NGOs Pledge to Pursue All Cases of Disappearances

The maiden edition of the NGO Week in The Gambia on Friday wrapped up with TANGO, the umbrella NGO body committing its members to take up a proactive stance against human rights violations in The Gambia.  
The Gambia hosts African Union’s human rights commission, but the country’s human rights record is poor with reports of mysterious disappearances of persons, including political opponents, journalists and military personel.
“NGOs need to demonstrate proactiveness in breaking the culture of silence over these violations as well as pursue all cases of missing persons for redress,” the NGO Week resolved.
“It is recommended that NGOs mainstream human rights and governance in their programmes.”
The Gambia government is urged to develop and implement a human rights and governance curriculum in schools.
Meanwhile, the weeklong event under the auspices of The Association of Non-Governmental Organizations in The Gambia (TANGO), brought together various NGOs with a view to celebrate the successes and contributions of  NGOs to the socio-economic and political development of The Gambia.