By Mama A. Touray
The National Human Rights Commission today held a daylong stakeholder forum on promoting the rights of elderly persons at the Senegambia Beach Hotel.
This stakeholder forum, anchored on the theme “Aging in Dignity in The Gambia: Promoting the Human Rights of the Elderly in The Gambia,” aims to create a platform to discuss issues affecting the enjoyment of human rights by older persons in the country while mapping out ways in which the State and other stakeholders can address challenges and ensure older persons lead dignified, healthy, and secure lives as equal members of society.
The Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare, Fatou Kinteh, highlighted the gap in the legal framework dealing with older persons: “The Gambia currently lacks specific legislation or a comprehensive policy dedicated to the protection and promotion of the rights of older persons. While the existing legal instruments provide a general framework, they do not fully address the specific needs and challenges of our elderly population.”
Kinteh added that in recognition of this gap, her Ministry is actively working to strengthen the legal and policy framework for the protection of older persons. She continued: “We are committed to developing specific legislation and policies that will provide robust protections for our elderly population, ensuring that they can live with dignity, security, and respect.”
The Vice Chair of the National Human Rights Commission stated that the lack of adequate social protection measures means that many older persons face financial challenges, as they are unable to work to provide for themselves, which, she said, leaves them to beg in the streets, thereby exposing them to numerous dangers.
She added, “In January 2016, the African Union adopted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa to provide greater recognition and protection of the human rights of older persons in Africa. And on 25th June 2024, the National Assembly ratified the Protocol, imposing upon the State an obligation to guarantee and safeguard the rights of older persons in the country.”
The Vice Chair acknowledged the role played by the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare towards The Gambia’s ratification of the Protocol while calling on the Government to expedite the domestication of the Protocol.
