The Gambia - Universal Periodic Review

UPR34, November 5, 2019
Canada by recommendations

Background

According to UPR Info, a non-profit, non-governmental organization that tracks the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, The Gambia received 324 recommendations in the first two cycles of the UPR. Of these recommendations, 161 were accepted (an acceptance rate of approximatively 50%). Canada’s previous recommendations to The Gambia related to freedom of expression, sexual orientation and gender identity, child rights, and women’s rights.

The end of the ruling dictatorship in 2016 signalled the Gambia’s determination to restore democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights in their country. The implementation of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission marked a profound break from systematic violations perpetrated by the former regime and opened the door to transitional justice.

The Gambian government has implemented a series of reforms across state institutions and undertaken a review of the Constitution involving Gambian society. The Gambia has also made progress in signing and ratifying numerous core international human rights treaties since 2017, notably ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. Nonetheless, the death penalty remains in the Constitution and Criminal Code.

The incorporation of gender equality into the agenda of President Barrow's administration, including the creation of a Ministry of Women's Affairs, Children and Social Welfare, among other measures, is crucial to curbing gender-based violence.

However, not all of Gambian society is fully benefiting from these advances. Several NGOs report that people in the LGBTI community continue to be targeted by discriminatory laws, stigmatization and arbitrary arrests by local authorities.

Despite government efforts, women still have limited access to education and employment opportunities and are poorly represented in democratically elected bodies. Girls are often subjected to genital mutilation and forced early marriages, as reported by the National Human Rights Commission. According to the World Food Program, 22.9% of children between 6-59 months suffer from chronic malnutrition, 48% of the population live below the national poverty line and 8% are food insecure. The return of exiled journalists and the release of political prisoners indicate that the space for freedom of the press and freedom of opinion and expression is expanding, but in the absence of legal and institutional reforms, progress is precarious and slow. 

Recommendations

Thank you, Mr. President.

We congratulate The Gambian people for its peaceful transition to democracy and the new government for taking steps to focus attention on the protection and promotion of human rights.

Canada recommends that The Gambia:

1. Follow through on the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission so that those who are deemed responsible for human rights violations during the previous administration are held to account.
2. Implement and enforce the Domestic Violence Act of 2013, Sexual Offences Act of 2013 and Women’s Act of 2010.
3. Reform the Criminal Code to protect freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
4. Repeal all legislation that criminalizes sexual activities between consenting adults and take all necessary measures to prevent discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression.

Canada congratulates The Gambia on its recent accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and encourages The Gambia to give the National Human Rights Commission the necessary tools to act independently and effectively.