Cameroon’s obduracy exposed at UN

The 2014 report of Cameroon’s Non Governmental Organization to the United Nations convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has exposed Cameroon Government’s lack luster attitude in implementing ratified international human rights instrument including CEDAW and its optional protocol and UN Resolution 1325.

In the four-page summary report presented this year at the UN by the Director of Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy (CHRAPA), Chongsi Joseph Anyeah, on behalf of the Union of the North West Human Rights Organizations (UNOHURO), said “Cameroon has signed and ratified a good number of international human rights instruments including CEDAW and its optional protocol and UN Resolution 1325, regional and sub-regional instruments into national law remains wanting”.

The report adds that the protocol on the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa is equally yet to be implemented in Cameroon.

In another vein, the report regrets that there is a huge gap between the existing international human rights treaties and conventions, Cameroon national law and effective practical implementation of these laws. “Reason why gender issues are still treated with a pinch of salt and the sufferings and pains women go through are hardly known because by tradition, they are required to protect families and homes to keep family problems within the family circle.”

The report notes that most of the issues in Cameroon at the level of the government, remain visionary not concrete things that women can hope for. It adds that “the vision is marked by failures as the Cameroon president himself during the end of year speech stated that not up to 50% of the state budget was executed in 2013?. It fears that this cannot help advance the status of women in Cameroon.

In the recommendations, the report stressed that there’s need for Cameroon to redouble its steps as far as incorporating and following up the implementation of the convention in Cameroon is concern.