{"id":39241,"date":"2018-10-15T07:40:41","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T05:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html"},"modified":"2018-10-15T07:40:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T05:40:41","slug":"what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html","title":{"rendered":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Gambia officially inaugurates its Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission this Monday October 15. The Commission is one of the key promises of President Adama Barrow after his election victory over Yahya Jammeh in December 2016. It aims to shed light on the abuses committed during Jammeh\u2019s 22-year dictatorial rule in this small country of two million inhabitants. But it is still unclear exactly what form the Commission will take and how it will work.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>On October 4, the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission finally got a chairman, former UN official Lamin Sise. He will have the difficult task of heading a commission that must, it seems, now race against time to meet the rising expectations of the population \u2013 to the point that the first public hearings could take place very early. \u201cThe first hearings will no doubt take place before the end of October, because our investigation team has already identified witnesses and took their statements three or four weeks ago,\u201d declared the commission\u2019s executive secretary Baba Galleh Jallow. With the commissioners still getting to know each other, this would be unprecedentedly soon. Joanna Rice, who represents the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) in the Gambia, thinks the Commission is in a delicate situation. \u201cIt will be difficult to find a balance between time to reflect on priorities, how to use the two year mandate, how to protect witnesses, and the pressure to go fast, to show concrete action,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h3>Format still unclear<\/h3>\n<p>Even the format of these first hearings is not clear. There are few indications in the Commission\u2019s mandate, which was approved by parliament in December 2017. The commissioners therefore have a wide margin for interpretation and will have to make choices. A post of lead counsel to the Commission has been created, following a decision by the justice ministry. It appointed Essa Faal, who has worked at the International Criminal Court in the office of the Prosecutor and then as a defence lawyer. Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou wanted to reassure people about the appointment. \u201cThe Commission is not a tribunal, and the lead counsel is there to support and guide the hearings,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will not be an interrogation. Victims will have room to express themselves, and he can help reframe their testimonies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Executive secretary Baba Galleh Jallow says the Commission will not copy the model of another commission investigating Jammeh\u2019s financial dealings whose hearings, similar to those of a court, would not suit victims. \u201cWe want the people testifying to feel comfortable, to want to tell the truth,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt\u2019s more a sharing of experiences to help heal the country of its wounds, so everyone knows what happened and there cannot be a return to dictatorship.\u201d For while the Commission aims to establish the truth about serious human rights abuses, it also hopes to go further with the launch of a national dialogue campaign targeting transformation of Gambian society.<\/p>\n<h3>Reparations<\/h3>\n<p>Finding the right balance between truth, justice and reconciliation has been a challenge for other commissions of this kind. John Charles Njie, vice-president of the transitional justice technical committee set up by the justice ministry, is calling on behalf of civil society for a model that fits the country. \u201cTraditionally here people don\u2019t tell their personal stories in public, they do it rather within a closed environment,\u201d he says. \u201cWe are a small society where everyone knows each other, so someone who talks could easily be stigmatized.\u00a0The Commission must take this culture into account.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Gambian Commission wants to innovate especially in one area: reparations are to be attributed directly by the institution. But this provision also raises questions. \u201cAttribution of reparations is not clearly defined in the Commission\u2019s mandate,\u201d says Sheriff Kijera, head of the Victims\u2019 Centre, an NGO set up after Jammeh\u2019s departure. \u201cWe hope they will be granted on the basis of the victims\u2019 needs, for example health care or school fees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>So while the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission may have been inaugurated, there are still many questions about its form and strategy.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"boorder: 1px solid #ccc;\"><div class=\"articleLink articleLink--editorRecommanded articleLink--textInImage articleLink--textTop\" style=\"\">\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\r\n\t\t\t<div class=\"articleLinkSurTitle\">Recommended reading<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<a class=\"articleLinkImageLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39072-truth-commission-meets-with-gambians.html\"><div class=\"articleLinkImageContainer \"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/272104f2fc674aead15d4855eedf8322-540x360.jpg\" class=\"articleLinkImage backgroundImageTag w-100 wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/div><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39072-truth-commission-meets-with-gambians.html\" class=\"articleLinkTitle articleLinkTitle--default\">\r\n\t\t\tTruth Commission meets with Gambians\r\n\t\t<\/a>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gambia officially inaugurates its Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission this Monday October 15. The Commission is one of the key promises of President Adama Barrow after his election victory over Yahya Jammeh in December 2016. It aims to shed light on the abuses committed during Jammeh\u2019s 22-year dictatorial rule in this small country of two [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":65376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"ji_location":[2509],"class_list":["post-39241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-truth-commissions","ji_location-gambia"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3.1 (Yoast SEO v25.3.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission? - JusticeInfo.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Gambia officially inaugurates its Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission this Monday October 15. The Commission is one of the key promises of President Adama Barrow after his election victory over Yahya Jammeh in December 2016. It aims to shed light on the abuses committed during Jammeh\u2019s 22-year dictatorial rule in this small country of two [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JusticeInfo.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"623\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Claire Bargel\u00e8s\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@justiceinfonet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Claire Bargel\u00e8s\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"solivri\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e53cba1629e2e66f3fc1821d3091865\"},\"headline\":\"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\"},\"wordCount\":689,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Truth Commissions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\",\"name\":\"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission? - JusticeInfo.net\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":623},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"name\":\"JusticeInfo.net\",\"description\":\"For justice to be done, it must be seen\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Justice Info\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Justice Info\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Claire Bargel\u00e8s\",\"url\":\"\/en\/?s=Claire Bargel\u00e8s\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission? - JusticeInfo.net","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?","og_description":"Gambia officially inaugurates its Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission this Monday October 15. The Commission is one of the key promises of President Adama Barrow after his election victory over Yahya Jammeh in December 2016. It aims to shed light on the abuses committed during Jammeh\u2019s 22-year dictatorial rule in this small country of two [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html","og_site_name":"JusticeInfo.net","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","article_published_time":"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":623,"url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Claire Bargel\u00e8s","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_site":"@justiceinfonet","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Claire Bargel\u00e8s","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html"},"author":{"name":"solivri","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/6e53cba1629e2e66f3fc1821d3091865"},"headline":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?","datePublished":"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html"},"wordCount":689,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg","articleSection":["Truth Commissions"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html","name":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission? - JusticeInfo.net","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg","datePublished":"2018-10-15T05:40:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/b122e084b054493aaa5f0094a1563434.jpg","width":900,"height":623},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/39241-what-model-for-gambia-truth-commission.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What model for Gambia\u2019s truth commission?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","name":"JusticeInfo.net","description":"For justice to be done, it must be seen","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#organization","name":"Justice Info","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/justiceinfo_logo-trans_1200x1200px.png","width":1199,"height":1200,"caption":"Justice Info"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JusticeInfo\/","https:\/\/x.com\/justiceinfonet","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/justice-info","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyCEsARodyuWtkWyhn-e7pA"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Bargel\u00e8s","url":"\/en\/?s=Claire Bargel\u00e8s"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39241"},{"taxonomy":"ji_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.justiceinfo.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ji_location?post=39241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}