Thank you Malanding.

Baba

On Sun, Mar 25, 2018, 6:19 AM Malanding Jaiteh <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Baba,
>
> Thanks for this update. Appreciated.
>
>
> Malanding Jaiteh
>
> On 3/25/2018 1:21 AM, Baba Jallow wrote:
>
> *TRRC Update*
>
> By Baba Galleh Jallow
>
> Truth commissions are complicated institutions. Their very existence is
> mired in controversy. Their mandates are often complicated and
> misunderstood by the publics they serve. They are often considered a
> panacea for all the human rights and criminal justice-related issues in
> society. They never manage to mobilize national consensus on their
> rationale for existence. Their mandate period is thus marked by an
> unresolvable controversy over the alleged primacy of criminal prosecution
> versus the alleged primacy of establishing the truth about what happened,
> promoting national reconciliation and healing, and making sure that what
> happened in the past never happens again. Many people scoff at the idea of
> reconciliation, often going so far as to accuse those who establish truth
> commissions of trying to force reconciliation down the throats of victims.
> Their pre-establishment and establishment phases are characterized by all
> manner of tricky situations, ranging from the difficulty of securing
> adequate and timely funding, to the appointment of commissioners and the
> recruitment of staff. Even finding suitable office space is sometimes a
> challenge and some truth commissions spend a long time scouting around for
> a suitable location.
>
> The Gambia’s TRRC is not immune to these challenges. In fact, the TRRC is
> experiencing all of the above as we set out on the tricky path of
> truth-seeking, healing and regeneration as a new and vibrant society that
> will never again tolerate dictatorship. As is to be expected, there is no
> national consensus about the need for the TRRC. While many Gambians support
> the idea of a truth commission, many others maintain strong skepticism as
> to the utility of the TRRC. Some see it as a very good way of helping
> Gambia heal and victims get closure and some form of justice and
> reparations, while others see it as an utter waste of time and resources or
> a phony political ploy to distract from reality. Still others believe that
> the TRRC will start hearings as soon as the commissioners are appointed.
> This view often conflates the entire work of truth commissions with
> hearings, prosecutions and justice for the victims. The idea of
> reconciliation is given little serious thought because of the perceived
> zero sum relationship between victims and perpetrators. In many cases, the
> “never again” aspect of truth commission mandates is never seriously
> considered beyond recommendations for justice reforms and punishments for
> some perpetrators as a form of deterrence.
>
> Like many other truth commissions around the world, the TRRC is faced with
> the problem of securing adequate and timely funding. While the guidelines
> for the selection of commissioners was published several weeks ago and
> calls for nominations published in the media and widely disseminated, the
> recruitment process itself is not going as fast as anticipated. Funding
> expected from the UNDP to finance the recruitment exercise for
> commissioners has been slow in coming. The issue is further complicated by
> the slowness of the work of government. Tedious procedures and bureaucratic
> inaction in some quarters have slowed and complicated the work of the TRRC
> in important respects. Sometimes, government transactions that should take
> no more than a few days drag on for weeks on end, months even for reasons
> that are not easily understood. However, as at the time of writing, it
> seems as if the requisite funds from the UNDP and the Gambia government
> will soon be released to allow the TRRC process to proceed as envisioned.
>
> It must be admitted that even when the funds are secured and available for
> investment in the process, there are still a lot of important things to do
> and challenges to overcome before the hearings of the TRRC begin. The
> recruitment processes for commissioners and staff of the TRRC will take
> some time. As soon as possible, the available positions at the TRRC
> Secretariat will be advertised in the national media.    And after
> commissioners are appointed and staff recruited, they will get some
> orientation on the commission’s mandate and the various roles they have to
> play in the process. And then begins the first steps towards the first
> hearings - statement taking, where victims come forward and tell their
> stories on a one-to-one basis as a preliminary step towards public or
> in-camera testimony as the case may be. Where there is any doubt as to
> their veracity, some of these statements may be investigated and verified
> by the TRRC’s team of investigators. And then the commissioners will
> identify the cases with which to begin their hearing – or listening -
> sessions as one might call them.
>
> Meanwhile, the challenge of finding suitable office space must be
> surmounted. Once suitable premises are found, they have to be fitted for
> the job. Some renovations might be needed, furniture must be bought,
> telephone lines installed, computers set up, and among other things, enough
> stationary and small electronic devices such as tape recorders and
> microphones bought to get the work started. As we can imagine, setting up
> the work space itself could take time and there is no way that the
> commission can start its hearings without these things in place. Work is
> currently ongoing to identify suitable office space for the TRRC.
>
> Traditionally, truth commission work is limited to its formal mandate.
> This includes establishing a true historical record of what happened,
> obtaining justice and reparations for victims, recommending prosecution or
> amnesty for perpetrators, and publishing a final report in which the
> commission makes recommendations including how best to prevent a recurrence
> of past atrocities. The recommendations on how to prevent recurrence may
> include institutional and justice reforms and lustration or vetting
> processes designed to make the state more nation-friendly and to prevent
> perpetrators of gross human rights violations from staying within the
> public service or holding important public office for at least some time.
> The recommendations may also include the establishment of institutions to
> build upon and implement important aspects of the truth commission findings
> after the commission itself is dissolved.
>
> While truth commissions are significantly inspired by a desire not only to
> provide justice for the victims but also to prevent the recurrence of
> dictatorship in a society, the “never again” aspect of its mandate is often
> marginalized. There are some cases where the governments totally refuse to
> make the findings of the truth commission public or publish its report. And
> there are cases where reports are published but the recommendations of the
> truth commission are never implemented. In some cases, the recommendations
> of truth commissions are so obstructive of selfish political interests that
> commissioners and staff find themselves on the receiving end of public
> vendettas. Considering that the “never again” aspects of the
> recommendations in these reports never see the light of day, the recurrence
> of dictatorship and tyranny in some societies remains a troubling
> possibility even after a truth commission process.
>
> Conscious that preventing the recurrence of dictatorship in this country
> is a top national priority for all Gambians, the TRRC is actively thinking
> outside the box to make sure that work on the “never again” aspect of its
> mandate is not stalled by any of the above challenges. The TRRC is not
> waiting for the end of its mandate to recommend ways of preventing a
> recurrence of dictatorship and tyranny in this country. While the
> establishment of its institutional structures is ongoing, the TRRC is
> actively engaged in outreach activities designed to kick start a national
> conversation on the empowered transformation of Gambian society and civic
> culture. We are actively taking steps to ensure that the TRRC process is
> victim-centered and people-owned, and to promote the view that all Gambians
> have a say in the betterment of our society and should participate in a
> national conversation on how best to overcome our inimical differences and
> heal unhealthy political, ethnic, and religious cleavages within our
> society. Thus to complement the formal work of the Commission which is yet
> to begin, we have initiated a process of ongoing civic engagement and
> dialogue that will give ownership of the TRRC process to the Gambian public
> in order to actualize the all-important “never again” aspect of the TRRC
> mandate.
>
> In this spirit the TRRC Secretariat is actively working Gambian civil
> society organizations and international bodies such as the International
> Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the Institute for Integrated
> Transitions (IFIT), and the International Institute for Democracy and
> Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), among others. We have had
> several meetings and conversations with the Center for the Victims of Human
> Rights Violations (Victims Center) and are collaborating with them on some
> activities that will promote their cause, help animate our national
> conversation, facilitate justice and healing for the victims and their
> families, and ultimately put them at the center of the TRRC process. In
> close collaboration with the ICTJ, the TRRC is facilitating support to the
> Victims Center in the form of staff and volunteer training, strategy
> development, proposal writing, and an ongoing partnership in their quest
> for justice and reparations for their members and other victims of human
> rights violations yet to register with them. We have had conversations with
> the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) with a view to seeing
> how best and in what areas they can assist both the center and individual
> victims needing medical treatment for certain types of conditions,
> including psychological trauma. The ICRC has expressed strong interest in
> supporting the TRRC’s work on the disappeared.
>
> The TRRC has had fruitful conversations with “Gambia Kiling” (One Gambia)
> and is collaborating with them to organize what we believe will be the
> first of many public conversations on issues of crucial national importance
> to our country. The TRRC hopes to continue organizing similar fora in
> collaboration with “Gambia Kiling” and other civil society organizations
> and communities across the country. The TRRC Secretariat actively
> encourages any civil society organization interested in collaborating with
> us to please reach out and share ideas. Our doors are open and we are
> always happy to collaborate on public events that further the cause of
> truth, justice, reconciliation, national unity and popular empowerment in
> Gambian society. This is an essential priority component of our “never
> again” mandate.
>
> The TRRC Secretariat in currently talking to TANGO with a view to working
> together to promote a national conversation on “The Gambia We Want.” This
> conversation has already been started by TANGO and the TRRC is happy to
> collaborate and actively participate in an ongoing national conversation on
> this important theme. We are scheduled to meet with TANGO in the next few
> days to see how best we can collaborate going forward. The TRRC recognizes
> that in The Gambia we all want, there will be no room for dictatorship and
> oppression of the kind we experienced under the past regime. And we can and
> we will create that Gambia in partnership with TANGO, Gambian communities
> and all interested civil society organizations.
>
> The TRRC recognizes the crucial role that the media will play in our
> truth, reconciliation and reparations processes. We therefore seek active
> engagement with Gambian media of all kinds in our work. We have already had
> the opportunity to speak to several media houses, both national and
> international, and to sit in on at least two live panel discussions on GRTS
> and West Coast Radio. The TRRC recognizes that perhaps more than any other
> actors, the media will be responsible for the dissemination and
> synchronization of our national conversation on how best to create a better
> and brighter Gambia. A national media training session on reporting truth
> commissions is at the early stages of planning. This workshop will bring
> together 30 journalists from all sectors of the Gambian media with a view
> to brainstorming on the sensitive nature of reporting truth commission
> procedures, especially those involving child and gender-based violations.
>
> Thus unlike a traditional truth commission, the TRRC’s work will be
> characterized by two closely connected but distinct processes. Once it is
> up and running, the commission will carry out its traditional functions of
> hearings, justice for victims, reparations, amnesty etc. with a view to
> issuing a report with recommendations at the end of its mandate. In the
> meantime, the TRRC believes that work on the prevention of future
> dictatorship, the healing of social fractures, the promotion of national
> unity and the empowerment of the Gambian people can happen through an
> ongoing process of national engagement and conversation across political,
> ethnic and religious lines. The TRRC is therefore conceptualized as both a
> formal transitional justice mechanism and a transformative cultural
> institution that, through creative engagement with the Gambian public -
> civil society organizations, educational institutions, and grassroots
> community structures - will ensure that by the end of its mandate, the
> “never again” aspect of its mission would have been largely accomplished.
> Meanwhile, the TRRC will share periodic updates on the state of its work
> with the general public.
>
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To
> unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web
> interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
>
> To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to:
> http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the
> List Management, please send an e-mail to:
> [log in to unmask]
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
>
>
> --
> Dr. Malanding S Jaiteh
> Principal Consultant
> Geospatial Data Solutions (The Gambia)http://www.geospatialdatasolutions.com
> Skype: msjaiteh
> Mobile & WhatsApp: +220-726-8905
>
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To
> unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web
> interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html
>
> To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to:
> http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the
> List Management, please send an e-mail to:
> [log in to unmask]
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
>


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤