Gambia: ECOWAS revises its position

16 December 2024 By

The Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meeting in Abuja on Sunday, "took the historic decision to establish a special tribunal for the Gambia", announced the Gambian Ministry of Justice in a statement sent to AFP on Sunday 15 December. In so doing, they reversed the decision taken by parliament in July not to support a special tribunal to deal with crimes committed in Gambia under the regime of former president Yahya Jammeh (1994-2017).

In 2017, former president Yahya Jammeh decided to flee to Equatorial Guinea. Photo: © Stringer / AFP

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The West African bloc ECOWAS on Sunday backed the creation of a special court to judge crimes committed during the dictatorship of Gambia's former strongman Yahya Jammeh.

The Special Tribunal for Gambia "will ensure justice and accountability for gross human rights violations committed between July 1994 and January 2017", said a statement from ECOWAS.

This is the first time the bloc has partnered with a member state to set up such a court, said the statement.

Jammeh's 22 years in power were marked by significant rights abuses and the earmarking of state funds for the eccentric former leader's personal use, the new government and rights groups say.

He fled in 2017 after losing an election to current President Adama Barrow.