The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms wants to render the institution more independent.

Cameroon’s National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms has embarked on working on amendments of the July 22, 2004 law creating the institution in order to make it more independent and align it to other national well constituted human rights institutions the world over. 

The Commission on Friday, June 13, 2014 organised a workshop with members of the civil society organizations to work on the proposed amendments to submit to government for subsequent tabling in Parliament for adoption to pave the way for its enactment into law.

“The law that was enacted in 2004 had some weaknesses when you take into consideration the requirements of the Paris Principles. The Paris Principles require that human rights institutions should be independent and well resourced to work independently in the promotion and protection of human rights,” Dr Divine Chemuta Banda, the Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms explained and stated that,  “We are here trying to strengthen the independence by limiting the interference  of the administration which  for now, interferes quite a lot in the functioning of the Commission which is supposed to carry out its activities in independence,” he said.

He asserted that, “There are within the Commission people directly appointed by the administration who are acting in a way as to prevent the smooth functioning of the Commission.” The imposing interference of the administration are provisions that are not found in well constituted national human rights institutions. “We are out to cleanse the law of those provisions to enable the commission function properly,” Dr Banda said.

Cameroon’s human rights Commission for now enjoys “Status A” following the 2010 classification of the International Coordination Committee of National Human Rights Institutions. The country’s respect of the Paris Principles will be re-evaluated in 2015. As such, efforts have to be stepped up to avoid degradation of from the current “Status A” that positions the country among those with good human rights records.