In December 2014, the White House announced Gambia’s eligibility for trade benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was suspended. This decision came about due to the Gambian leaders’ enactment of anti-gay policies. Though this strategic action was an important first step, more severe measures must be taken to counter attack the ongoing crackdown of discriminative policies against LGBT* individuals. For this reason, on the 23rd of January 2015 thirteen human rights groups joined the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in calling upon a new commitment from President Obama in fighting against the systematic violations of LGBT* rights in Gambia.
The organizations sent a powerful letter to the President. The letter states that “It is not too late for the United States to send President Jammeh and his regime a clear and unequivocal message: human rights violations will not be tolerated, and the U.S. Government will respond, as well as with strong condemnation.” Moreover, Director of HRC Global Ty Cobb issued the following statement: “The United States cannot turn a blind eye to the horrific human rights abuses being inflicted on Gambians by President Yahya Jammeh’s regime. As we speak, the lives of LGBT* Gambians who have been arrested and secretly detained are at risk, and there are no indications that Jammeh’s brutal crackdown on LGBT people and others is slowing down“.
Currently, the Gambian regime is one of the most homophobic in the world. Last August President Jammeh signed into law a bill that called for life imprisonment for some homosexual activities. The law was perceived as an escalation of anti-gay policies. In 2008, President Jammeh gave homosexuals the ultimatum to leave the country: the “invitation” was made explicit by the threat to face execution by beheading.
Moreover, to quote only a few of President Jammeh’s most hostile remarks, gay people are “vermin” and “the biggest threat to human existence“, which consequently make the government supposed to “tackle them in a similar way to malaria-causing mosquitoes“. Hence, the government seems to have fully embraced an ideology supporting the extermination of homosexuals, making many experts suppose that the country is potentially progressing down the path of a “gay genocide”.
Unfortunately, Gambia is not the only country in the African continent where LGBT* people are facing harsh discrimination and persecution. It is estimated by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) that currently 35 countries enforce anti-homosexuality laws in Africa.
