The Gambia’s minister for Tourism and Culture, Hamat N.K. Bah, has submitted two UNESCO Conventions to UNESCO, which were ratified by the Gambian parliament. The proposal was made at the UNESCO offices in Paris, France, on November 10, 2023. The Gambia’s National Assembly unanimously ratified the two Conventions in 2022 and early 2023, expressing its strong commitment to cultural and heritage conservation and protection. The Gambia has now ratified five of the seven UNESCO Conventions, a feat worthy of note. The ratification will enable the Gambia to join other State Parties of the Conventions to support culture in the country, benefiting from the wide array of support available to State Parties, such as the repatriation of Gambian cultural objects found abroad and the conservation and mapping of its Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH). The Gambia thanked Minister Bah for his support and thanked the National Commission for UNESCO The Gambia, ECOWAS, and the UNESCO Dakar Office for West Africa and Sahel for their assistance in advocating for the Conventions’ ratification.
