{"id":5839,"date":"2021-11-12T13:25:54","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T13:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights"},"modified":"2021-11-12T15:24:00","modified_gmt":"2021-11-12T15:24:00","slug":"gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights","title":{"rendered":"Gambia: Election candidates challenged on their\u00a0 commitment to human rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>PRESS RELEASE: As campaigns begin and voters get ready to go to the polls in Gambia for December\u2019s presidential elections, Amnesty International calls on all candidates to break with the country\u2019s past by publicly committing to improve the human rights situation in seven key areas if elected.<\/p>\n

The organization is launching a seven-point human rights manifesto, calling on candidates to commit to protecting the right to freedom of expression; protecting the right to freedom of peaceful assembly; fighting impunity; ending sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination against women; promoting economic, social, and cultural rights; adopting a law prohibiting torture; and abolishing the death penalty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe repressive regime of former president Yahya Jammeh was marked by mass arbitrary arrests, rampant torture, extrajudicial killings, and relentless persecution of dissenting voices,\u201d said Samira Daoud, Amnesty International\u2019s West, and Central Africa Director.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we have seen substantial improvements in the civic space since assumption of power by president Adama Barrow, next month\u2019s election is a chance for Gambia to see its human rights record significantly improve. Therefore, we are calling on all political parties and candidates to sign our manifesto and publicly commit to protecting the rights of everyone in Gambia.\u201d<\/p>\n

The manifesto notably highlights the need to ensure and promote the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly which are still under threat in the country. The criminal code contains several provisions restricting these human rights. This includes criminalization of sedition as related to the president and the administration of justice, imposing stiff penalties including imprisonment, confiscation of publications and printing machines.<\/p>\n

Other problematic laws include: Amnesty International is calling on all candidates to publicly commit to repealing or revising these laws and ensure Gambia\u2019s legislation abides by international and regional human rights treaties the country has ratified.<\/p>\n

They must also ensure accountability for human rights violations. Political parties and candidates must ensure that all Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission\u2019s recommendations regarding prosecutions and fighting impunity are effectively implemented.<\/p>\n

Members of former president Yahya Jammeh\u2019s regime who are accused of grave crimes should be brought to justice and immediately removed from the security apparatus if found guilty. Candidates should also commit to repeal the Indemnity Act of 2001 which gives the president the power to shield security officers from prosecution for any acts committed during an unlawful assembly or emergency. Torture must be absolutely prohibited, and the death penalty abolished.<\/p>\n

The manifesto also insists on the need to protect women\u2019s rights. The Gambian government outlawed female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2015 and child marriage in 2016. However, discrimination and sexual gender-based violence against women persist.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International calls on all political parties and candidates to commit to taking all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination and violence against women, including supporting their significant participation in the legislative, executive and judiciary fields.<\/p>\n

They should also pledge to take progressive measures to promote access to food, education, housing, and health. \u201cPeople in Gambia deserve what civil society has been campaigning on for years: a country that fully respects human rights. Candidates have a crucial role to play to see this happens. The first step is to sign the manifesto,\u201d said Samira Daoud.<\/p>\n

Background<\/p>\n

Presidential elections will be held in the Gambia on 4 December 2021. The campaign kicked off yesterday with six candidates including the current president Adama Barrow who is seeking a second term.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Gambia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. PRESS RELEASE: As campaigns begin and voters get ready to go to the polls in Gambia for December\u2019s presidential elections, Amnesty International calls on all candidates to break with the country\u2019s past by publicly committing to improve the human rights situation in seven key areas if elected. The organization is launching a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":5838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[2355,2361,2695,2696,260],"class_list":["post-5839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-gambia","tag-amnesty-international","tag-election","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nGambia: Election candidates challenged on their\u00a0 commitment to human rights - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PRESS RELEASE: As campaigns begin and voters get ready to go to the polls in Gambia for December\u2019s presidential election ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gambia: Election candidates challenged on their\u00a0 commitment to human rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"PRESS RELEASE: As campaigns begin and voters get ready to go to the polls in Gambia for December\u2019s presidential election ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-12T13:25:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-12T15:24:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/img-618e86f4df7c4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"405\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Gambia: Election candidates challenged on their\u00a0 commitment to human rights\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-12T13:25:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-12T15:24:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\"},\"wordCount\":585,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2021\/11\/img-618e86f4df7c4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Gambia\",\"Amnesty International\",\"Election\",\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/gambia-election-candidates-challenged-on-their-commitment-to-human-rights\",\"name\":\"Gambia: Election candidates challenged on their\u00a0 commitment to human rights - 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