By Binta Jaiteh
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) office has received 41 complaints of alleged human rights violations.
According to the commission’s human rights report, two hundred and fifty-nine (259) complaints of which two hundred and sixteen (216) were from female complainants, were received from a Legal Mobile Aid Clinic organised in rural communities.
“The report initially revealed that the commission had received 41 complaints of alleged rights violations, and 14 of the complaints were against law enforcement agencies; but 24 of the cases were resolved. In 2021, the Commission received a total of forty-one (41) complaints of alleged human rights violations, of which fourteen (14) were against law enforcement agencies namely the Gambia Police Force, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and the Gambia Immigration Department. Out of this total number, twenty-four (24) complaints were resolved,” the commission added.
The rights commission informed that it monitored the entire phases of the 2021 Presidential elections from the voter registration, to nominations, to the campaigns, and the voting.
“Sixty-seven (67) voter registration centres and sixty-nine (69) polling stations were monitored. The election monitoring activities were guided by standard checklists developed in accordance with international human rights standards,” it said.
The Report presented an overview of the state of human rights in The Gambia in 2021 and examined how fundamental human rights and freedoms have been respected by both State and non-State actors, the compatibility of domestic legislation with human rights standards and the State’s obligations under ratified regional and international human rights instruments.
The document identified some of the obstacles barring the enjoyment of human rights and provided recommendations that the State, as the primary duty bearer, can implement to better guarantee fundamental human rights and freedoms and strengthen the rule of law, good governance, accountability, transparency, and due process.
The specific human rights issues captured in the report include unlawful detention, the right to political participation, restrictive media laws, denial, or rejection of permits for assembly, discrimination based on “caste,” stigma and discrimination based on COVID-19, and trafficking in persons, among others.