“Government will create a successor body to the TRRC with the mandate of administering reparations.
“The body will be independent from government and will have the authority to evaluate and identify new victims not identified by the TRRC.”
This was announced by the Minister of Justice, Dawda Jallow, when he delivered a statement on May 25 to release the government White Paper to the TRRC Report.
The government realizes that reparations are a central part of the reconciliation process, and is committed to ensuring life-transforming reparations are provided to victims of human rights violations, he said.
“Whilst there is a tendency to always equate reparations to monetary compensation, for reparations to be effective it must, in addition to monetary compensation, extend to physical rehabilitation, restoration of civil and political rights and the provision of education and healthcare for victims.”
According to the Justice minister, the government provided D50 million to the TRRC for the payment of interim reparations, and had earmarked more than D150 million in the 2022 national budget for reparations.
The government shall continue to to work towards mobilizing additional financial resources for this process, he added.
It is likely that not all victims were identified by the TRRC process. Thus the ministry in consultation with the victims is working on a Victims Bill to explore the best avenue to address the issue of reparations.
Independent structures would be put in place for continued evaluation and identification of the victims, and to administer a reparations scheme, Justice Minister Jallow went on.
“The Government shall continue to work towards mobilising additional financial resources for this process, including but not limited to the proceeds of the sale of forfeited assets belonging to ex-president Jammeh.”
