THE REPUBLIC OF THE GAMBIA’S COMBINED REPORT ON THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLES’ RIGHTS & INITIAL REPORT ON THE PROTOCOL TO THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON THE RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN AFRICA Notwithstanding the achievements made in the reduction of the infant and maternal mortality, several challenges continue to be faced such as the sufficient availability of health centres particularly in hard to reach areas along with health personnel. ARTICLE 5: RIGHT TO DIGNITY, PROHIBITION OF TORTURE AND SLAVERY “Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status. All forms of exploitation of man, particularly slavery, slave trade, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited” Section 20 of the Constitution prohibits any form of slavery or forced labour. In line with Section 20, the Trafficking in Persons Act, 2007 was enacted, which established the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP) and makes it an offence for a person to engage in trafficking in persons, widely defined under Section 28 of the Act. The Labour Act, 2007 also prohibits forced labour. The prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment is enshrined in Section 21 of the Constitution. The Section provides that “No person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” This right is absolute, in that even in situations of public emergency this provision is non-derogable. Even though the Constitutional prohibition of torture is not yet supported by the creation of a specific offence of torture under the country’s criminal law, the offences in the Criminal Code such as threatening violence, common assault, assault causing actual bodily harm, assault causing grievous bodily harm and laws and regulations such as the Judges Rules and the Evidence Act, 1994 have also been put in place to give effect to the prohibition of torture. Earlier this year, the new Government also ratified the Convention for the Protection of Enforced Disappearances. The Government has also taken practical steps in fulfilment of its obligation under the Charter by ensuring that perpetrators of torture are prosecuted under the Criminal Code. It has also established mechanisms to ensure that State security agents do not resort to torture and degrading and inhuman treatment as a tool for interrogation of suspects in custody. The Gambia Police Force and Prisons Service have internal accountability mechanisms such as the adoption of a Code of Conduct and the establishment of the Police Human Rights and Complaints Unit. 31