By Zackline Colley
The Gambia’s efforts to establish a special tribunal, in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has faced a procedural delay as the Mediation and Security Council deferred the decision to the next ordinary session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government.
This development was clarified by Hussein Thomasi, the Solicitor General of the Ministry of Justice, at the Ministry of Information’s monthly press conference.
Contrary to some reports suggesting the statute’s rejection, Thomasi emphasized that the Mediation and Security Council, which includes ECOWAS ministers and ambassadors, reviewed the statute on July 3 but opted to defer it. The statute is now set to be considered first by an ambassadorial meeting before being transmitted back to the Mediation and Security Council.
“The mediation and secret council did not reject the statute. They deferred it to the next meeting in December, requesting that the ambassadorial meeting first consider and endorse it,” Thomasi said.
He anticipates that the ambassadorial meeting will convene within the next month, well before the December session.
Once the statute is endorsed at the ambassadorial level, it will return to the Mediation and Security Council, comprising ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence, for further deliberation.
The establishment of the special tribunal aims to address significant legal, and justice matters within The Gambia, reflecting the country’s ongoing commitment to justice and legal reform in collaboration with regional partners.
