[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 456 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 456

  Expressing support for a free, fair, and peaceful December 4, 2021, 
                        election in The Gambia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 18, 2021

 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Coons, Mr. Rounds, 
    Mr. Boozman, Mr. Cardin, and Mr. Rubio) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

                             April 6, 2022

  Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                                preamble

                              May 11, 2022

      Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing support for a free, fair, and peaceful December 4, 2021, 
                        election in The Gambia.

Whereas, in 1965, The Gambia became independent from Great Britain;
Whereas, in 1970, The Gambia became a republic following a public referendum, 
        and Dawda Jawara was elected president and subsequently reelected an 
        additional five times;
Whereas, from 1970 to 1994, The Gambia was one of Africa's longest running 
        democracies and home to the continent's human rights body, the African 
        Commission on Human and People's Rights;
Whereas, in 1994, President Jawara was forcibly removed from office in a coup by 
        the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), led by Lieutenant 
        Yahya Jammeh;
Whereas, after two years of direct AFPRC rule that was heavily criticized by the 
        international community, a flawed constitutional reform process occurred 
        and The Gambia scheduled a new presidential election;
Whereas, in the lead up to the September 1996 presidential election, the Jammeh 
        military government outlawed the country's main opposition parties, 
        restricted media freedom, prohibited meetings between rival candidates 
        and foreign diplomats, and used soldiers to attack opposition rallies;
Whereas Jammeh won the 1996 presidential election in a process widely regarded 
        as flawed by international observers;
Whereas President Jammeh won reelection in 2001, 2006, and 2011 in electoral 
        processes marred by political repression, intimidation, and technical 
        flaws;
Whereas Jammeh's presidency saw targeted violence and widespread gross human 
        rights violations, particularly against members of the media, including 
        the murder of editor Deyda Hydara and the disappearance of journalist 
        Ebrima Manneh;
Whereas President Jammeh personally ordered the kidnapping and torture of 
        individuals he accused of ``witchcraft'' and threatened others over 
        their sexual orientation;
Whereas thousands of Gambians fled into exile out of concern for their safety, 
        becoming refugees in Africa at large and elsewhere;
Whereas the Jammeh government's human rights record was widely criticized by 
        regional and international human rights groups, as well as the United 
        States, the European Union, and members of the United States Senate;
Whereas, in December 2016, opposition grand coalition candidate Adama Barrow, 
        who campaigned on the promise of electoral and constitutional reform, 
        won an upset election victory against President Jammeh;
Whereas, immediately after the 2016 election, Jammeh publicly accepted the 
        defeat, but then later rejected the results and refused to depart the 
        presidency;
Whereas Jammeh's refusal to accept defeat was widely condemned, with the African 
        Union refusing to recognize him as president and the Economic Community 
        of West African States deploying an international intervention force to 
        The Gambia;
Whereas, on January 19, 2017, Barrow was sworn in as president at the Gambian 
        Embassy in Senegal;
Whereas, on January 20, 2017, Jammeh and his family departed The Gambia, 
        reportedly stealing more than $1,000,000,000 from state coffers, 
        eventually to appear in Equatorial Guinea, where he remains in political 
        exile with impunity;
Whereas President Barrow initially agreed to limit his term to a three-year 
        transition ending on January 19, 2020, but later stated his intent to 
        serve the full five-year constitutional term;
Whereas the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) was 
        established by an act of the Gambian Parliament to examine abuses 
        committed during the Jammeh era and make recommendations as to whom to 
        hold accountable;
Whereas more than 370 victims and former government officials testified at 
        widely viewed TRRC hearings that documented widespread human rights 
        abuses;
Whereas on November 25, 2021, the TRRC submitted its final report to President 
        Barrow detailing the death of more than 240 people, torture, rape, and 
        disappearances under the Jammeh regime;
Whereas on December 4, 2021, The Gambia held the first post-Jammeh era 
        presidential election, which included six presidential candidates;
Whereas the December 4, 2021 election occurred peacefully, with high voter 
        turnout and under the observation of a significant number of domestic 
        and international monitors;
Whereas, on December 5, 2021, The Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission 
        (IEC) announced the results, showing that President Barrow had won 
        reelection;
Whereas, on December 5, 2021, domestic election observers and other stakeholders 
        released a joint statement noting that ``the elections were conducted 
        generally in an atmosphere of transparency and fairness as observed by 
        domestic and international observers'' and reminded candidates of the 
        Code of Conduct for Peaceful Elections provision to ``accept the results 
        of the election as announced by the Chairperson of the IEC'';
Whereas, on December 5, 2021, former President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai 
        Koroma, who led an election observation mission from the Economic 
        Community of West African States (ECOWAS), appealed to all the Gambian 
        candidates ``to accept the outcome of the election in good faith'';
Whereas, on December 24, 2021, the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations 
        Commission published its findings that former President Jammeh was 
        responsible for more than 20 years of killings, torture, and rape and 
        recommended that those responsible be prosecuted, saying, ``To forgive 
        and forget with impunity the violations and abuses ... would not only 
        undermine reconciliation but would also constitute a massive and 
        egregious cover-up of the crimes committed.'';
Whereas, on December 28, 2021, the Gambia Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to 
        the election results; and
Whereas, on January 18, 2022, the Independent Electoral Commission announced 
        that National Assembly elections would be held on April 9, 2022: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) congratulates the Gambian people on the successful 2016 
        and 2021 presidential elections and the April 2022 legislative 
        election;
            (2) supports the courageous and necessary work and 
        recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations 
        Commission to bring accountability, healing, and reconciliation 
        to the nation, and calls on the government to follow through 
        with appropriate actions with regards to justice, 
        accountability, and reparations for victims; and
            (3) expresses the support of the American people in The 
        Gambia's continued and noteworthy democratic path forward.
                                 <all>