[{"bbox": [96, 152, 1136, 472], "category": "Text", "text": "Since January 2017, the country has been undergoing a transition towards democratic governance following 22 years of authoritarian rule under former President Yahya Jammeh. Democratic state-building is a complex, long-term process of creating the necessary conditions for sustainable peace and development, and in The Gambia this transition has been particularly complex due to the overlapping of sensitive reform processes on transitional justice, constitution building, anti-corruption, security sector reform, judicial, civil service, and legislative reforms. The first strategic priority of The Gambia's National Development Plan (NDP) 2018-2022 is to \"restore good governance, respect for human rights, the rule of law, and empowering citizens through decentralization and local governance,\" which highlights the importance of an efficient public sector that is responsive to the aspiration of its citizens. The EU has been present throughout the democratic transition, supporting via budget support, governance indicators, as well as through projects in the areas of security, civil society and transitional justice. The EU has supported the Truth Reconciliation And Reparations Commission (TRRC) since its inception and is aligning the governance projects on the Government White Paper on the TRRC report³ issued in May 2022."}, {"bbox": [96, 496, 1136, 843], "category": "Text", "text": "COVID-19 has resulted in notable socio-economic impacts in several sectors e.g. (tourism, trade, education, agriculture) and poverty remains a major challenge, with an estimated 48.6% of the population living in poverty in 2016, most of whom are rural (69.5% of the rural population live in poverty). Years of mismanagement and corruption have taken a heavy toll on Gambia's institutions and economy and severely weakened the State's administrative structures. The Gambia has a Human Development Index Score of 0.49, well below sub-Saharan African nations' mean score of 0.547.⁴ A high number of Gambians have little access to services such as medical care, and many still lack infrastructure such as running water, electricity, and sewage. Gambia has taken numerous measures to improve women's status in the political, economic, and social life of the country in accordance with the international framework. Despite these efforts, the welfare of women of The Gambia continues to lag significantly behind that of men. According to the Gender Inequality Index, Gambia is ranked 148 out of 162 countries in the 2019 index. In Gambia, 8.6% of parliamentary seats are held by women (three elected and two through Presidential nominations), and 31.5% of adult women have reached at least a secondary level of education compared to 44.4% of their male counterparts⁵."}, {"bbox": [96, 867, 1136, 1347], "category": "Text", "text": "Considerable progress has been made on transitional justice and human rights. In February 2017, the Government set up a Panel of Missing Persons under the Ministry of Interior, which over five months received about 40 complaints relating to unlawful killings, sexual violence and enforced disappearances. The Commission of Inquiry into the Financial Activities of Public Bodies, Enterprises and Offices (the 'Janneh Commission') was established in July 2017 to investigate corruption by former President Yahya Jammeh, his family members and close associates as related to public bodies. Moreover, following nationwide consultations during which Gambians from a large cross-section of society expressed their views, concerns, and expectations on how to address human rights abuses and bring about transitional justice, the National Assembly in December 2017 passed the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) Act, the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC) Act, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Act. Over the years, progressive laws aimed at promoting and protecting the rights and freedoms of all Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), access to information and media freedoms have been passed. The Government has also complied with its human rights reporting obligations, although the ILO recently noted some outstanding reports regarding labour rights⁶. The Gambia is a signatory to many conventions at global and regional level to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. These include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the ILO convention No. 100 on 'equal pay for work of equal value', the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Unfortunately, discriminatory practices and Gender Based Violence are still present in the country."}, {"bbox": [96, 1371, 1136, 1506], "category": "Text", "text": "The Presidential election in December 2021 was the first to be held since the end of the 22-year dictatorship in January 2017. It witnessed a stark increase in the participation of contestants, and heightened expectations about the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Notwithstanding efforts by the Inter-Party Committee (IPC), the election campaign period demonstrated, however, that the political situation remains fragile, with a high degree of polarization, some instances of hate speech and inadequate dialogue spaces to foster consensus amongst the"}, {"bbox": [86, 1548, 969, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Government White Paper on the Report Of The Truth Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. Link"}, {"bbox": [86, 1573, 717, 1598], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ UNDP (2020), Human Development Report, Country Brief: Gambia. Link"}, {"bbox": [86, 1598, 139, 1620], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ Ibid."}, {"bbox": [86, 1621, 1143, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ International Labour Organization: General Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022) Link"}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 5 of 31"}]