Security Sector Reform Milestones

In order to carry out the desired security sector reforms, the Government of The Gambia commissioned an in-depth assessment to inform the development of a comprehensive security sector reform programme. The assessment examined threats, challenges and opportunities. Each of the security institutions was reviewed. An important part of the assessment was to ascertain public perception of the threats in The Gambia.

A Joint Ministerial/Ambassadorial level government and international partners’ Steering Committee was established by the government which acted as the Project Board constituted in August 2017 to include the Ministers responsible for Interior, Justice and Foreign Affairs, with the Chief Justice on the one hand and the UN Resident Representative, the ECOWAS and EU Ambassadors on the other.

The Steering Committee commissioned a twenty-seven member Technical Working Group (TWG) to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the security and justice needs of the people and the state as the basis for the envisaged security sector reform. The members of the working group were drawn from all security services, relevant other ministries and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) including women and youth groups.

Individual institutional assessments were made of the; The Gambia Armed Forces, The Gambia Police Force, State Intelligence Service / National Intelligence Agency, The Gambia Prisons Services, Drug Law Enforcement Agency, The Gambia Immigration Department, The Gambia Fire and Rescue Services, The Gambia Revenue Authority, The Judiciary, The Ombudsman, African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies, The National Assembly, and Ministries of Finance and Economic Affairs, Défense and Interior.

The Security Sector Assessment sought to evaluate the current security context, challenges and gaps that exist within the security institutions. It aimed at making recommendations for the changes required to make them more professional, effective, accountable, and responsive to the security and justice needs of the citizenry and operating within the framework of good governance, respect for the rule of law and human rights and international humanitarian laws.

New Strategic Direction for a New Gambian Security Sector

Building on the findings and recommendations of the SSR Assessment, together with advice from the government and the international community, three ‘first of their kind’ policy documents were developed by the ONS to set out a new era of security for the people of The Gambia. Each of these important documents were developed by members of the Gambian government through consultation with the public, civil society organisations, international advisers as well as experts from across the security community.

Institutional Reforms

Since 2017, each of the security institutions have undergone their own process of reforms; these have included re-writing policies, revising legal frameworks, re-training officers and developing new operating procedures. Much has been achieved but there is also much more to do. Significant security reforms are still needed – and they are currently being planned. The Security Sector Reform Strategy will map out the next phase of priority reform activities for 2020 and beyond

• Advise the President and National Security Council on issues pertaining to the security of state, matters;
• Provide coordination across inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral (Internal and External) security operations;
• Act as principal channel of communication between the NSC and the security community on issues that concern security as a whole;
• Provide Support and Secretarial services to the NSC;
• Act as the focal point for the management of all National Security related policies across inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral.
• Monitor the implementation and update of the National Security Policy.
• Coordinate Security Sector Reform activities.

The post of an NSA is mandated to carry out the critical responsibility of providing executive support for the functions of the National Security Council and the coordination of the activities of the security sector, amongst other responsibilities. To carry out these functions as contained in the Terms of Reference for the NSA, functional and fully staffed structure is required.