The Ministries of Justice and the Interior have been advised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to change Section 5 of the Public Order Act, moving away from a permit-based system for public gatherings and toward a notice approach.
The Commission’s 2024 State of Human Rights Report, which was presented to the National Assembly earlier this year and covered the years January 1–December 31, 2024, contained the suggestion.
The NHRC claims that during the reporting period, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) rejected many permit petitions, severely restricting the right to assemble.
According to the report, “Enjoying the right to freedom of assembly remains a challenge in The Gambia.” The Commission restated its initial concerns in its 2023 report, which emphasized that the fundamental right to peaceful assembly is unnecessarily restricted by Section 5 of the Public Order Act.
The NHRC underlined that its earlier suggestions—to change the Public Order Act from a permit to a notification system and to align it with the 1997 Constitution and international human rights commitments—have not yet been put into practice.
The Commission emphasized that reasonable restrictions on assembly must be equitable, nondiscriminatory, and fair, even while it acknowledged that such restrictions are allowed under both national and international human rights legislation.
The IGP rejected citizens’ requests for permits on multiple occasions in 2024, according to the study. Among these was a planned demonstration in April 2024 against the Gambia Ports Authority (GPA) for suspected corruption and ferry service interruptions. Marr Nyang, the head of Gambia Participates, an anti-corruption group, and seven other activists staged a nonviolent sit-down protest at Arch 22 in Banjul after the denial.
However, according to the report, “they were arrested and detained for seven hours at the Police Headquarters in Banjul.”
Cement importers who wanted to protest against import monopolies, higher tax fees, and rising cement prices were also denied a protest permit by the Gambia Police Force in June 2024.
On December 2, 2024, police violently broke up a nonviolent gathering of University of The Gambia students in another incident. The Commission claims that despite there being no proof of violence or threats of violence, a police officer used a tear gas canister, briefly hospitalizing some pupils.
In November 2024, the Coalition of Progressive Gambians received permission to hold a demonstration in favor of the 2020 Draft Constitution, which the NHRC recognized as a positive development. The report noted that although though the permit was said to have been delayed, its final approval was a positive move.
The Commission’s final recommendation was for the Attorney General to drop all charges against anyone who had been charged with unlawful assembly under the existing Public Order Act.
