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For Isatou Ceesay and Tombong Njie, the term witch hunt is not metaphorical. Under the regime of former dictator Yahya Jammeh, they were both literally condemned as witches.

He held people in custody, tortured them, and that was the end of them, says Ms. Ceesay. We were so embarrassed to go out. We are not witches, adds Ms. Njie.

During his 22 years in power, former President Jammeh severely weakened the countrys institutions and security apparatus. The regime was characterized by harassment; torture; the murder of political figures, journalists, activists, and students; and significant sexual and gender-based violence against women and children.

Ms. Ceesay, Ms. Njie, and many other Gambians still carry the scars of the abuses of the witch hunt campaign, which began in 2009 and lasted several years. Victims struggled to escape the stigma associated with witches.

UNDP Gambia

Isatou Ceesay, a victim of the Gambian 'witch hunt' campaign.

In 2016, the Gambians voted out President Jammeh, and the new President, Adama Barrow, was sworn into office in February 2017. However, the nation of two million people faced a severe political and social crisis with the absence of independent or effective justice institutions and rampant human rights abuses.

The political transition required urgent reforms to overhaul the country's institutions, promote democratic governance, address past human rights abuses and establish respect for the rule of law.

One of the ways that the UN has helped to support this transition is through the UN Secretary-Generals Peacebuilding Fund, which provided funds aimed at critical areas, such as security sector and justice reform.

The UNs close collaboration with the authorities, under President Barrow, laid the foundations for two major institutions in December 2017: The National Human Rights Commission and the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC), which is made up of eleven people, and designed to reflect the diverse ethnic, religious, and gender make-up of the country.

UNDP Gambia

Tombong Njie suffered as a result of the 'witch hunts' instigated by former President of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh.

In January 2019, public truth and reconciliation hearings began, with victims and perpetrators giving their personal testimonies. The hearings and outreach activities generated great public interest and broad popular participation, including youth and civil society.

"The TRRC is very important. I have seen how it has helped people empathize with us, knowing that we were deliberately and wrongfully accused," said Pa Demba Bojang, a victim of the witch hunt campaign.

"People now aspire to live in peace in this country. Victims' lives have become better thanks to the help they got from the project. The project has brought back hope in The Gambia," said another victim.

The hearings were broadcast live to on television, radio, and online platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. They would not have made for easy viewing, covering incidents of human rights violations, including torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention/killings, and sexual and gender-based violence.

UNDP The Gambia

Ya Jai Bahoum, a victim of the repressive regime of Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh

The UN Peacebuilding Fund played a key role in enabling the hearings to take place. It enabled the Commissions office to open, provided key equipment, technical support to the Commissioners and the staff, and helped ensure victims access to the TRRC proceedings, which involved reaching out to those in the most remote areas of the country.

Some 2,000 people benefitted from the Victim Participation Support Fund, which provided psychosocial support and essential medical interventions. In addition, 30 persons were provided with comprehensive witness protection.

Beyond the hearings, over 34,000 Gambians have involved in outreach missions on the transitional justice process, and taken part in workshops, held in close partnership with civil society organizations, religious and traditional leaders.

Since it began holding hearings, the Commission participatory and accessible process has helped to foster national reconciliation. "We were wrongfully accused. Some pointed fingers at us, but TRRC helped us overcome this shame," said another victim of the witch hunt campaign.

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Building peace: Plotting a route towards democracy in The Gambia - UN News

OPINION:

Progressives have a plan to expand antitrust law that would effectively nationalize Americas most successful companies. They even hope to get conservatives on board. The bill most likely to get consideration this Congress would, according to Ryan Bourne and Brad Subramaniam of the Cato Institute, generally make it unlawful for major online platforms to engage in conduct that has produced tech products that consumers enjoy.

This proposal, if enacted, would prevent Apple from preloading FaceTime and iMessage into your apps and Google would have to remove Google Maps. Amazon Prime would be de facto banned.

If this sounds to you like a bad deal for consumers, you are spot on. This is nothing more than a Trojan Horse bill intended to expand federal power over the private sector.

Conservatives have a long history of embracing free-market economics. It wasnt so long ago that the Republican Party was known for encouraging entrepreneurship and celebrating success. Now, there is an emerging split between the populist wing and the traditional free marketeers of the Republican Party that endangers the economy. Because this fight is over Big Tech, some on the right are willing to toss aside small, limited government first principles for short-term political gain.

One Republican has dug in for the fight and is willing to take on Big Government ideas coming from both progressive Democrats and populist Republicans. For Fox News, Republican Sen. Rand Paul wrote on June 13, 2022, that he shares a degree of anger with Big Tech companies, yet he will not toss aside his love of free-market principles for legislation that would deprive consumers of the technological innovation that only free-market competition can provide.

Mr. Paul criticized Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchars bill, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (S. 2992), as creating a presumption that mergers are a violation of antitrust law. Mr. Paul remains critical of Republican Sen. Josh Hawleys bill, the Trust-Busting for the Twenty-First Century Act (S. 1074), that would forward the progressive goal of preventing mergers and ignoring the welfare of the consumer. The Hawley bill bans all mergers and acquisitions by companies with a market capitalization exceeding $100 billion. The Klobuchar bill is an attempt to empower government bureaucrats control over private enterprise, while the Hawley bill is a direct attack on success. Both would lead to pain for consumers and stagnation for a struggling American economy.

Ms. Klobuchars legislation would expand the power of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice over private enterprise. President Bidens pick to run the FTC, Lina Khan, actually wrote an early version of this legislation. Politico reported in May, Lina Khan, President Joe Bidens Federal Trade Commission chair, helped write the House version of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act when she was a staffer on the Judiciary Committee. The Politico story cited heartburn from moderate Democrats who fear the radical legislation will cause even more economic headwinds and weaken the partys electoral prospects. Progressive Democrats intend on rushing this legislation through the Senate because they worry that a potential Republican majority following an election dominated by economic concerns would be less apt to beat up on successful technology companies.

These words from President Ronald Reagan are as true today as they were in 1981: We who live in free-market societies believe that growth, prosperity, and ultimately human fulfillment, are created from the bottom up, not the government down. Brilliant entrepreneurs are far better at driving the economy than unelected government bureaucrats.

American consumers and voters dont want a federal government that has racked up over $30 trillion in debt to run our nations most innovative corporations into the ground.

Brian Garst is vice president of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity.

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The progressive antitrust Trojan Horse - Washington Times

Victoria Knight

[UPDATED on June 21]

Harmony is not often found between two of the most boisterous senators on Capitol Hill, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

But it was there at Tuesdays Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee markup of legislation to reauthorize the Food and Drug Administrations user fee program, which is set to expire Sept. 30.

This user fee program, which was first authorized in 1992, allows the FDA to collect fees from companies that submit applications for drug approval. It was designed to speed the approval review process. And it requires reauthorization every five years.

Congress considers this bill a must-pass piece of legislation because its used to help fund the FDA, as well as revamp existing policies. As a result, it also functions as a vehicle for other proposals to reach the presidents desk especially those that couldnt get there on their own.

And thats why, on Tuesday, Sanders took advantage of the must-pass moment to propose an amendment to the user fee bill that would allow for the importation of drugs from Canada and the United Kingdom, and, after two years, from other countries.

Prescription medications are often much less expensive in other countries, and surveys show that millions of Americans have bought drugs from overseas even though doing so is technically illegal.

We have talked about reimportation for a zillion years, said a visibly heated Sanders. This bill actually does it. It doesnt wait for somebody in the bureaucracy to make it happen. It actually makes it happen. He then went on for several minutes, his tone escalating, citing statistics about high drug prices, recounting anecdotes of people who traveled for drugs, and ending with outrage about pharmaceutical companies campaign contributions and the number of lobbyists the industry has.

I always wanted to go to a Bernie rally, and now I feel like Ive been there, Paul joked after Sanders finished talking. He went on to offer his support for the Vermont senators amendment a rare bipartisan alliance between senators who are on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

This is a policy that sort of unites many on both sides of the aisle, the outrage over the high prices of medications, added Paul. He said he didnt support drug price controls in the U.S. but did support a worldwide competitive free market for drugs, which he believes would lower prices.

Even before Sanders offered his amendment, the user fee bill before the committee included a limited drug importation provision, Sec. 906. It would require the FDA to develop regulations for importing certain prescription drugs from Canada. But how this provision differs from a Trump-era regulation is unclear, said Rachel Sachs, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on drug pricing.

FDA has already made importation regulations that were finalized at the end of the Trump administration, said Sachs. But no applications under the directive have been approved yet. She added that whether Sec. 906 is doing anything to improve the existing regulation is unclear.

Sanders proposed amendment would have gone further, Sachs explained.

It would have included insulin among the products that could be obtained from other countries. It also would have compelled pharmaceutical companies to comply with the regulation. It has been a concern in drug-pricing circles that even if importation were allowed, there would be resistance to it in other countries, because of how the practice could affect their domestic supply.

A robust discussion between Republican and Democratic senators ensued. Among the most notable moments: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) asked whether importing drugs from countries with price controls would translate into a form of price control in the U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said his father breaks the law by getting his glaucoma medication from Canada.

The committees chair, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), held the line against Sanders amendment. Although she agreed with some of its policies, she said, she wanted to stick to the importation framework already in the bill, rather than making changes that could jeopardize its passage. Many of us want to do more, she said, but the bill in its current form is a huge step forward, and it has the Republican support we need to pass legislation.

To my knowledge, actually, this is the first time ever that a user fee reauthorization bill has included policy expanding importation of prescription drugs, Murray said. I believe it will set us up well to make further progress in the future.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), the committees ranking member, was adamant in his opposition to Sanders amendment, saying that it spelled doom for the legislations overall prospects. Want to kill this bill? Do importation, said Burr.

Sanders, though, staying true to his reputation, didnt quiet down or give up the fight. Instead, he argued for an immediate vote. This is a real debate. There were differences of opinions. Its called democracy, he said. I would urge those who support what Sen. Paul and I are trying to do here to vote for it.

In the end, though, committee members didnt, opting to table the amendment, meaning it was set aside and not included in the legislation.

Later in the afternoon, the Senate panel reconvened after senators attended their weekly party policy lunches and passed the user fee bill out of the committee 13-9. The next step is consideration by the full Senate. A similar bill has already cleared the House.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

This story can be republished for free (details).

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A Proposal to Import Drugs from Other Countries Creates an Unusual Alliance in the Senate - Kaiser Health News

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Four Texas Democrats in Congress are warning President Joe Biden against restricting U.S. oil exports as a way of fighting high gas prices.

We urge you and your administration to reject any well-intentioned but misguided calls to curtail American crude oil and/or petroleum exports in reaction to the high gasoline and diesel prices currently seen at the pump, the Texas Democrats say in a new letter to Biden. As you know, domestic gasoline prices are set by an international benchmark (Brent), and restricting US crude exports would lower global supply and increase costs here at home.

The letter was led by two South Texas Democrats, Reps. Henry Cuellar of Laredo and Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen, and the other Texas Democrats who signed were Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher of Houston. Other signatures come from California Democratic Rep. Lou Correa and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio

It is the latest example of how Cuellar and Gonzalez are on edge over Bidens approach to the oil and gas industry as Americans deal with high prices at the pump. The average U.S. gas price has hovered around $5 per gallon in recent days.

Last week, Cuellar and Gonzalez separately pushed back on a letter Biden wrote to major U.S. oil refiners, telling them to increase supply and that historically high profit margins are unacceptable. Gonzalez urged Biden to stop with the blame game, while Cuellar said the letter does not resolve the issue at hand.

Now the lawmakers appear concerned the Biden administration may try to issue new restrictions on U.S. oil exports. Bloomberg reported Thursday that top Biden administration officials were mulling restricting such exports and that discussions have picked up in recent days.

The lawmakers argue that curtailing U.S. oil exports would lead to costly inefficiencies because refineries would no longer have the flexibility needed to optimize output.

This would be a misguided policy now, and it would be a misguided policy in the future, the lawmakers say.

Both Cuellar and Gonzalez are running for reelection as national Republicans try to gain new ground in South Texas. Republicans got a boost by flipping an open seat there in a special election last week, and the GOP winner, Mayra Flores, will face Gonzalez in November.

Join us Sept. 22-24 in person in downtown Austin for The Texas Tribune Festival and experience 100+ conversation events featuring big names you know and others you should from the worlds of politics, public policy, the media and tech all curated by The Texas Tribunes award-winning journalists. Buy tickets.

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Four Texas Democrats in Congress warn Biden against restricting U.S. oil exports - The Texas Tribune

The Jan. 6 committee has produced an unintended public benefit. Democrats wanted it to tie the Republican Party inextricably to the Capitol riot and to the recklessness of former President Donald Trump. But it did the opposite.

Before getting into the unintended effects, let's look at what the Democratic showmen intended. Theirs was always obviously a partisan effort to smear their political opposition. When these hearings are over, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Maloney (NY) gleefully predicted, voters will know how irresponsibly complicit Republicans were in attempting to toss out their vote and just how far Republicans will go to gain power for themselves.

But the Democrats' made-for-TV hearings, produced by a former ABC executive, revealed virtually no new facts, drew scant public attention, and surely failed to change voting intentions. Instead, they confirmed that the day's violence and constitutional waywardness did not reflect the Republican Party as a whole and underscored the fact that while Trump behaved dreadfully, other GOP officeholders prudently fulfilled their oaths of office and refused to cooperate with his attempt to overturn the election result.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence and his staff patiently but firmly told Trump they couldnt stop the certification of electors. Attorney General William Barr publicly said there was no widespread fraud. Gov. Brian Kemp (GA) told Trump he couldnt change the results.

While most voters were ignoring the Democrats' show trials, Trump was posting his grievances about them on his fledgling social media app, attacking Pence, Barr, and even his own daughter Ivanka, all of whom were confirmed to have understood that he'd lost.

In the latest ABC News poll, just 1 in 10 adults said they followed the hearings closely. Voters are naturally more concerned about inflation, the economy, and border security not, as Democrats hoped, Jan. 6. While Trump and the Democrats obsessively look backward, the rest of the country is looking ahead and wants leaders who focus on the future.

That is what Republican leaders should be doing: providing an attractive alternative both to Democrats and to Trump. Many of them, promisingly, are doing so.

One such example, Gov. Glenn Youngkin (VA), moved forward in his successful 2021 gubernatorial race, offering voters a clear vision of improved educational accountability and an end to COVID restrictions. Voters rewarded that message with a convincing mandate. There are also hopeful signs, which we hope are borne out in the coming months, that other Republican leaders are doing likewise and will not be deterred even if Trump decides to run for the presidency again in 2024.

Pence has been steadily building a national organization. Gov. Ron DeSantis's (FL) aides have told reporters he isnt ruling out a run whatever Trump decides, and Sen. Tom Cotton (AR) said just last week that his decision on whether to run won't depend on whether the former president enters the race.

Pence, DeSantis, Cotton, and several other Republicans who are testing the presidential waters would all be far better choices to lead the Republican Party and the nation than Trump would.

He seems completely unable, and is certainly unwilling, to get past 2020 and his fantasies about the election being stolen from him. Similarly, President Joe Biden is unable and unwilling to get past policies that have been a disaster on every issue voters care about.

The nation deserves leaders with their eyes on the future, not glued to the rearview mirror like those of the past president, the current president, and congressional Democrats.

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Trump and Democrats look backward the GOP should move forward - Washington Examiner