European Asylum Support Office EASO Country of Origin Information Report The Gambia Country Focus December 2017 SUPPORT IS OUR MISSION European Asylum Support Office EASO Country of Origin Information Report The Gambia Country Focus December 2017 Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00800 numbers or these calls may be billed. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). ISBN 978-92-9494-815-1 doi: 10.2847/732387 © European Asylum Support Office 2017 Reproduction is authorised, provided the source is acknowledged, unless otherwise stated. For third-party materials reproduced in this publication, reference is made to the copyrights statements of the respective third parties. Cover photo: Banjul skyline, The Gambia © iStock/mtcurado Neither EASO nor any person acting on its behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained herein. EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT: THE GAMBIA – COUNTRY FOCUS — 3 Acknowledgements EASO would like to acknowledge the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), Division Analysis, Switzerland, as the author of this report. The following national asylum and migration departments have reviewed the report: Belgium, Cedoca – Documentation and Research centre, Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons Norway – Landinfo The Netherlands – Office for Country Information and Language Analysis, Immigration and Naturalisation Service David Perfect, Visiting Professor at the University of Chester-UK, researcher on The Gambia’s politics and history since the 1980s, and author of numerous publications on the country -, reviewed this report. 4 — EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT: THE GAMBIA – COUNTRY FOCUS Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... 3 Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 4 Disclaimer .................................................................................................................................. 7 Glossary and Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 Methodology ........................................................................................................................... 10 Defining the Terms of Reference ........................................................................................ 10 Quality control .................................................................................................................... 11 Structure of the report ........................................................................................................ 11 Map 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 12 1. Background information ................................................................................................. 13 1.1. Geography and climate .......................................................................................... 13 1.2. Recent history ........................................................................................................ 14 1.3. Population, ethnic groups, languages .................................................................... 16 1.3.1. Ethnic groups ................................................................................................. 16 1.3.2. Languages ...................................................................................................... 17 1.3.3. Official language ............................................................................................ 18 1.3.4. Young population .......................................................................................... 18 1.3.5. School system ................................................................................................ 20 1.3.6. Migration ....................................................................................................... 22 1.4. Administrative structure ........................................................................................ 25 1.4.1. Summary of regions, local government areas, districts ................................ 26 1.5. State structure and politics .................................................................................... 28 1.5.1. Status and constitution ................................................................................. 28 1.6. Executive ................................................................................................................ 29 1.6.1. President ....................................................................................................... 29 1.7. Legislature .............................................................................................................. 32 1.7.1. President ....................................................................................................... 32 1.7.2. Parliament ..................................................................................................... 32 1.8. Judiciary ................................................................................................................. 34 1.8.1. Detention and prisons ................................................................................... 36 1.9. Security forces, army, police .................................................................................. 38 EASO COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT: THE GAMBIA – COUNTRY FOCUS — 5 1.9.1. Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) ......................................................................... 38 1.9.2. National Intelligence Agency (NIA) ................................................................ 39 1.9.3. Police ............................................................................................................. 41 1.9.4. Junglers, Black Boys, Green Boys .................................................................. 41 1.10. Economy ................................................................................................................. 42 1.10.1. Currency, inflation ......................................................................................... 45 1.11. Religion ................................................................................................................... 46 1.11.1. Religious affiliation ........................................................................................ 46 1.11.2. Political dimension of Islam ........................................................................... 48 1.12. Media and communication .................................................................................... 49 1.12.1. Radio .............................................................................................................. 49 1.12.2. Television ....................................................................................................... 50 1.12.3. Newspapers, websites ................................................................................... 50 1.13. Healthcare .............................................................................................................. 51 1.14. Transport system ................................................................................................... 52 1.14.1. Air travel ........................................................................................................ 52 1.14.2. Port/river traffic ............................................................................................ 52 1.14.3. Rail ................................................................................................................. 53 1.14.4. Road traffic .................................................................................................... 53 1.15. Citizenship and identity documents ...................................................................... 53 1.15.1. Citizenship ..................................................................................................... 53 1.15.2. Identity documents and civil register records ............................................... 55 2. The situation of former government officials ................................................................. 59 2.1. Government ........................................................................................................... 59 2.1.1. Ex-president Yahya Jammeh ......................................................................... 59 2.1.2. Sonko, Ousman.............................................................................................. 59 2.2. Ambassadors .......................................................................................................... 60 2.3. Regional governors ................................................................................................ 60 2.4. Central Bank ........................................................................................................... 60