III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST 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, and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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 


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•SRES 456 IS 

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; 


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•SRES 456 IS 

Whereas the Jammeh government’s human rights record was 

widely criticized by regional and international human 

rights groups, as well as the United States, 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 durVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Nov 19, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR456.IS SR456

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•SRES 456 IS 

ing 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 the TRRC’s anticipated September 2021 final report submission to President Barrow was delayed; and 

Whereas The Gambia will hold the first post-Jammeh era 

presidential election on December 4, 2021, which will include six presidential candidates: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) congratulates the Gambian people on the 

3 successful 2016 presidential election; 

4 (2) supports the courageous and necessary work 

5 of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Com6 mission to bring accountability, healing, and rec7 onciliation to the nation; 

8 (3) calls on all parties and presidential can9 didates to participate in a free, fair, credible, and 

10 peaceful December 4, 2021, presidential election in 

11 The Gambia; and 

12 (4) expresses the support of the American peo13 ple in The Gambia’s continued and noteworthy 

14 democratic path forward. 

Æ 


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