By Buba Gagigo
During a debate among candidates for the Secretary General of the Commonwealth held at Chatham House on Wednesday, Mamadou Tangara, Gambia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and a candidate for the position, called for the regulation of social media.
“Freedom of Expression is important, but I think in this day and age where we have social media, one of the biggest challenges we have is that we spend more time debunking fake news than real news. So I think it’s also important to regulate it a little bit because where you cannot legislate morality, you can regulate, at least, behavior a little bit,” Tangara said during the debate.
Tangara also emphasized his commitment to working closely with the board of governors and serving all member states if elected as Secretary General.
“If I become Secretary General, I will not be a secretary general that will be vibrating above the heads of member states, and I will work closely with the board of governors, because it’s a Commonwealth of Nations, and we all have our ideas. The first thing to do is to take stock of the situation, do a SWOT analysis, and see how best we can make the organization a relevant force for good, a network where we can leverage on the opportunities in the Commonwealth,” he said.
Addressing the protection of religious minorities and sexual orientation, Tangara expressed his opposition to any form of oppression or repression based on these grounds.
“I want to say that I’m against any form of oppression or repression based on sexual orientation or religious belief, and the most powerful. I come from a part of the world where we believe in dialogue and education. By education and dialoguing with people, you can find a solution to everything. What is dangerous is to see some countries trying to use their values, their standards as criteria to distinguish from what is wrong or right, what is evil or good. I think we need to engage, talk to people, educate them, so that these kinds of things will not happen. Because, after all, we are all human beings, and who are we to judge upon others for their religious belief, or their sexual orientation.”
Dr. Mamadou Tangara will be competing against Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey from Ghana and Senator Joshua Septiba from Lesotho. The election is scheduled to take place in Apia, Samoa, from October 21 to 25, 2024.
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