Introducing Transitional Justice and Human Rights in Schools
How Gambian students across secondary schools are learning about constitutional rights, past human rights violations, and the collective civic responsibility to ensure abuses never happen again.
Post-TRRC Unit · Ministry of Justice, The Gambia
More than 60 percent of The Gambia’s population is under the age of 25. For hundreds of thousands of young Gambians, the abuses documented by the TRRC are not personal memories, but historical accounts recounted by parents and elder community members.
To bridge this generational gap, the Post-TRRC Unit in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has piloted interactive civic modules in senior secondary schools across the Greater Banjul Area and Lower River Region. These modules examine constitutional supremacy, human dignity, and the historical root causes of impunity.
During classroom debates, students actively interrogate the institutions of state power: What happens when the judiciary loses independence? Why must security forces remain accountable to civilian authority? How do citizens defend freedom of speech without fear of reprisal?
Equipping young people with civic literacy and moral courage is the most effective long-term guarantee of non-recurrence. When youth understand how authoritarian systems take root, they become the strongest defenders of democratic institutions.
