UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice to visit Gambia

By Bakary Ceesay

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence Mr Fabián Salvioli, will conduct an official country visit to the Gambia from 20 to 27 November 2019 at the invitation of the   government.

The purpose of the visit is to assess measures taken by the authorities in The Gambia in the areas of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence - the four pillars of the Special Rapporteur's mandate - that have been adopted to address the serious human rights violations committed during the previous regime, seeking to have a broad view of the various initiatives taken, identify good practices, gaps and shortcomings and formulate recommendations in that regard.

The Special Rapporteur will adopt a constructive and supportive approach and make practical public policy observations and recommendations. 

During his visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with state authorities, various non-governmental organizations dealing with issues related to his mandate and with representatives of international or regional organizations, the diplomatic community, victims, and civil society. He will also conduct a field visit to places relevant to his mandate.

At the end of his visit, the Special Rapporteur will also hold a high-level briefing with the Government of The Gambia to share his preliminary findings and present his end of mission statement and a press conference at which he will share his initial observations with the media.

The outcome of this mission is the submission of a report on his country visit to The Gambia to the 45^th session of the Human Rights Council, in September 2020.

The report will set out, analyse the Special Rapporteur’s impressions during the visit, and make recommendations to the Government and other actors on measures needed to adequately address past violations.