By Musa Saho
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he Attorney General’s Chamber and the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, 25th May, 2022 launched the Government White Paper on the Report of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) at a ceremony held at the Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara International Conference Centre in Bijilo.
The highly anticipated event was graced by diverse audience of government officials, international partners, members of the diplomatic and consular corps, president of the Supreme Islamic Council, leaders of political parties, representatives of CSO’s and victim-led organisations, the media among other dignitaries.
In his opening statement, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Honorable Dawda A. Jallow informed the audience that out of over 265 recommendations made by the Commission, the Government rejected only two, leaving the rest of the recommendations earmarked for implementation.
“An acceptance rate of over 95% of all recommendations is unprecedented in the history of truth commissions and I am convinced that we now have a clear road map towards reconciliation, justice, reparations and ensuring non-reoccurrence”, Mr. Jallow said.
He affirmed that truth-seeking process will be useless, if comprehensive legislative and institutional reforms are not put in place; noting that the implementation of the recommendations should be anchored on broad based reforms.
The Justice Minister intimated that the government has made available fifty Million Dalasis (D50M) to the TRRC for the payment of interim reparations and has earmarked about D150, 000,000 in this year’s budget for reparation. He further expressed government’s continuous commitment towards mobilizing additional financial resources for this process.
However, he warned that reconciliation must be balanced with the need to ensure accountability and that perpetrators who bear the greatest responsibility for human rights abuses will be made to face justice and answer for their crimes.
The Minister of Justice also announced that the July 22ndArchwill be renamed as “Never Again Memorial Arch” with a plaque highlighting names of victims in honor of all those who suffered gross human rights abuses and violations under the regime of former president Yahya Jammeh.
Speaking earlier on the occasion, Spokesperson of the Government, Ebrima Sankareh, revealed government’s intention to implement a robust communication strategy that will close the information gap, enhance access to information and ensure the popularisation of the TRRC Report and the Government White Paper to the grassroots.