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Screensize: 640 x 480 800 x 600 1024 x 768 1280 x 1024 UserName: Password: Format Mode: Basic  Help  Prompt  Format: Videos: Font Andale Mono Arial Arial Black Book Antiqua Century Gothic Comic Sans MS Courier New Georgia Impact Lucida Console Script MT Bold Stencil Tahoma Times New Roman Trebuchet MS Verdana   Size 1 2 3 4 5 6   Color Black Red Yellow Pink Green Orange Purple Blue Beige Brown Teal Navy Maroon LimeGreen Message: * HTML is OFF * Forum Code is ON Smilies [quote][i]Originally posted by Momodou[/i] [br]Statement of Mr. Adama DIENG Special Adviser Without Portfolio to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ; Former United Nations Under- Secretary-General and Special : Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and former Registrar of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda 17 November 2021 Dear Gambian and international friends It is a great pleasure to address this conference on the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. Gambia’s TRRC has been a model in the field of transitional justice. Over two years of publicly televised sessions, the TRRC heard from 392 witnesses, including victims and perpetrators . The witnesses tied the former president and his accomplices to the killing and torture of political opponents, the murder of over 50 West African migrants, and abusive “witch hunts”. Witnesses testified that the former president raped and sexually assaulted women brought to him and personally ran a sham treatment program that forced HIV-positive Gambians to give up their medicines. One of the TRRC’s tasks is the “identification and recommendation for prosecution of persons who bear the greatest responsibility for human rights violations and abuses.” At the end of the TRRC hearings, the Lead Counsel concluded that « justice must happen » for these crimes. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court , Mr. Karim Khan, whom I serve as special advisor, publicly stated that he agreed with the conclusion of the Lead Counsel. The legal responsibility for prosecuting these crimes rests in the first instance with the government of The Gambia. We hope and we expect that The Gambia will be able effectively to prosecute these crimes, either alone or with the support of regional or international partners. If The Gambia is unwilling or unable to prosecute these serious crimes, however, the International Criminal Court, in conformity with the principle of complementarity, may do its part in investigating and prosecuting those most responsible. It is also possible that many of these crimes, in particular the murder of the West African migrants from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and elsewhere, could be prosecuted by other states under principles such as universal jurisdiction. Let us be clear, however. Whether it is in The Gambia, in another African country, before a special court, or at the ICC, justice must happen and justice will happen. Impunity is not an option. Thank you. [/quote]   Check here to include your profile signature.