US removes Gambia from trade agreement

Activists have praised the US government's decision to remove Gambia from a trade agreement, apparently in response to human rights abuses.
The White House announced yesterday that it is terminating the West African nation as a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. No specific reason was given, but countries can be removed for human rights violations.
President Yahya Jammeh is regularly criticized for abuses, including disappearances and executions.
In October, he signed a law imposing life imprisonment for some homosexual acts. A spate of arrests ensued, and state media said Monday that three more men were about to be charged.

Local organizations such as the Coalition for Change have praised the US move, as has the US-based Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights organization.