{"id":88214,"date":"2025-10-17T15:59:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/uncategorized\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5"},"modified":"2025-10-19T06:54:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-19T06:54:25","slug":"nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","title":{"rendered":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Gambia. <\/strong><\/span>The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section 5 of the Public Order Act, shifting from a permit-based system for public assemblies to a notification regime.<\/b><\/p>\n

The recommendation was made in the Commission\u2019s 2024 State of Human Rights Report, covering the period from January 1 to December 31, 2024, which was submitted to the National Assembly earlier this year.<\/p>\n

According to the NHRC, freedom of assembly remained significantly restricted during the reporting period, with several permit requests denied by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe enjoyment of the right to freedom of assembly continues to be a challenge in The Gambia,\u201d the report stated. The Commission reiterated concerns first raised in its 2023 report, which highlighted that Section 5 of the Public Order Act imposes unnecessary constraints on the constitutional right to peaceful assembly.<\/p>\n

The NHRC emphasized that its previous recommendations\u2014to harmonize the Public Order Act with the 1997 Constitution and international human rights obligations, and to transition from a permit to a notification system\u2014remain unimplemented.<\/p>\n

While acknowledging that reasonable restrictions on assembly are permitted under both national and international human rights law, the Commission stressed that such limitations must be fair, equal, and non-discriminatory.<\/p>\n

The report cited several incidents in 2024 in which the IGP denied citizens\u2019 requests for permits. These included a proposed protest in April 2024 over ferry service disruptions and alleged corruption at the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA). Following the denial, Marr Nyang, leader of the anti-corruption organization Gambia Participates, and seven other advocates held a peaceful sit-down protest at Arch 22 in Banjul.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were, however, arrested and detained for seven hours at the Police Headquarters in Banjul,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n

In June 2024, the Gambia Police Force also denied a protest permit to cement importers who sought to demonstrate against import monopolies, increased duty charges, and rising cement prices.<\/p>\n

Another incident occurred on 2 December 2024, when police forcefully dispersed a peaceful assembly of University of The Gambia students. According to the Commission, a police officer fired a tear gas canister, resulting in the brief hospitalization of some students, despite no evidence of violence or threats of violence.<\/p>\n

However, the NHRC acknowledged a positive development in November 2024, when the Coalition of Progressive Gambians was granted a permit to stage a protest in support of the 2020 Draft Constitution. \u201cAlthough the permit was reportedly delayed, its eventual approval was a welcome step,\u201d the report observed.<\/p>\n

The Commission concluded by urging the Attorney General to withdraw all charges against individuals prosecuted for unlawful assembly under the current Public Order Act.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Gambia. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section 5 of the Public Order Act, shifting from a permit-based system for public assemblies to a notification regime. The recommendation was made in the Commission\u2019s 2024 State of Human Rights Report, covering the period from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[260],"class_list":["post-88214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-gambia"],"yoast_head":"\nNHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5 - Gambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...\" \/>\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\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\" \/>\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=\"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\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=\"2 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\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\"},\"wordCount\":443,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Gambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\",\"name\":\"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5 - Gambia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533,\"caption\":\"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/\",\"name\":\"Gambia\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5 - Gambia","description":"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5","og_description":"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","og_site_name":"Gambia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5","datePublished":"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5"},"wordCount":443,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg","keywords":["Gambia"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5","name":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5 - Gambia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-17T15:59:48+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-19T06:54:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has recommended that the Ministries of Interior and Justice amend Section ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/gambia\/sites\/19\/2025\/10\/sm_1760709636.931674.jpg","width":800,"height":533,"caption":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/all-news\/nhrc-calls-for-amendment-to-public-order-act-section-5#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"NHRC Calls for Amendment to Public Order Act Section 5"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/","name":"Gambia","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/gambia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}