present their reports successively during the 7^th and 8^th session of the Working Group of the Universal Periodic Review. At this very moment, Gambia is being examined by the Council of human rights. The troika list is composed of Cameroon, Jordania and Ukrainia.The adoption of the report on Gambia is to be done today Friday, 12^th February 2010 at 12 o'clock am.

Indeed, the situation of Gambia is one of the greatest concerns as far as the violations of human rights are concerned. The public statement by the President of this country saying they would’nt condone people posing as human rights defenders to the detriment of the country and if they were affiliated with any human rights group, they should be assured that their security and personal safety would not be guaranteed by his Government and so they were ready to kill saboteurs.
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Following these remarks deemed scandalous for a head of state, the experts on Human Rights requested the President of Gambia to make another public statement in which he stressed the importance and legitimacy of the work of Human Rights defenders and their essential contributions to strengthening democracy and the rule of law in conflict with what had been reported. Unfortunately, that request was swept away by J. Jammey for whom human rights are a different kind of ideology likely to imperil his ‘’throne’’. Fortunately, this ideology is the sine qua nun condition for any state to be recognized internationally credible.
All these are evidence of non-compliance of the many conventions that Gambia has signed.

The West African Human Rights Defenders Network (ROADDH / WAHRDN), hoped that the members of the Council will take this opportunity to draw the attention of the international community to human rights issues the most alarming in the countries examined and make appropriate recommendations in order to enhance compliance by those states in the field of human rights.



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The Gambia (officially the Republic of The Gambia), commonly known as Gambia, is a country in Western Africa. The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, bordered to the north, east, and south by Senegal, and has a small coast on the Atlantic Ocean in the west. Its borders roughly correspond to the path of the Gambia River, the nation's namesake, which flows through the country's center and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Its size is almost 10,500 km² with an estimated population of 1,700,000.

On 18 February 1965, Gambia was granted independence from the United Kingdom and joined The Commonwealth. Banjul is Gambia's capital, but the largest conurbation is Serrekunda. The Gambia shares historical roots with many other west African nations in the slave trade, which was key to the establishment of a colony on the Gambia river, first by the Portuguese and later by the British. Since gaining independence in 1965, The Gambia has enjoyed relative stability, with the exception of a brief period of military rule in 1994.

A coastal enclave surrounded by Senegal, with a population of only one and one-half million, Gambia is one of Africa’s smallest countries. Various indigenous languages are spoken as well as English. Both Islam and Christianity are represented in the population.
The absence of substantial mineral resources has made Gambia heavily dependent on peanut exports and vulnerable to the fluctuations in the world price of the crop. The President of Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, won 53% votes in a 2001 election. While this election was not truly transparent, it was accepted by foreign observers as free and fair.

Jammeh is a repressive ruler who has had students killed for demonstrating in support of better education. There are 19 HRD institutions, with about 75 frontline advocates. However, legal support, logistical capacity (computers, internet linkage and transportation), funding, and political contacts and networking are weak. The reason is that the government harasses and intimidates journalists and HRDs to instill fear in them. Specific cases of persecution of HRDs include the following: Mohamed Lamin Sillah, the Secretary General of Amnesty International Section in the Gambia, was arrested on 21 October 2001 by the National Intelligence Agency, for an interview with BBC Focus on Africa where he mentioned a violent incident that took place after the result of the 18 October 2001 presidential election was announced. He was later released. Lamin Joof, a student leader who had helped organize a peaceful demonstration on 22 October 2001 that left 14 people dead and a dozen others wounded when security forces used excessive force to break up the demonstration, was hunted and had to flee the country. He now lives in exile.

Over the past five years, about 29 HRDs have left the country to escape persecution. Close to 400 persons, including close family, are estimated to be potentially at risk.

The West African Network for Human Rights Defenders with its NGO partners have set themselves as action lines:

* The mobilization and activation of the organizations of civil society in order to give visibility to their actions.

* The creation of a framework of cooperation between organizations of civil society in the Gambia to develop ways to protect and benefit the chain of  the defenders solidarity of the sub region.

* The place and role of media in the promotion and protection of human rights defenders.

* The organizations defending the rights of people living with HIV / AIDS. Challenges and responsibilities in the Gambian context.

* How to strengthen associations of media in the protection of media professionals face the abuse they suffer.

* Exfiltration technics of defenders in danger in their countries.