The UN Human Rights Commission has organised a forum to clarify the link between the MDGs and Human Rights.

As general debates and several high level meetings continue to take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, last Wednesday August 25 in Yaounde organised the “Carrefour Litteraire”, in which participants from the government, the civil society and international partners sought to re-examine the link between the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Human Rights. During the forum it was not only revealed that a human right approach is greatly essential in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, but that Cameroon continues, despite little success, to put up projects that aim at attaining some of the MDGs by 2015.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, said some few weeks to the 2010 UN General Assembly in New York, it is time to organise the second forum which could be code-named “Literature Forum” to examine what has been done so far in keeping the promise of achieving the human rights related MDGs by 2015.

Yap Drissou from the Ministry of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development used the forum to highlight Cameroon’s slow progress in two of the MDGs that is Education for All and the Promotion of Gender Equality. It was also noted that maternal mortality is on the rise in Cameroon which is a serious problem to the government. Some of the steps the government of Cameroon is taking to achieve some of the MDGs are through reviving the economy and investing in all sectors such as education, health and professional training with particular attention towards the vulnerable group such as women and children. In spite of such efforts, Yap Drissou said that much remains to be done particularly in co-operation with partners.