Overall, these are fine words coming from the mouth of a state minister, but the billion dollar question is: Why was Gambia’s name excluded from the UN rights council members? Is this government telling us that they were not interested about the membership and as such never bothered to apply? Or they just don’t possess the qualifications to be part of that body?
Minister Hydara’s arguments are rendered counter productive if this government cannot secure to be a member of this important body. The Gambia, has witnessed a lot of atrocities under Yahya’s watch and the UN is aware of Gambia’s rule of law and rights crisis. This government is good at building defense, but we do not think that they can succeed this time around to come up with any convincing story to black mail Gambians.
Under Jammeh’s rule, Gambians lost their values and cherished freedoms. This West African country has been reduced to a police state. Abductions, arrest, illegal detentions, torture, disappearances and murder has been a common routine. The government succeeded in instilling fear into the minds of citizens.
In a recent report, Amnesty International deplored the growing human rights crisis in The Gambia. This came in the wake of mass arrest of top military officers and civilians accused of coup plot. The detainees were denied the right to have access to their lawyers, families and bail. Most local lawyers are afraid to announce representation for their clients following threats that they might be added to the government's list of accomplices. Fire brand leading Gambian female lawyer Mariam Denton attempted to represent her client Tamsir Jasseh, a coup suspect and was arrested. Lawyer Denton has also been denied access to her lawyers led by opposition leader Ousainou Darboe.
Under such an appalling human rights situation The Gambia is not fit to associate itself with such an important organization. Our government is terrorizing its citizens with impunity.
We supported the move that nations with poor human rights record should be excluded from the UN list. This will go a long way in compelling member states to respect the rights of its citizens. The piece below was forward to the Freedom Newspaper by a well placed source. It is talking about the new elected UN general Assembly Human rights council members. Please read on…..
10 May 2006
U.N. Human Rights Council Members Elected
Performance of the council is what counts, U.S. Ambassador Bolton says
By Judy Aita
Washington File United Nations Correspondent
United Nations -- The General Assembly has elected 47 nations to serve on the new Human Rights Council that will replace the discredited U.N. Commission on Human Rights in June.
Members include states whose poor human rights records have been criticized and examined for decades as well as others with excellent records as human rights leaders. The United States did not seek a seat on the council.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said he was not surprised that “a number of countries that themselves are gross abusers of human rights got elected."
"The real performance of the Human Rights Council over a two- or three-year period is going to be what is critical," Bolton said.
Council membership is apportioned to five regional groups: 13 seats for African states, 13 for Asian states, eight for Latin American and Caribbean states, seven for Western European states and others, and six seats for Eastern European states.
The first meeting of the Human Rights Council will be held on June 19 in Geneva. The council will meet regularly, scheduling no fewer than three 10-week sessions a year and will be able to hold special sessions if needed.
Elected for one year are Algeria, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia, Bahrain, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Poland, Czech Republic, Argentina, Ecuador, Finland and the Netherlands.
Nations serving for two years are Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Zambia, Pakistan, Japan, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea, Romania, Ukraine, Brazil, Guatemala, Peru, the United Kingdom and France.
Cameroon, Djibouti, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh, China, Jordan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay, Canada, Germany and Switzerland will serve for three years.
In the future, nations will be elected to three-year terms of office.
Candidates submitted pledges and commitments to promote and protect human rights. According to the regulations establishing the new council, its members will be the first to have their human rights records reviewed.
THE U.S. POSITION
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Kristin Silverberg said the real test of the council will be whether it can take effective action in serious cases of human rights abuse, such as in Darfur, Burma and North Korea.
In 2006, the United States will "engage actively as observers," including lobbying for human rights resolutions, Silverberg said.
Assuming the council can work effectively, the United States plans to run for election next year, the assistant secretary said.
The United States, although it was a leading supporter of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's 2005 proposal to abolish the Commission on Human Rights and replace it with a stronger organization, voted against the creation of the council in March.
The design of the new council, U.S. officials said, did not have standards for membership that were high enough to keep human rights abusers off the council. (See