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13-14 November 2024 -The UNODC-GPCD CRIMJUST team conducted a mission to The Gambia from 13 to 15 November 2023, in the framework of CRIMJUST III to strengthen institutional integrity and accountability, as well as to mainstream a human rights-based approach and gender into the interventions of criminal justice actors involved in combating transnational organised crime along illicit trafficking routes.
The team held back-to-back meetings with the Deputy Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system in The Gambia, the Solicitor General of the Ministry of Justice, the National Human Rights Commission, the Director of the Drug Enforcement Law Agency, and the Delegation of the European Union in The Gambia. The team also conducted a two-day stakeholder meeting on the protection of human rights during the investigation and prosecution of transnational crimes which brought together officials from the Judiciary, law enforcement, investigators, prosecutors, prison officials, the Ministry of Interior, the National Human Rights Commission and civil society organisations.
During the opening ceremony, the Deputy Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in The Gambia highlighted the context of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and stressed the need for all stakeholders, including the civil society, to mainstream human rights in the investigation and prosecution of cases related to organised crime. H.E. Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to The Gambia underlined the commitment of the European Union to continue working with UNODC and CRIMJUST beneficiaries to combat drug trafficking and related organised crime.
The two-day activity provided participants with key presentations on the international legal framework for combating TOC, the general structure of organised crime groups, the international legal framework on human rights and the national legal framework for combating transnational organised crime, including the protection of women, children, victims and witnesses.
The main outcome of the three days was a strategic roadmap to address the challenges of the current legal and institutional framework for ethics and human rights in the investigation and prosecution of TOC, including drug trafficking and prison conditions. Notable key actions outlined in the roadmap included leveraging the work of the Human Rights and Professional Standards Units of the Gambia Law Enforcement Agency, the Prisons Service and the Ministry of Justice to promote the emergence of human rights and ethics champions; disseminating key UN instruments on the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty; reviewing national legislation to strengthen the legal framework on international drug trafficking in line with international human rights standards; and strengthening coordination among key stakeholders.
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
