*MEDIA ADVISORY*

*TRRC commissioner selection process to start this week*



The process for the selection and nomination of regional commissioners will
across the country this week, according to a media advisory issued by the
TRRC Secretariat. The process will run from 20th June to 16th July. In
preparation for the beginning of the process, Justice Minister Abubacarr
Tambadou, alongside senior officials of the Justice ministry and Dr. Baba
Galleh Jallow, Executive Secretary of the TRRC met Regional Governors in
Banjul last week to discuss the process and related logistics.



In conversation with the governors, Minister Tambadou emphasized the need
for all parties involved in the impending process – governors, chiefs,
Alkalis, and Regional Selection Panel (RSP) members – to properly
understand and take time to explain the context and objectives of the TRRC
to communities. “It is extremely important that the inclusive nature of the
whole process and our desire for the process to be owned by the Gambian
people be understood by all Gambian communities,” Minister Tambadou told
the governors.



As we recall, in 2017 a national consultation tour was organized by the
Ministry of Justice in partnership with several stakeholders in the
country. During that consultation exercise, the general public expressed
their views and opinions on how the TRRC should be constituted. Their views
were incorporated both in the drafting of the TRRC Bill and in the
formation of the technical committee on transitional justice which, among
other things, has been involved in the drafting of a national strategy
document for The Gambia’s transitional justice process. The idea of
regional selection and nomination of commissioners from all parts of the
country also came out of those national consultations. This culture of
inclusivity continues to drive Gambia’s transitional justice and TRRC
process and distinctly sets it apart from many truth commission processes
around the world.



The process for the selection and nomination of regional commissioners will
start on Wednesday 20th June with advance community radio sensitization
programmes to be conducted by each governor assisted by two chiefs from
their regions. A one-hour programme per day in two to three community radio
stations in each region will be conducted in local languages on Wednesday,
20th June, Thursday, 21st June and Friday, 22nd June. During these
programmes, the governors and chiefs will explain to their communities the
context, purpose, and expected nature and outcomes of the nomination
process at the district and regional levels. These radio sensitization
programmes will highlight the importance of local communities understanding
the guidelines and criteria for the selection of regional commissioners and
the overall coordinating role of the governors in the process.



These community radio engagements will be followed on Monday 25th June by
meetings at governors’ places to select members of the Regional Selection
Panels (RSPs). Representatives from all districts in every region will
converge at the regional headquarters to participate in the selection of
members of the RSPs. Each seven-member RSP must include at least one
representative from youth groups, women’s groups, civil society
organisations, non-governmental organisations working in the field of human
rights, religious groups, and community leaders resident and working within
the regions. All members of the RSPs must be residents of the region with
high moral character and integrity, no criminal record or involvement in
past human rights violations, no known involvement in a political party,
and be of Gambian nationality. Chiefs will be invited to attend these RSP
selection meetings to enable them to participate in and learn more about
the process with a view to helping further sensitize Alkalis and
communities in their districts. The Alkalis in turn will share as much of
this information as possible with their village communities. This will
serve as a second layer of community sensitization on the region-wide
selection and nomination process. A follow-up meeting between each governor
and their RSPs will be held on Wednesday, 27th June. At these meetings the
governors will discuss with the RSPs their terms of reference and the
guidelines for the selection of regional commissioners. The governors will
make hard copies of the guidelines which will be handed over to each member
of the RSPs for ease of reference and further study.



The actual district level consultation and nomination process by the RSPs
in each region will run from 28th June – 9th July. Each RSP is required to
travel to and hold meetings with inhabitants of each district in their
region between 28th June and 9th July, and preferably by consensus, to
secure two nominations from each district, one male, one female. In the
event of a deadlock at the district level, the two nominated candidates
shall be selected through community voting by a show of hands.



After consultations in all districts, the RSPs will spend the 10th and 11th
July to deliberate and select three final regional nominees including at
least one female for possible appointment from among the three majority
ethnic groups in the region.  No more than one candidate from each of the
three majority ethnic groups in a region shall be nominated from a region.
Each RSP will submit its report alongside the names of the three final
nominees from their region to the governors no later than 11th July.
According to the guidelines for the selection and appointment of
commissioners, nominations to serve as a regional commissioner on the TRRC
shall be based on high moral character and integrity; no criminal record or
involvement in past human rights violations; not known to be actively
involved in a political party; residency in the region; and Gambian
nationality.



After the conclusion of the regional nomination process for all regions,
the governors will have 12th – 16th July to finalize and submit the list of
three nominated candidates to the Ministry of Justice with a report
identifying members of the Regional Selection Panel and certifying that the
nomination process complied with the aforesaid procedures. The list of
three nominees from each region shall contain the following information
about each nominated candidate: full name and current address, age, gender,
ethnicity, religion, educational background, occupation, employment
history, and short notes of no more than 500 words (type-written) stating
the reasons for the person’s suitability for appointment as commissioner to
the TRRC in light of its mandate and objectives. Meanwhile, the selection
of commissioners for the Greater Banjul Area will proceed from nominations
received back in February 2018.



“We will re-publish the guidelines for the selection and appointment of
commissioners sometime this week to refresh the public memory,” said Dr.
Baba Galleh Jallow, Executive Secretary of the TRRC. “Meanwhile, we call
upon all Gambians to actively participate in this important process and
ensure that they are well represented on the commission,” he added.


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