Culled from The Independent: Kudos to OJ for standing up to tyranny and 
injustice. Someday, somehow, these criminals must pay for their dastardly acts.



Gambia Gov't Faces More Indictment: OJ's Human Rights Complaints 
'Well-Founded'


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The Independent (Banjul)
DOCUMENT
December 15, 2003 
Posted to the web December 15, 2003 
Banjul 
The Inter-Parliamentary Union based in Geneva, Switzerland has indicted the 
Gambia Government for failing to respond to what it called genuine allegations 
of human rights abuses meted out on Omar Jallow or OJ of the People's 
Progressive Party. A case between OJ and The Gambia government heard by the 
organisation's governing council has gone in the politician's favour. 
An October 3, statement arising from a resolution unanimously adopted by the 
union's governing council catalogued the rash of abuses on the PPP politician, 
recalling his political persecution from 1995 to 2002 when he faced varying 
degrees of politically-motivated harassments from the confiscation of his 
passport to his incarceration. 

The resolution is herewith reproduced below. 
The Governing Council of the inter-parliamentaruy Union, taking account of a 
communication from the source dated 4 September 2003.
Recalling that Mr. Omar Jallow was arbitrarily detained from October 1995 to 
4 November 1996, reportedly for planning a peaceful demonstration, without any 
charges ever having been brought against him; he abandoned his claim for 
compensation on account of section 13 of schedule 2 to the 1997 Constitution, 
which grants immunity from prosecution for all office-holders of the former Armed 
Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC); considering that, on 16 September 
2002, Mr. Jallow was reportedly again arrested and interrogated for about four 
hours, before being released by officers of the National Intelligence Agency 
on account of statement he had made to private newspapers,
Recalling that Decree 89 of 14 August 1996 (Political Activities Resumption 
Decree) prohibited certain political parties and all persons who held the 
offices of president, Vice president and Ministers in the Gambia during the thirty 
(30) years preceding 22 July 1994 from joining any political party, addressing 
any political gathering or expressing publicly any political opinion; the 
Decree concerned Mr. Jallow, who was a Minister during the period in question, 
and prevented him from participating in politics; recalling furthermore that on 
31 August 2001, the speaker reported that the Government had repealed Decree 
89, Recalling further that on 22 March 2002 Mr. Jallow's passport was 
confiscated without any motives being given; the authorities ignored an order issued by 
the High Court on 8 July 2002 to return the passport to him immediately; 
considering that only on 26 September 2002 did the authorities obey the Court 
order when they returned the passport to him,
Bearing in mind that the Gambia is party to the International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 2, paragraphs 3, of which guarantees 
the right to effective remedy for any person whose right or freedoms under the 
Covenant have been violated, Article 9, paragraphs 1 and 5, of which 
enshrines the right to liberty and the right to compensation for anyone who has been 
the victim of unlawful arrest or detention, and Articles 12, 19, and 21 of 
which set out the right to freedom of movement, of expression and of assembly,
Recalling that, according to the Vienna Declaration and programme of Action 
which the international community adopted at the World Conference on Human 
Rights in 1993, " State should abrogate legislation leading to impunity for those 
responsible for grave violations of human rights such as torture and 
prosecutor such violations, thereby providing a firm basis for the rule of law"; 
bearing in mind that impunity itself constitutes a violation of international law,
1.Deplores the lack of cooperation from the authorities, in particular 
parliament;
2.Notes that while the August 2001 abrogation of Decree 89, which had 
deprived Mr. Jallow of his political rights for five years, enable him to resume his 
political activities, section 13 of schedule 2 to the 1997 Constitution, which 
prevents him from obtaining redress for his arbitrary detention, remains in 
force,
3.Stresses that it falls to parliament to lay the foundations for the fight 
against impunity by establishing an effective legal framework for the purpose 
and by ensuring that the executive branch complies therewith, in addition to 
honoring its international obligations it his field;
4.Deplores the failure of parliament to avail itself of its legislative 
function to abrogate section 13 of schedule 2 to the 1997 Constitution and thus to 
ensure compliance of national law with the Gambia's international legal 
obligation;
5.Is compelled to conclude that, in failing to abrogate legislation 
enshrining impunity and to provide redress for the victims of human rights violations 
committed under AFPRC rule, the State of the Gambia is violating Mr. Jallow's 
right to liberty and to compensation for arbitrary arrest and detention; in 
addition, by depriving Mr. Jallow of his passport without any legal basis, it has 
violated his right to freedom of movement;
6.Calls on the authorities of the Gambia to comply fully with their 
obligations under national and international law and ensure respect for the human 
rights of all citizens, including members of the opposition; calls in particular on 
Parliament to avail itself of its constitutional prerogatives as legislator 
and overseer of the executive branch to prevent human rights abuse in the 
future and thus assume to the full its role as a guardian of human rights;
Relevant Links

West Africa 
Gambia 
Human Rights 



7.Request the Secretary General to bring this resolution to the notice of the 
competent authorities, the sources and relevant international organization;
8.Decides to close this case.



"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are 
evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
 - Albert Einstein 
"
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change 
the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead 

"When the government fears the people, you have liberty. When the people fear 
the government, you have tyranny." 
- Thomas Jefferson

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" 
- Edmund Burke

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