By Binta Jaiteh
At the National Assembly held yesterday, 5th September, in which almost all members gathered to deliberate on a Motion – Agreement between the government of The Gambia and the Swiss Federal Council on cooperation in Migration Matters, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Gambians Abroad officially applied for the withdrawal of the Motion based on the fact that all due processes are not executed.
This withdrawal has caused noise among the members of the parliament at the house.
The Minister noted that some requirements and procedures should be followed before a motion is sent to the parliament for the ratification of an International Agreement, “This includes being discussed at cabinet level and the Foreign Service Committee.”
Noting that there is a need “to pursue our national interest in whatever agreement we sign before ratifying it,” adding that there are parts of the agreement that need to be fulfilled by the parties before it could be ratified by parliament.
He shed light on the good practice of the document that it is a standard operating procedure for managing the return of Gambians who have exhausted the right to stay within the European Union. “It is a readmission arrangement, memorandum of understanding under modalities for return which was not signed by either party and it is not international agreement that would require the National Assembly ratification,” he disclosed.
According to him, it was agreed by both parties in 2018, as an MOU and its implementation started in 2019 with the development of operational conclusion with return modalities. He continued that the operational conclusion reflects the outcome of the MOU to ensure proper implementation of the good practices on returns between the Gambia and the EU.
He said, as a government, they developed a coherent policy in managing irregular migration as enshrined in the national migration policy 2020 to 2030 consequently it is the government’s responsibility to discourage the young folk from embarking on such dangerous journeys to Europe.
He added that the government has not and will not arrange or facilitate the return of anyone without due process being followed.
In ensuring comprehensive and mutually beneficial benefits on migration with EU and member states, he said, The Gambia has been engaging with the EU and this engagement will continue in a bit to consider the plight of our nationals that are currently within the EU jurisdiction and has been law-abiding and to consider them for reintegration.
The removal or return of Gambian nationals from any European member state is exclusively the purview and authority of that country while under international customary law, “the Gambia as a country of origin for any of our nationals who have exhausted all their legal remedy or stay in that country has the responsibility and obligation to readmit them. “The Gambia has been a beacon of hope and a good example for democracy and hence for the partner it is our considered view that this should be a time to offer more support to Gambia and not sanctions.”
Currently, according to him, migration continues to be an important foreign policy issue for the government and the “Ministry is currently facing huge challenges on the repatriation of stranded Gambian migrants and we need to engage on a national conversation about irregular migration,” which has caused the lives of some able youth.
Fa Bakary Tombong Jatta, speaker of the NA said they would request that before documents are sent to the assembly they should be seriously checked by the executive to ensure that they follow all the relevant procedures before it is tabled at the parliament and “we urged the executive to do that.”
