| Overview : The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Since October 2018, the TRRC has been involved in numerous activities, initiatives and partnerships propelled by its 11 Commissioners working under 5 thematic Committees, as well as a specialized Legal Team and over 80 Secretariat staff spread over 7 Units (Victim Support, Reconciliation, Women's Affairs, Youth & Children, Communications & Outreach, Human Resources, and Finance & Procurement). As a result, a National Survey on Transitional Justice in The Gambia, conducted in December 2019 found that most Gambians have enough knowledge about the TRRC and that they are satisfied with its victim centered approach, encouragement of perpetrators and women to testify and issuance of interim reparations. Most Gambians also believed that the TRRC is "very independent," though the results of this survey also show that Gambians are split on the issue of justice, with 34% of respondents in favor of the granting of amnesties and 46.7% of respondents stating that prosecutions would have a positive effect on peace in the country. In relation to its truth-seeking processes (statement-taking, investigations, research, and hearings), the TRRC has received over 1200 statements between October 2018 and June 2020, at least 235 of which are from women. A total of at least 219 witnesses, of whom 54 were women, 35 alleged perpetrators and 23 from the Gambian diaspora have also testified across 13 public hearings and 1 closed hearing, which commenced in January 2019. However, COVID19 has adversely impacted the transitional justice calendar in The Gambia, including the TRRC which has been forced to suspend its public hearings and face-to-face outreach activities. Though statement-taking continue via telephone, there remains little doubt that the submission of the TRRC’s Final Report would not occur in December 2020 as initially anticipated, but rather, during the first or second quarter of 2021 Submit your application to bids.gm@undp.org with a subject line “ TRRC Final Report” . |
