Constitution Drafting and TJ: Building "Never Again" into Law, Not Just Memory

In 2023, Fantanka's partnership with Charter 70 and Our Nation Our Voice focused on reigniting public discussion on something Gambians often treat as separate: transitional justice and constitutional design. After the draft constitution failed to pass, a new opportunity emerged to rethink how constitutional provisions can reinforce TRRC implementation and strengthen democracy.

The project used multiple channels because reform debates cannot stay inside policy rooms. Ten radio programmes ran between 22 March and 7 April 2023, bringing in National Assembly members, CSOs, victims, musician activists and youth influencers, and creating space for public call-ins. The conversations challenged actors from both processes to reflect on their roles, and raised hard questions about coordination failures and political will.

A core part of the project was youth and children's engagement. On 25 March 2023, 20 members of the Children's National Assembly (ages 12–18) discussed TRRC findings relevant to young people and debated constitutional remedies: separation of powers, extrajudicial killings, protest rights, and how law should limit abusive government power. Each participant received a copy of the TRRC child-friendly report to continue learning beyond the workshop.

Fantanka's role in the collaboration included leading the gender and children workshop component, while partners led other elements based on strengths. That approach was itself a lesson: collaborative, multi-channel civic education has cumulative impact because it reaches different parts of society at once.