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4-6 March 2024 - UNODC, through its GPCD (CRIMJUST) Programme, funded by the European Union's Global Illicit Flows Programme, conducted a three-day training of trainers (ToT) workshop in The Gambia on the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2023, the Istanbul Protocol and the Mandela Rules for Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms in The Gambia. This activity aimed to strengthen institutional integrity and accountability and to mainstream a human rights-based approach in the interventions of criminal justice actors involved in combating transnational organised crime along illicit trafficking routes.
In 2023, the National Assembly of The Gambia took a significant step forward in the country's efforts to emphasise the prohibition of torture as a jus cogens norm under international human rights law by passing the Prevention and Prohibition of Torture Act 2023. The Act provides a legal framework for the prohibition, prevention and punishment of all forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the Gambia. The Act also requires all persons to report cases of torture or inhuman treatment to the relevant authorities, such as the police or the National Human Rights Commission. It also provides protection for witnesses, victims and individuals who report such incidents.
In line with the enactment of the Anti-Torture Act, the GPCD (CRIMJUST), in collaboration with the UNODC Project Office in The Gambia, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brought together investigators and prosecutors from the Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEAG), the Gambia Police Forces (GPF), prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice, the Gambia Armed Forces, judges, the Director of Human Rights from the Office of the Ombudsman, and officers from the Gambia Prison Service (GPS), judges, officers from the Gambia Prison Service (GPS), the Director of Human Rights from the Office of the Ombudsman, and officers from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATP), the National Legal Aid Agency, the Female Lawyers Association (FLAG), and officers from the professional standards and human rights units of the GPF, GPS and DLEAG. The training covered sexual violence and other forms of torture, accountability, protection of victims, witnesses and survivors, and the international and national legal framework in these areas.
As a result, the training fostered institutional integrity and promoted human rights standards within the oversight and accountability mechanisms of institutions responsible for combating transnational organised crime and illicit trafficking. The activity also contributed to the development and implementation of standard operating procedures on cases of torture by key law enforcement institutions.
CRIMJUST III is funded by the European Union under the Global Illicit Flows Programme. It seeks to enhance law enforcement and judicial counter-narcotic strategies beyond interdiction activities and to foster transnational responses targeting each stage of the drug supply chain.
More information can be found at:
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- Global Illicit Flows Programme
