Victims Center and UNDP Unveil Documentary and Photo Exhibition on Human Rights Violations
By Makutu Manneh
The Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has officially launched a documentary and photo exhibition documenting human rights abuses committed between July 1994 and January 2017 during the regime of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Funded through the UNDP’s Post-TRRC Project, the initiative seeks to support the implementation and monitoring of recommendations made by the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC). It also aims to preserve the collective memory of victims while promoting truth, justice, and national healing.
The documentary features the testimonies of 40 survivors, highlighting cases of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and other grave human rights violations that occurred during the 22-year dictatorship.
Kebba Jome, National Coordinator of the Victims Center, emphasized the significance of the project for survivors and called on the government to equip the newly established reparations commission with adequate resources to expedite compensation for victims.
“Victims were given advances in October 2021 with receipts and a promise that the government is going to settle those balances within three months. We are almost five years,” Jome remarked. He expressed satisfaction at the establishment of the reparations commission and appreciation to the government for taking this step.
Speaking on behalf of victims, Mballow Kanteh conveyed frustration over the prolonged delays in implementing TRRC recommendations but expressed gratitude for the day’s event.
“What we have suffered is not our will, but we praised the Almighty for seeing a day like today,” he stated.
Ida Person, Head of the TRRC Post Unit at the Ministry of Justice, highlighted that implementing the commission’s recommendations is a long-term process. She stressed that the TRRC has unearthed a history that the nation must remember, serving as a lesson for future generations.
“To the victims, I know something very important to you is the feeling of seeing, and for Gambians to share this with you, and I know this photo exhibition will help in that,” she said.
The Victims Center continues to serve as a vital platform for promoting truth, accountability, and healing, amplifying survivors’ voices, and advocating for justice in The Gambia.