24 March 2016
HRDA has officially handed-over the human rights manual produced for Gambia law enforcement agencies with funding from the British Embassy in Banjul.
The handing-over ceremony took place today Thursday 24 March 2016 at the headquarters of the Gambia Police Force.
Speaking on behalf of law enforcement agencies, Deputy Inspector General of Police for The Gambia, Momodou Sowe, commended the efforts of IHRDA and the British Embassy in the initiative to build the human rights capacity of law enforcement officers, which, he said, will go a long way to enhance their performance in the dispensation of their duties.
“The most efficient public security mechanism is the one that enjoys the love, trust, cooperation and respect of the society…and this entails respecting the rights of the people”, the Deputy Police Chief intimated.
Speaking earlier, UK Ambassador to The Gambia, H.E. Colin Crorkin, also evoked the need for law enforcement officers to gain the cooperation and trust of the public, which is vital in the fight against terrorism.
On his part, Executive Director of IHRDA, Gaye Sowe, gave an overview of the manual and the human rights capacity-building project for Gambia law enforcement agencies. He seized the opportunity to thank the UK Embassy for their support, and the law enforcement agencies for their cooperation through-out the project. Mr Sowe also announced plans to strengthen partnership between IHRDA and the law enforcement corps of The Gambia.
The manual has been printed in 300 copies to be distributed to the various law enforcement agencies that were involved in the project.
It should be noted that the project ran from October 2015 to March 2016, during which IHRDA trained 340 officers from the Gambia Police Force, the Immigration Department, the Prisons Services and the National Drug law Enforcement Agency in all divisions of The Gambia. Each officer trained was issued a CD of all domestic laws and international human rights instruments relevant to law enforcement.
