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The Gambia - US Relations

U.S. policy seeks to build improved relations with The Gambia on the basis of historical ties, mutual respect, democratic rule, human rights, and adherence to UN resolutions on counterterrorism, conflict diamonds, and other forms of trafficking. Following The Gambia's successful presidential and legislative elections in October 2001 and January 2002, respectively, the U.S. Government determined that a democratically elected government had assumed office and thus lifted the sanctions it had imposed against The Gambia in accordance with Section 508 of the Foreign Assistance Act as a result of the 1994 coup. U.S. assistance supports democracy, human rights, girls' education, and the fight against HIV/AIDS. In addition, the Peace Corps maintains a large program with about 100 volunteers engaged in the environment, public health, and education sectors, mainly at the village level.

Relations with the U.S. have not improved significantly due to the human rights and freedom of press shortcomings, which resulted in the suspension of The Gambia's compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in June 2006. The Gambia became eligible for preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) on January 1, 2003. As of 2009, the United States exported $7 million of goods to The Gambia and imported $600,000 of goods.

The government has a poor human rights reputation that has dampened investment prospects. On October 9, 2014, The Gambia’s President, Yahya Jammeh, signed into law the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act, 2014, which includes a provision that prescribes a harsh penalty for certain homosexual acts already criminalized under the country’s Criminal Code. (Gambian Leader Approves Anti-Gay Law, GUARDIAN (Nov. 21, 2014).) The Act was adopted by the country’s 53-member unicameral National Assembly in August. The enactment of the legislation set The Gambia apart from other African countries in that it is the only jurisdiction whose criminal laws include the offense of “aggravated homosexuality.” While many other African jurisdictions outlaw homosexuality in one form or another, none of their laws include “aggravated homosexuality.”

The legislation introduced a new offense involving homosexuality known as “aggravated homosexuality,” which is punishable on conviction by life in prison. A person commits this offense if he or she engages in a homosexual act and the:

1. person against whom the offence is committed is below the age of eighteen;
2. offender is a person living with HIV Aids;
3. offender is a parent or guardian of the person against whom the offence is committed;
4. offender is a person in authority over the person against whom the offence is committed;
5. victim of the offence is a person with disability;
6. offender is a serial offender; or
7. offender applies, administers or causes to be administered by any man or woman, any drug, matter or substance with intent to stupefy or overpower him or her, so as to enable any person to have un-lawful carnal connection with any person of the same sex.

The country’s Criminal Code has long outlawed a lesser form of this crime, called an “unnatural offence.” The Code provides that a “person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature … or permits any person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature” commits a felony known as an unnatural offense and, on conviction, is punishable by a 14-year prison term. (Criminal Code of 1934, § 144, 3 LAWS OF GAMBIA, Cap. 8:01 (rev. ed. 2009).)

Since its adoption by the Gambian National Assembly in August, various organizations have condemned the Act and urged President Jammeh not to sign it. For instance, on September 10, 2014, Human Rights Watch, noting that the legislation violates international human rights law and that it would “further add to the climate of fear” for the members of the LGBTI community in the country, called on Jammeh to “reject [the] homophobic law.” Amnesty International UK, which organized over 30,000 of its supporters to participate in a campaign against the legislation leading up its enactment, stated that it violated The Gambia’s Constitution and international law and further institutionalized discrimination against a minority group.

The United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, echoed these sentiments, stating “[t]his law violates fundamental human rights – among them the right to privacy, to freedom from discrimination and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention. It adds to the stigma and abuses that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people already face in The Gambia.” (The Gambia: Zeid Criticizes Harsh Legal Amendment, Violence and Arrests Targeting Gay Men and Lesbians, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights website. In addition, on November 24, 2014, the United States Department of State issued a statement condemning the enactment of the legislation and the reported arrests and detention of suspected LGBT persons that ensued.

After passage in 2014 of the draconian law mandating life imprisonment for persons engaging in acts of "aggravated homosexuality," denying access to UN Special Rapporteurs investigating reports of torture and extrajudicial executions, and ongoing reports of arbitrary arrests of journalists, human rights advocates, and civil servants, the U.S. government on December 24, 2014 suspended The Gambia from eligibility to participate as a trade beneficiary under the provisions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

As a result of U.S. expressions of concern about The Gambia's human rights record and the AGOA suspension, the government on December 29, 2014 issued a written directive to all Ministries, Government Departments and Agencies instructing that issues regarding agricultural matters and national strategic development objectives should no longer be discussed with U.S. authorities. The directive added that this information be disseminated to all Civil Servants working at the respective institutions. The practical effect of this directive has been to limit the ability of U.S. Embassy personnel to have substantive discussions with Gambian officials without their interlocutors’ first receiving permission to meet. These restrictions severely limit the ability of U.S. Embassy personnel to advocate on behalf of American companies and individuals seeking to do business in The Gambia.