Statement by H.E. Mamadou Tangara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad

Mr. Chair,

Distinguished Guests

Excellencies,

Good afternoon from The Gambia. Mr. Chair while expressing gratitude to you and the Peacebuilding Commission for convening this most important meeting on The Gambia aimed at receiving updates on progress and challenges in the constitutional review, ongoing reforms and good governance as well as to Identify what the PBC can do to continue supporting the peacebuilding priorities of The Gambia, allow me at the outset to acknowledge my colleague, H.E. Mr. Dawda A. Jallow, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of The Gambia, who will be providing briefing to the Commission, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, H.E. Mr. Mahama Kappiah, Permanent Observer of the Economic Community of the West African States to the United Nations (ECOWAS) or the ECOWAS Resident  Representative to the Gambia  (TBC) and Ms. Salama Njie, National Network Coordinator, West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP).

To Mr. Oscar Fernández-Taranco, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support Office and his dynamic team at the PBSO, my delegation remains grateful to you for being there with us during critical times and for providing critical support when it was needed most.

Mr. Chair,

It gives me great pleasure and honor to grace this meeting virtually, having been restricted by the undue circumstances of COVID – 19 Pandemic from joining you in person to interact and do business as usual. The prevailing working condition that we are currently operating under is a clear testament to the dire circumstances the Pandemic has put us in. This PBC meeting on The Gambia calling for updates and suggestions of priorities that PBC can support is more than relevant and timely considering the very important need to sustain the hard work gains we have achieved as partners thus far.

Mr. Chair,

As a witness to the infancy of this very rewarding partnership, which has been nurtured over a period of hard work, sacrifices and investments, I am happy and optimistic today more than ever of the commitment of my government to this partnership. The journey of The Gambia to becoming a success story of peacebuilding and sustaining peace from a state of fragility, is a remarkable journey, one that we continue to toil. Our overarching goal on this journey is to build and sustain peace, the aim of which is impossible to attain without continued commitment.

Going forward, we are encouraged with renewed optimism for the future as we continue to work with PBSO to complete the ongoing projects as well as to implement the year 2020 approved project and cost-extension on “Young women and men as stakeholders in ensuring peaceful democratic processes and advocates for the prevention of violence and hate speech”. This project is very much inline with the Government of The Gambia’s priority areas like democracy, transparency, rule of law, and economic growth for sustainable peace and development through.

Mr. Chair

In our quest for advancing sustainable peace within and beyond The Gambia, the Government is of the strong conviction that these key areas of concern must be mainstreamed in our national efforts to build peace and sustain it over the long haul. Regional strategies to uproot the evils of organized crime, trafficking in persons, terrorism and violent extremism must be supported. It is our resolve to achieve sustainable peace in The Gambia, by investing in economic growth, guided by the rule of law, democracy, and transparency. Good governance, institutional reforms and people-centered approaches will continue to inform our peacebuilding efforts.

Mr. Chair,

The Government is committed to creating an enabling environment that encourages constructive criticism, including a new and vigorous role for the civil society. As partners, the civil society plays a crucial role in peacebuilding and sustaining peace. The Government of The Gambia strongly believes that it is the responsibility of every responsible government to provide its citizenry with an atmosphere that is conducive to support the development of their full potential if they are to grow as a people in a sustained peaceful environment.

In closing Mr. Chair, consolidating the dividends of peace remains one of the major priorities of the Government of The Gambia and we will continue to exert all efforts towards achieving durable peace. We recognize, however, that we have challenges just like in any restored democracy, including the revival of our economy, a comprehensive reform of our laws and various administrative institutions. Peacebuilding and sustaining peace will remain worthwhile investments for our newfound democracy and sustained peace. We would like to reiterate our appreciation to PBC and encourage your continued material and financial support, capacity building, technical cooperation and exchange of ideas.

I thank you all for this virtual interaction.