III 

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 conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 May 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR456.ATS SR456

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SRES 456 ATS 

tinent’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; 


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SRES 456 ATS 

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; 


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SRES 456 ATS 

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’’; 


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SRES 456 ATS 

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 coverup 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 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the Gambian people on the 

3 successful 2016 and 2021 presidential elections and 

4 the April 2022 legislative election; 

5 (2) supports the courageous and necessary work 

6 and recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation, 

7 and Reparations Commission to bring accountability, 

8 healing, and reconciliation to the nation, and calls 

9 on the government to follow through with approVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:23 May 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR456.ATS SR456

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SRES 456 ATS 

1 priate actions with regards to justice, accountability, 

2 and reparations for victims; and 

3 (3) expresses the support of the American peo4 ple in The Gambia’s continued and noteworthy 

5 democratic path forward. 

Æ 


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