Gambia’s new Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubacarr M Tambedou was on Monday sworn-in at a ceremony held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel.
The swearing in ceremony was administered by Madam Adama Ngum-Njie, Secretary to Cabinet and presided over by President Adama Barrow and other members of Cabinet.
Minister Tambedou joins the 10 other ministers earlier sworn-in in the new Cabinet of President Barrow.
Abubacarr M Tambedou alias (Ba Tambedou) a seasoned Gambian lawyer worked at the Office of the UN Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia from 2003-2012 and became Assistant to the Office of the Prosecutor from 2012-2016.
President Adama Barrow commended the newly appointed minister for accepting the new challenge. He saluted him for been very helpful during the transition period and standing by the Coalition team. He described him as a patriot and one who loves The Gambia dearly. He expressed hope that he will fully serve the country to his fullest.
“A justice system is very important in any society and if you have someone who is willing to work with the Gambian people and who is also good at it, therefore, the Gambia will surely have the best judicial system” he said.
Ousainou Darboe, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Aboard welcomed new Minister Tambedou to the new Cabinet. He described him as honest, hardworking and courageous legal person.
A seasoned Lawyer, Darboe said Minister Tambedou is not new to the judicial system and very versatile in the area that he is assigned to overseen.
In an interview with waiting journalists, new Minister Tambedou thanked President Barrow for the confidence bestowed upon him to serve his country. He assured that he will execute his duties without fear, favour and to the best interest of the Gambia.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan citizens in nearby states, between 1 January and 31 December 1994.
It was located in Arusha, Tanzania 1995, under Resolution 977. (From 2006, Arusha also became the location of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights). In 1998 the operation of the tribunal was expanded in Resolution 1165. Through several resolutions, the Security Council called on the tribunal to complete its investigations by end of 2004, complete all trial activities by end of 2008, and complete all work in 2012.
The tribunal had jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, which are defined as violations of Common Article Three and Additional Protocol II of the Geneva Conventions (which deals with internal conflicts).
As of 2009, the tribunal had finished 50 trials and convicted 29 accused persons, and another 11 trials were in progress and 14 individuals were awaiting trial in detention.
As of spring 2015, the Residual Mechanism took over much of the operations of the tribunal, and the tribunal announced on February 2, 2015 that it was significantly reducing staff with the goal of wrapping up operations and closing the tribunal by the end of 2015. The Tribunal was officially closed on 31 December 2015.
