By Musa Saho
The Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR), and The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO), on Tuesday, 5th April 2022 launched the MoJ-CSO Platform and coordination workshop for Government and Civil Society Organization representatives on implementing the TRRC recommendations.
Held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Center in Bijilo, the workshop targeted stakeholders from Gambia Government entities, the National Human Rights Commission and selected Civil Society Organization representatives working on transitional justice issues inThe Gambia.
In his opening statement, the Minister of Justice, Honorable Dawda A. Jallow, said the purpose of the coordination workshop was to promote and prepare for acoordinated and holistic approach to truth, justice and social cohesion goals that can give effect to the TRRC recommendations, and to ultimately produce a coordination frameworkfor the government’s white paper.
According to him, the coordination workshop will enhance the awareness of civil society’s current and upcoming work in support of the government’s transitional justice goals and avail ways of coordinating activities towards the attainment of their common goals.
Setting up of a robust consultation and coordination mechanism, he opined, will be crucial in fostering effective implementation of the TRRC report.
The Justice Minister further informed the participants that the forum would be a standing body, which will meet at periodic intervals to consult, exchange ideas and manage the coordination of post-TRRC implementation with CSOs to ensure that the implementation process is well coordinated in order to avoid duplication of efforts.
“CSOs were one of the beacons of hope during the 22-year dictatorship and they have played a very important role as partners in the transitional justice process,” he said.
He therefore urged partners working in the transitional justice to ensure that the transitional justice process in The Gambia is victim-centered and does not end without the completion of the TRRC.
Minister Jallow finally thanked stakeholders like the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience (ICSC), The Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth and Reconciliation (GIJTR), and The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO), for their unwavering support and hope that the coordination workshop will achieve the desired objectives of fostering increased coordination towards the effective implementation of the TRRC recommendations.