Truth and Accountability Mechanisms
Genuine restorative justice demands mechanisms that validate suffering, something cash cannot provide. Therefore, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) remains essential. This body must allow victims to articulate the specifics of trauma, providing a public record of abuses. Beyond listening, the TRC needs to ensure tangible accountability; prosecuting high-level perpetrators establishes deterrence and restores belief in the rule of law, especially regarding Human Rights Violations (HRVs).
Institutional Reform and Prevention
Healing social trust requires structural change. Reparations funds alone do not stop future abuses. Governments must implement comprehensive institutional vetting. This means rigorously screening police, judiciary, and security personnel who served during the Jammeh era. Furthermore, adopting judicial frameworks that prioritize victim participation shifts the justice paradigm from merely punitive to genuinely reparative.
Community-Based Healing Programs
To mend fractured community bonds, focused social investment is necessary. Grassroots initiatives, such as community dialogue forums and psycho-social support groups, address the psychological residue of generational trauma. These programs help individuals process collective grief. They also foster localized mechanisms of reconciliation, moving beyond state-level mandates. Rebuilding affected social capital—the network of relationships—allows communities to independently assert their resilience and collective memory.
