The Gambia’s Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Dawda A. Jallow, has declared that accountability is the foundation of legitimate governance. Delivering his opening statement at the 87th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) in Banjul, he stressed that “no government can claim legitimacy without accountability, and no state can claim stability without justice.”
Jallow highlighted The Gambia’s reform journey since 2017, noting deliberate constitutional and institutional changes, expanded access to justice, and strengthened legal aid. He pointed to innovations such as mobile police wards reaching previously excluded communities, legislative responses to gender-based violence, and efforts to align national laws with African and regional human rights instruments. “We have done this not because it is politically convenient, but because we believe in accountability and justice,” he said.
The minister warned that the session comes amid global turmoil, with wars destroying communities, civil space shrinking, and technology increasingly weaponized to silence and manipulate. Vulnerable groups—including women, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous communities, informal workers, and climate-displaced populations—bear the heaviest burdens. He cited conflicts in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Sahel as examples of crises undermining the rule of law and displacing millions.
Jallow underscored the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights as a homegrown instrument rooted in Africa’s history and struggle. “It was formed from our own history, our own suffering, our own determination to define dignity on our own terms,” he said, calling it one of the most sophisticated ethical frameworks for collective human rights worldwide.
He praised the achievements of the African Commission and the African Court, including the Maputo Protocol on women’s rights, but cautioned that a persistent gap remains between principles and practice. He emphasized that international human rights engagement must be matched by domestic action, citing The Gambia’s active participation before the International Court of Justice as evidence of its commitment.
Jallow urged the session to deliver measurable outcomes and proposed several key measures:
- Accelerated domestication of the African Charter, Maputo Protocol, and related instruments into national law.
- Adequate resourcing of the African Commission, African Court, and national human rights institutions, ensuring independence and predictable funding.
- Stronger protections for environmental defenders, recognizing climate displacement as a human rights crisis.
- Inclusive participation, with structured roles for youth in shaping the continental human rights agenda.
- Enhanced safeguards for informal workers, displaced populations, indigenous communities, and persons with disabilities, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings.
“This session must be more than another important gathering,” Jallow concluded. “It must produce decisions that can be measured and held accountable.”
