A consultation forum to prepare Cameroon’s 5^th periodic report on torture took place in Yaounde on January 12, 2016.

The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms in partnership with the Ministry of Justice Tuesday January 12, 2016, organized a consultation day with Human Rights civil society organizations to draw up Cameroon’s 5^th periodic report to be submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Speaking during the forum, the Chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF), Dr. Chemuta Divine Banda, stated that the fight against torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment is an absolute necessity for Cameroon. He exhorted participants to contribute significantly to what he described as a noble mission which seeks to improve on detention conditions, access to healthcare, justice, fight against rape and human trafficking amongst other issues.

The one-day consultation forum is therefore timely as it fits into perspective for the upcoming evaluation of Cameroon’s situation. The consultation, he added, was a follow up of the recommendations of the 10^th biennial conference of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions last October in Cameroon which aimed at furthering advocacy for the ratification of the Operational Protocol to the Convention against Torture and promoting inclusive and transparent decision-making leading to the designation of effective national mechanism for the prevention of torture.

It should be noted that Cameroon ratified the UN Convention against Torture and other cruel and inhumane treatments or degradation in 1986 as well as its Optional Protocol in November 2010.