By LaminKujabi
Upon her visit to the State House and meeting with President Adama Barrow, last week, the United Kingdom of Great Britain’s Human Rights Ambassador, Her Excellency Madam Rita French said Gambia has been making significant progress since her last visit to the country in 2019. “I was in The Gambia in 2019 when there were lot of activities going on; such as the Truth Reconciliation and Repatriation Commission, consultations on the constitution. I left being very excited about the future of the people of The Gambia,” she asserted.
Madam French noted that “it is fantastic to return to see the progress being made; the successful transition to democracy, and the commitment that continues to be made to deliver on the [Barrow government’s] agenda. Having expressed pleasure to have audience with the President, the ambassador said she received encouraging words from him, and affirmed that government must ensure that it “delivers success in this journey to democracy and promote human rights for everyone”.
She made reference to the vibrancy of the civil society, parliamentary process and national human rights institutions in the country.
She went on: “When I visited here last time obviously there was a lot of consultations and conversations were going on about what had happened in the past and how do we, moving forward, address them”. She said within a short space of time, reports are being published, white papers forwarded and laws have been changed. I am seeing implementation now - we have moved from dialogue and conversation to real changes happening. The journey, she added, is to continue.
The visiting Human Rights ambassador rated The Gambia as representing big in terms of a successful transition to democracy and human rights best approach.