Amnesty International and some Nigerian human rights groups, have called on the African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR), to address the human rights situation in Gambia as a priority and adopt a resolution that would help end torture, arrests and killing by the local security force.

The groups also called on Africa leaders and the international community to put pressure on the Gambian government to stop using its security forces intimidate and harass human rights activists and journalists in that country.

The groups made this call at the lunch of the report "Gambia: Fear rules", which documented human rights violation by the army, the National Intelligence Agency and the police which the Gambian government have used to stifle dissent, particularly following the March 2006 coup attempt, at the on-going African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) 44th Ordinary session in Abuja. The report is based on interviews conducted with victims of human rights abuses in Gambia between October 2007 and September 2008.

The other groups that co-presented the report are Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), Socio- Economic Rights Accountability Project (SERAP), WARDC, CDD and MFWA. According to the report, "in the 14 years that President Yahya Jammeh has been in power, six foiled coup attempts have been reported.

The most recent one was in March 2006 and led to the arrest of at least 59 people, many of whom where subjected to unlawful detention and unfair trails, some tortured or even extra judicially executed."

"We urge African Commission to address the human rights situation in Gambia as a priority and adopt a resolution that would help and torture, arrests and killing by the local security forces. We urge all African leaders to put pressure on Gambia to end the long standing culture of impunity for human rights violations in the country," said Tania Bernath of Amnesty.

The organisations also highlight the government's disrespect for the rule of law and the judiciary, which makes the fight against impunity an uphill battle in Gambia . "The International community and Africa Union members must not turn a blind eye to the situation in Gambia . They must bring pressure to bear on the Gambian authorities to ensure the government takes its international human rights obligations seriously, "said Adetokunbo Mumuni, Executive Director of SERAP.

"If the Africa Commission adopted a resolution on Gambia it would be an important step to ensure greater respect for the human rights in Gambia, and a reminder to the government to act in good faith to end the entrenched culture of impunity in the country, which is fuelling further human rights violations, "said Stella Amadi from the Center for Democracy and Development.

"Fear now reigns in Gambia where any person considered to be perceived enemy of the government is at the risk of being arrested, tortured, even killed. We urge the Gambia government to incorporate international human rights and law and standards into national law, to stop the use of torture and extrajudicial executions and to release all those detained without charge."