Threat to “kill” human rights defenders by Gambian President totally unacceptable Immediate steps needed to ensure safety of human rights workers
MONTREAL, Canada, September 29, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Gambian President Yahya Jammeh’s threat this week to kill human rights defenders and other “saboteurs” is totally unacceptable and should be met with immediate steps by the African Union to ensure the safety of human rights workers in the country, says Rights & Democracy.
President Jammeh’s threat was made on state television this week prior to his departure for the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Reports quote President Jammeh saying, “If you are affiliated with any human rights group, rest assured that your security is not guaranteed… we are ready to kill saboteurs… I will kill anyone who wants to destabilize the country.”
Human rights groups in The Gambia and across Africa have responded with a petition to see the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights removed from The Gambia to another country. The petition says President Jammeh’s threat “leads us to fear for the safety, security, and lives of ourselves and our colleagues.” The petition is to be forwarded to the African Union, which oversees the work of the African Commission and has the power to remove its offices from their present location just outside the Gambian capital, Banjul.
“Rights & Democracy is deeply troubled by President Jammeh’s threat against the lives of human rights defenders and calls on his government and the African Union to ensure that all those working to protect human rights in The Gambia are given full and adequate protection,” said Razmik Panossian, Director of Programmes, Policy and Planning for Rights & Democracy. “Contrary to President Jammeh’s claims, human rights workers are vital to stability.”
Rights & Democracy has worked with the African Commission for more than 10 years. It has also supported the participation of human rights defenders from across Africa at the Commission’s sessions.
For More Information, please contact Rights & Democracy, 514-283-6073 (x 255).
SOURCE
Rights & Democracy
