Remarks at Opening of Joint ECOWAS/Gambia Technical Committee

Good morning. Thank you to the organizers for bringing us together on this important occasion. It is an honor to be here with all of you on my second trip to the Smiling Coast among so many distinguished delegates, experts, advocates, justice architects, and friends. 

The last time I visited, October 2022, was a hopeful time: the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) had finished its mandate, and work was beginning on how to implement its recommendations, including those on criminal justice. 

How even more inspiring it is to be here now and see how far your work has come. I want to offer my congratulations to all of you, particularly Minister Jallow and his team at the Ministry of Justice, for the impressive progress you have made thus far. It’s inspiring to be a part of this launch of the ECOWAS/Gambia Technical Committee as it begins the process of bringing the hybrid court into being.

When considering the history of The Gambia, I am always struck by your bravery in facing the past. The TRRC heard from more than 400 witnesses who unflinchingly recounted the horrors committed during the Jammeh regime. It takes incredible courage for victims to come forward and tell their stories and for a nation to create the space for them to do so safely and openly. 

Hearing the victims recount abuses was a deeply troubling but necessary step on the path toward obtaining justice. Every Gambian knew of the terrible crimes that took place during those dark years, but the bravery of the victims publicly telling their stories showed that the damage was much broader and deeper than feared. 

More of this courage will be needed in the journey ahead, but I am confident that you are up to the challenge. I pledge that the United States will stand with you as you tackle those challenges. 

I just came from Freetown, where I gave a keynote address at a conference celebrating the history and legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. I noted in my remarks that the Special Court broke ground as the first hybrid tribunal created between by way of a treaty between a member state and the United Nations and set the stage for future hybrid courts designed to draw from international expertise while remaining tailored to the local context and victims’ needs.

Along with civil society organizations from The Gambia, I had the pleasure of telling the attendees in Freetown how The Gambia and ECOWAS are building upon this legacy. You are taking the values and lessons of that Court—the inclusion of regional and international actors to build expertise and capacity while ensuring Gambian leadership and context—and breaking new ground through this collaboration. This new court will make history too, as the first to be created with ECOWAS. From the minute this idea was raised, it was clear it is an innovative and fitting solution for the justice challenges The Gambia faces and the crimes of the Jammeh era. 

Hybridizing a court with ECOWAS will ensure not only that it is created within the Gambian context, but also that it will be fully regionally and culturally suited to West Africa, truly an African solution. It demonstrates how states and actors in the region can come together to deliver justice and to heal. 

Respect for human rights is a foundational principle in The Gambia, core to this nation’s values. Indeed, over 40 years ago, Chief Justice Jallow led the drafting of the Banjul Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The work you are doing today will help vindicate the principles written a generation ago. You have already taken steps in this direction not only domestically but by bringing the case against Burma in the International Court of Justice for violating the Genocide Convention in its treatment of Rohingya. Already, The Gambia stands for justice. 

Partnering with ECOWAS also acknowledges that the damage Jammeh and his conspirators wrought did not stop at The Gambia’s borders but rather reached beyond The Gambia and affected the entire region. The most prominent example of this is the murder by Jammeh’s Junglers of approximately fifty West African migrants, Ghanaians and citizens of several other states. Atrocities like those committed by Jammeh and his despotic regime do not just impact the direct victims, but rather are affronts to our collective humanity. The deeply personal TRRC testimony by Jammeh’s victims laid bare the lasting legacy of these crimes. 

I commend ECOWAS for recognizing that these collective harms reverberated across the region. Ensuring accountability for such crimes sends a message that these atrocities will not be tolerated, that perpetrators will be brought to justice, and that peace in all ECOWAS states depends on justice. West Africa as a whole will be better for this work.  

The Special Court for Sierra Leone also broke ground in its trial of Charles Taylor, the first hybrid court to try a former head of state. Fearing destabilization if Taylor’s trial was held in Freetown, the Court moved the trial to The Hague. This, of course, carries lessons that I hope will resonate with Yahya Jammeh himself. That all of ECOWAS is coming together to support justice, creating any number of venues for a leadership trial, sends a strong message: Jammeh and his supporters cannot use the threat of destabilization if he returns home to avoid facing justice. He can simply be tried elsewhere in a Gambian-led proceeding. And Jammeh must face justice. The Taylor trial demonstrates that he can, and your efforts here today demonstrate that he will and that no one is above the law. 

This is not to say that any of your next steps will be easy. Transitional justice is always challenging, it will take time, and it will require you to face a difficult history and make hard decisions about the future. 

Criminal accountability is one component of transitional justice, but for The Gambia to thrive after its terrible history, prosecutions must be coordinated with other tools. The recently passed Victims’ Reparations Act built upon the groundwork for a reparations program. The Ban from Public Office Bill set the stage for crucial institutional changes. These tools—legislative, social, societal—must be deployed together to support reform and provide holistic redress for victims. No legislative act or parliamentary bill can fully restore what this country has lost, but these developments will contribute to national healing.

This is also an opportunity to strengthen your democracy and respect for the rule of law. Periods of oppression and dictatorships like the Jammeh regime decimate democratic institutions, and there are still gaps in Gambian laws and the Constitution. The future hybrid court can contribute to capacity building, education, and reform to create a more just nation. In contrast, failure to address atrocity crimes leads to a culture of impunity that can facilitate corruption and failure to respect the rule of law. 

Finally, transitional justice must, above all, be victim-centric. Outreach, education, coordination with civil society, and ensuring adequate protection for victims and witnesses will be essential to demonstrate to The Gambian people that such abuses are not tolerated and to build trust in the democratic Gambian state. 

After this trip I will continue on to Liberia, where I will carry lessons from The Gambia. They are sorely needed. The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, like yours, was admirable, but there your countries diverge. None of the Liberian TRC’s recommendations has been implemented, and to this day not one person has been held accountable for war crimes in Liberian courts. Instead, courts abroad have stepped in to dispense justice. Furthermore, those accused of some of the most atrocious acts remain in positions of power in the Liberian government. And those fighting for justice too often face threats to their safety. Impunity hinders accountability and creates conditions that help foster corruption and insecurity. 

Liberia is just one example of the devastating impact of impunity across the African continent; we need only look to Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Great Lakes, to name just a few. Gambian leadership on transitional justice is greatly needed. 

In closing, the United States will remain your steadfast partner throughout this journey. For years we have provided comprehensive assistance to The Gambia’s criminal justice system, building the country’s capacity to hold wrongdoers accountable. We are grateful for the partnership we have found throughout the justice system here, and your work gives me confidence in your ability to succeed on the hard road ahead. We look forward to continuing to stand with you as you take on these significant but essential challenges. 

I hope to hear from all of you, as we continue our partnership, about what more we can do to support your efforts to bring justice to all Gambians and continue your leadership worldwide. Your courage in creating the TRRC and facing the past, and your innovative work in creating this regionally-supported hybrid court, will be a model for the rest of the continent and the world. 

Thank you again for including me in this groundbreaking event and for the work you are doing for justice, not just here, but everywhere.