Statement 83 - Australian Permanent Mission and Consulate-General

Australian Permanent Mission and Consulate-General

Geneva, Switzerland

Address: Chemin des Fins 2, Case Postale 102, 1211 Geneva 19 - Telephone: 022 799 9100 - Fax: 022 799 9178

Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review Working Group

Statement on The Gambia

by Angela Robinson

10 February 2010

Australia welcomes Her Excellency the Attorney-General and the delegation from The Gambia and appreciates their engagement in the Universal Periodic Review process.

We welcome positive measures taken by The Gambia in recent years to promote human rights, and the rights of the child in particular, as contained in the 2005 Children’s Act, which harmonizes domestic law with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Australia also commends The Gambia for the adoption of the Child Trafficking Law in October 2007.

Australia shares the concerns of the Human Rights Committee and a number of organisations about allegations of extra-judicial executions, ill-treatment and torture in custody and arbitrary detention. Australia is also concerned about restriction of the media through harassment and intimidation of media institutions, as well as the criminalisation of press related offences, notably the 2005 Criminal Code Amendment Act and Official Secrets Act.

Australia notes with concern reports that Female Genital Mutilation is widely practiced in The Gambia and that domestic violence and sexual abuse are reported to be common and largely tolerated by society and government. We note The Gambia’s acknowledgment of some of these problems this morning.

Australia would like to make the following recommendations to The Gambia:

1. Rigorously enforce legislative instruments that protect and strengthen the rights of the child;

2. Ensure all detainees are properly charged and brought to trial without delay, or released, and that an independent body investigate allegations of ill-treatment, torture and extra-judicial executions;

3. Cease the harassment and intimidation of media institutions;

4. Amend legislation which infringes freedom of expression, in accordance with The Gambia’s international human rights obligations; and

5. Fulfil obligations under CEDAW, by adopting and implementing legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation.