 |
| In March, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) says it will support illicit maritime activity in west and
central Africa during a Ministerial meeting in
Cotonou, Benin (Photo Credit: World Maritime News) |
The Gambia’s National
Assembly on Wednesday rejected a motion to ratify the agreement between The
Gambia government and the United States of America concerning cooperation to
suppress illicit transnational maritime activity.
According to the
document of the agreement, the purpose of the proposed cooperation is to enable
The Gambia government and that of the USA to more effectively suppress, combat
and respond to illicit transnational maritime activity, including without
limitation trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
The motion for
the agreement was moved by the Minister of Works, Construction and
Infrastructure, Francis Laiti Mboge , for the National Assembly to consider and
ratify.
However, both
sides of the Assembly rejected the motion saying the document of the agreement
is “one-sided” and it is “not in favour” of The Gambia.
Majority Leader,
Fabakary Tombong Jatta, said international treaties or agreements are usually
concluded on the principle of international law of respect for sovereignty and
equality of states.
In this
particular agreement, he claimed, there is no equality between The Gambia
government and that of the USA.
“To that extend,
I opposed the ratification of this agreement. The document should be sent for
possible amendment before ratification,” he suggested.
He noted that
most of the articles in the agreement are one-sided, citing Article 6 which gives
the US government the right to conduct operations to suppress illicit
transnational maritime activities in Gambia’s internal waters or territorial
sea.
There is no such
other article in the agreement that gives The Gambia government similar right
to conduct such operations in the American waters, Jatta argued.
This is the
“only document” that has come “into force” before parliamentary ratification,
he added.
Article 21 of
the Agreement states: "This agreement shall come into force upon signature
of both sides.”
“The document
was already signed before ratification, which is a contravention of the spirit
of the Constitution and international best practices,” he said, urging his
colleagues not to ratify the document.
The Minority
Leader, Hon Samba Jallow said “The document is controversial so it should be
rejected” – despite admitting never reading the agreement.
Member for
Illisia Constituency, Hon. Lamin K. Jammeh, also argued that most of the
articles in the agreement are not in favour of the people of The Gambia. He said therefore the National Assembly
members should reject it outright.
At the end of
the debate, during which not even a single member expressed support for the
ratification and adoption of the agreement, the cooperation agreement was
rejected by the National Assembly Members.
The Minister of
Works, Construction and Infrastructure, Francis Laiti Mboge said the government
will certainly revisit some of the controversial clauses in the agreement, as
highlighted by the Members, and take it from there.
Written by Modou S. Joof
Follow on Facebook: The-North-Bank-Evening-Standard
No comments:
Post a Comment
The views expressed in this section are the authors' own. It does not represent The North Bank Evening Standard (TNBES)'s editorial policy. Also, TNBES is not responsible for content on external links.