http://gainako.com/?p=603 Ambassador Jackson McDonald, PresidentJefferson Waterman International LLC1401 K Street, NW
Suite 400Washington, DC 20005Dear Ambassador McDonald, Re: THE GAMBIA – State Department’s Human Rights Practices for 2012 The U.S. State Department’s Report on the human practices in The Gambia for 2012 ( henceforth referred to as the Report ) is out and it does not make pleasant reading.  The report prepared by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor is the most scathing of any report emanating from the U.S. Government on the human condition in The Gambia.   Even the legitimacy of the APRC government of Yahya Jammeh seems to be suspect when the Report cited, in the opening paragraph, the fact that 6 of the 7 Opposition Parties boycotted the National Assembly elections ” in protest of government intervention and intimidation of opponents, including ” instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.” On the other important human rights issues, the United States view, represented by the Report’s observations and conclusions, is that The Government of Yahya Jammeh is a premier abuser of human rights in Africa, if not the world.  The regime stands accused of “harassment and abuse of its critics; torture, arrests and detention, and sometimes forced disappearances of its citizens; and executions as a result of a flawed, problematic and politically charged legal process.” The 2011 Report reads like a horror story, and it is, indeed, a horror story that the government you tried to represent must be held responsible.  For example, the Report lists other human rights abuses of the Jammeh regime including ” poor prison conditions; denial of due process; prolonged pretrial and incommunicado detentions, restrictions on privacy and freedoms of speech, press and assembly; violence against women and girls including female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C); forced child marriage; trafficking in persons; child prostitution; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals; and child labor.”  We hereby attach a copy of the full report titled : The Gambia 2012 Human Rights Report with the hope that you and your company will sever all remaining ties you may have maintained with the Government of The Gambia led by Yahya Jammeh.  We further hope that, in future, Jefferson Waterman International and its subsidiaries will take account of the human rights records of prospective clients, wherever they may be, before signing them on.  It makes good business, and it is certainly the right thing to do for a respectable American company like yours. 
Link to The Report : http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/204335.pdf Sincerely yours, Sidi Sanneh cc. Secretary of State. Hon. John Kerry     Senator Mark Warner      Senator Tim Kaine     change.org     Washington Post     New York Times     Gambia online newspapers                                       

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