Gambia

Making love a crime: Criminalization of same-sex conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published by on June 25, 2013

Amnesty International 25 June 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the legal environment and wider context of human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years have seen increasing reports of people being harassed, marginalized, discriminated against and attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This is occurring in countries whose legal systems still condone the criminalization of consensual same-sex behaviour, and in countries where the police and justice systems are failing to prevent these crimes from happening. The continued criminalization of consensual same-sex Read the full article…

Gambia: Operational Guidance Note

Published by on June 21, 2013

UK Home Office 21 June 2013 Introduction 1.1 This document provides UK Border Agency (UKBA) caseworkers with guidance on the nature and handling of the most common types of claims received from nationals/residents of the Gambia, including whether claims are or are not likely to justify the granting of asylum, Humanitarian Protection or Discretionary Leave. Caseworkers must refer to the relevant Asylum Instructions for further details of the policy on these areas. 1.2 Caseworkers must not base decisions on the country of origin information in this guidance; it is included to provide context only and does not purport to be Read the full article…

Gambia: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 For the first time in nearly 30 years the death penalty was carried out, as nine death row inmates were executed without prior notification. The inmates had not exhausted all of their appeals. The authorities also repressed dissent through harassment and intimidation. Security forces routinely made arbitrary arrests and subjected people to arbitrary detention. Prison conditions were appalling. Read full report here.

Gambia: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 9, 2013

Freedom House 9 May 2013 Overview President Yaya Jammeh’s ruling party secured a landslide victory in the March 2012 legislative elections after the majority of opposition parties boycotted the vote. In August, Jammeh ordered the execution of nine of the 47 inmates on death row, without giving them access to a fair trial, attorney, or their families. The government continued to intimidate and persecute journalists, the political opposition, sexual minorities, and members of civil society throughout the year. Read the full report here.

Gambia: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Gambia is a multiparty democratic republic. In November 2011 voters reelected President Alhaji Yahya Jammeh to a fourth term in a peaceful, orderly election; however, international observers criticized it as neither free nor fair. President Jammeh’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), continued to dominate the political landscape, winning an overwhelming majority of National Assembly seats in the parliamentary elections on March 29. Six of the seven opposition parties boycotted the elections in protest over government intervention and intimidation of opponents. There were instances in which elements Read the full article…

Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign & Commonwealth Office Report

Published by on April 1, 2013

UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office April 2013 SECTION IX: Human Rights in the Countries of Concern This section contains our review of the human rights situation in 27 countries where the UK Government has wide-ranging concerns. For this year’s report, we decided to review thoroughly the criteria we use for deciding which countries are of most human rights concern to the UK. We drew on feedback from the Foreign Affairs Committee and consulted with the Foreign Secretary’s Advisory Group on Human Rights in doing so. Our geographical directors, with input from our embassies and high commissions overseas, subsequently assessed all Read the full article…

Gambia: “Gay people are satanic, anti god and anti human”, rants president

Published by on March 30, 2013

Gay Star News 30th March 2013 Gambia’s president Yahya Jammeh, ranted against gay people in his speech addressing the country’s parliament. He called homosexuality ‘satanic’, as well as ‘anti-god, anti-human, and anti-civilization’. Jammeh also used his speech on Thursday evening (28 March) to send out a warning to LGBT people; Saying they are not allowed into the Gambia and that he stood by his previous anti-gay declarations, without any regrets. He ranted: ‘Homosexuality is anti-humanity. I have never seen homosexual chicken, or turkey… ‘If you are convicted of homosexuality in this country, there will be no mercy for offenders. We will put you in Read the full article…

Gambia : government must stop intimidation and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and government critics

Published by on December 21, 2012

21 December 2012 Refworld Joint statement by ARTICLE 19, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative and Amnesty International. After a new wave of arrests, Amnesty International, ARTICLE 19 and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative strongly urge the Gambian government to immediately stop its crackdown on human rights defenders, journalists, government critics, lawyers and anyone who dares to speak out against the government or its policies. Since the beginning of December, at least nine cases of arbitrary arrest and illegal detention have been documented. The government continues to instil fear and use intimidation through arbitrary arrests and detention with the purpose of stifling Read the full article…

Gambia: President Jammeh halts executions amid outcry

Published by on September 15, 2012

BBC News, 15 September 2012 The Gambian president has suspended the execution of prisoners on death row, amid an international outcry. In a statement, Yahya Jammeh said he was responding to “numerous appeals”. Nine prisoners have been executed since his vow in August to clear death row. Another 37 inmates remain on death row. The executions were the first in The Gambia, a popular tourist destination, in 27 years, and human rights groups say it was mostly political prisoners who died. Mr Jammeh’s statement said the suspension of the executions followed numerous appeals at home and abroad, but warned that Read the full article…