The Gambian government has issued a white paper that accepts the findings of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which investigated human rights breaches occurred under Yahya Jammeh's administration from July 1994 to January 2017.
It has also promised to collaborate closely with partners to ensure that appropriate resources and expertise are available for the search and identification of burial locations, exhumations, and the identification of remains to be returned to their families for proper burial.
Jammeh and 13 other conspirators would be prosecuted by the government.
At a press conference in Kumasi, Mr William Nyarko, Coordinator, Jammeh2Justice (J2J) Ghana Coalition, revealed this to the media. The publishing of the Gambia Government White Paper on the TRRC recommendations on the murder of 44 Ghanaians and other West Africans in the Gambia in 2005 was a source of concern.
He further stated that the government is willing to pay the West African Migrants and other non-Gambian citizens an amount of D32, 400,000 (thirty-two million, four hundred thousand Dalasis).
The unpaid payment indicated in the TRRC report does not include this amount.
Mr Nyarko assured the reporters that the victims' restitution will be paid as quickly as possible through their respective governments.
The government, once again, agrees to engage with their survivors and countries through the independent reparations organization that will be established, as well as recognize and grant the additional list of victims supplied.
Mr Nyarko, who is also the Executive Director of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), said the government understands that victims have a right to reparations, which it must fulfill, and is working on a Victim's Reparation Bill in cooperation with stakeholders.
Mr Nyarko praised the Gambian government's measures and urged states in the West African sub-region to pay close attention to the lives of disadvantaged people.
J2J Victims' Spokesperson, Mr. Emmanuel Gershon Oduro Mensah, has urged on the Ghanaian government to quickly engage with the Gambia government on an upward adjustment of the compensation sum to match recent ECOWAS Community Court of Justice decisions.
According to Madam Regina O. Amanfo, Jammeh2Justice GhanaProject Campaign Manager, Center for Democratic Governance (CDD-Ghana), a Coalition of Civil Society Organizations led by CDD-Ghana was formed in 2018 to revive the campaign after new evidence from international partners such as Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International alleged that Ghanaians were unlawfully killed by the "Junglers," a Gambian paramilitary group, on President Jammeh's orders.
Since the campaign began, the coalition has engaged in a number of activities, including meetings with key institutions such as the Ghana Police Service, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General's Department, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidency, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, the media, civil society organizations, and individuals.
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