Gambians anxiously await the release of the Government White Paper on the TRRC recommendations.
In the context of governance, White Paper is generally the position of government on recommendations made by an established commission of inquiry. There are two common patterns of White Papers. Government can either accept some of the recommendations or accept all of the recommendations, depending on its position on the said inquiry and its report.
The Gambia government recently disclosed that it will be releasing the long-awaited White Paper on Wednesday 25th May 2022.
The announcement came after President Adama Barrow presided over a two-day cabinet session where the draft White Paper on recommendations of the Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission’s (TRRC) report was reviewed.
Gambia’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow, later disclosed that the White Paper will be issued out on Wednesday 25th May 2022.
In December 2021, The Gambia government released the TRRC report. The TRRC was set up in 2017 to investigate human rights abuses during the Yahya Jammeh reign from July 1994 to December 2016.
The report implicates erstwhile president Yahya Jammeh, who now lives in exile in Guinea Bissau, in many extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations which occurred during his reign.
“I can assure you that the government is committed to implementing the report subject to the outcome of the white paper,” Dawda Jallow, the minister of Justice and Attorney General assured.
Gambians await to see the bold actions of government on the TRRC recommendations. One major question in the minds of many is whether the White Paper will accept and provide for the prosecution of ex-president Jammeh and other top officials implicated in the TRRC report.
