The African Center was established by an act of Gambian Parliament . Its mandate is to promote Human Rights, It doesn't have the mandate to protect Human Rights. This is why its work is centered on organising seminars, conferences etc, with the sole purpose of educating.It is funded by various organisations around the world including the Gambia government. The intended recipient of its work are the Africans. The organisation that has a protective mandate is the African Commission on Human and peoples' Rights which was established by the OAU.
I hope this helps.
Pasamba jow
>From: [log in to unmask]
>Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: African Centre on democracy and human rights
>Date: Sat, 17 Mar 2001 08:07:56 EST
>
>I'd very much appreciate if any member of this list can help with the
>following information regarding African Center on Democracy and human rights
>studies located in The Gambia.
>1-Who chartered the organization
>2-What is it's mandate
>3-How is it funded
>4-How is it staffed
>5-Who is the intended recipient of it's work
>I ask these questions because they are located in a country whose people for
>the last six years have been beset with unprecedented creulty , subvertion of
>democracy and the abrogation of the rule of law and yet the center is
>gleefully accepting ill-gotten largesse from none other than Yahya Jammeh. It
>is simply not true that the centre isn't aware of this government's abysmal
>record on the democracy and human rights of the Gambian people. The nations
>independent newspapers and politicians have catalogued each and every abuse
>and the U. S State department has released what amounts to annual indictments
>on these very subjects that supposedly lies at the heart of the centres
>activities. Accepting personal gifts from an unreconstructed tyrant that
>purports to advance the cause of the center constitutes an effective negation
>of everything the center is supposed to stand for. The elation and gratitude
>expressed by the Centres leaders in receiving a new Pajero sport utility and
>the President's very unconvincing claim that he wasn't looking for a quid pro
>quo illustrate an incestuous relationship between oppressor and advocate. The
>Centre's credibility and functionality lies in it's strong advocacy which is
>necessarily predicated on relying only on prescribed funding streams that are
>independent and removed from the entities and people they impact. By
>accepting personal gifts from Yahya, the center has in effect turned into a
>compromised entity. They ought to return the vehicle and maintain the
>integrity of their center by not cavorting with dictators and tyrants. If
>central to their mission is the propagation of democracy and human rights in
>a continent that has seen very little of both, they must begin by running
>their outfit ethically and strive to bring positive change. There can be no
>better example of a place in need of positive change than their home base. It
>is appalling to hear one of the leaders upon receipt of the vehicle pledge to
>lobby other African leaders for a similar approach to their Organization.
>These people ought to park and go wherever they come from and leave the
>necessary advocacy to people like Muhamedlamin Sillah who we know actually
>care about democracy and human rights.
>Karamba
>
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