The 20th Ordinary Session that held in Yaounde on Friday May 13, 2016 was presided over by the Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Chemuta Divine Banda.
If government does not table the draft bill reorganising National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF), to Parliament during next June’s session so that the organ complies with the Paris Principles, then the institution will be relegated from Status A to Status B before the UN Sub Committee on Accreditation.
This worry that transpired throughout the 20th Ordinary Session of the NCHRF on May 13, 2016 in Yaounde, was voiced by the Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Chemuta Divine Banda in his keynote address at the start of the session which examined and adopted the activity report and the state of human rights in Cameroon in 2015, amongst others.
The members rejoiced that legal actions now taken by justice machinery against perpetrators of human rights violations in several structural project sites, result from the findings of NCHRF’s investigative missions carried out especially in the Memve’ele hydroelectric dam project in the South Region where it was noticed that compensation of the host population was marred by the poor evaluation of property. Equally, work-related rights were violated.
“Our records show a continuous increase in the number of complaints handled throughout the regions, which indicates awareness in the work of the Commission,” noted the NCHRF’s Chairperson. Other activities included visits to police and gendarmerie detention centres as well as prisons such as the Yoko Prison. Gratitude was expressed to government for the special authorisation to purchase eight service vehicles while progress was reported on the head office construction site in Yaounde and furnishing of the Maroua regional bureau. The 21st session is scheduled to hold in December 2016.
