At 78th UN General Assembly: Anglophone crisis dominates UN scribe, MINREX boss encounter.

The disturbing conflict, which continues to take fresh twists as the days go by, dominated discussions between the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the Minister of External Relations, MINREX, Mbella Mbella.

Minister Mbella Mbella, who is Head of the Cameroonian delegation to the ongoing 78^th session of UN General Assembly, was received in audience by UN scribe Monday, September 25.

A statement, released by the United Nations after the audience, detailed that both officials “discussed the situation in Cameroon, including in the North West, South West and regions”.

Discussions between both personalities, according to the brief statement, also touched on the situation of Boko Haram terrorist attacks in the Far North Region of the country. 

António Guterres and Minister Mbella Mbella, the statement added, also “discussed the global consequences of the war in Ukraine as well as the need to reform the international financial architecture”.

The UN scribe, the statement detailed, “reiterated the United Nations commitment to support Cameroon” towards what state media, CRTV, reported as “building enjoyable peace in the country in conflict-hit regions”. 

Minister Mbella Mbella, it should be said, was accompanied during the audience by some of his close aides. 

Also present was former Prime Minister, Head of Government and current Grand Chancellor of the National Orders, Philemon Yang. 

UN scribe, it should be recalled, had last September 13, prior to the start of the ongoing UNGA, on the occasion of the Peace Bell Ceremony, made a fresh rallying call for all and sundry across the globe to push for peace in order to end unprecedented setbacks on global progress.

Mbella Mbella addresses UNGA on behalf of Biya 

Addressing the UNGA on behalf of President Paul Biya on Tuesday, September 26, Minister Mbella Mbella welcomed the international consensus around major subjects such as climate change, the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, or financing for development in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. 

The MINREX boss said the African Union, AU, is implementing Agenda 2063, in order to promote a united Africa, good governance, peace, prosperity and called to play a major role in international affairs but conceded that the expected results are slow to be visible. 

He said that action has not always followed the word given, taking the example of promises made under Official Development Assistance, ODA, which have not been honoured. 

Minister Mbella Mbella used the opportunity to deplore the parsimony and conditionality of aid and called for a “surge of pride, for surpassing oneself” and for a new consciousness emphasising on the general interest and a science placed at the service of all humanity. 

The member of government also called for conflict resolution through dialogue and a “renewed” international financial architecture, before mentioning the creation of a free trade zone in Africa. 

He said the time to act is now for a reform of the Security Council in order to give Africa permanent and equitable representation, recalling that two thirds of the Council's activities relate to Africa. 

“Such injustice must be corrected,” Mbella Mbella said. 

Minister Mbella Mbella further pushed for the Ezulwini's consensus, which states that African states should have at least two permanent seats and five non-permanent Security Council seats chosen by the African Union. 

Zoom on SDG implementation 

He also used the opportunity to detail Cameroon’s SDG implementation strategy and the goal of making the country an emerging country by 2035. Mbella Mbella said the fight against Boko Haram continues with "observable" results. 

Efforts made to restore peace in NW, SW

He declared that peace is being restored in the North West and South West regions, thanks to the government's dialogue efforts and despite the violence and hostage-taking orchestrated by the separatists.

Mbella Mbella said his government remains outstretched to those who have taken up arms and called on them to lay them down. He said in a changing world, it is essential that “we take the appropriate measures”.

Flashback to the conflict in NW, SW

Since the crisis in the North West and South West regions started in 2016 and later morphed into armed conflict, clashes between armed separatists and soldiers have resulted in widespread atrocities against the civilian population.

More than 6,000 people have been killed as a result of the crisis since 2016, according to international rights organisations. 

Rights groups have accused both separatist fighters and security forces of perpetrating rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and widespread sexual and gender-based violence, burning of villages, arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, kidnapping for ransom, rape, extortion, among others. 

Separatist apologists have since 2017 fought hard to restrict education in the conflict-hit regions, coupled with attacks, shooting to death at times of pupils, students, school administrators, among other crimes. 

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, at least 2,245 schools are not functioning in the North West and South West regions due to attacks and threats by armed separatists.

Crossfires between belligerents have also led to killing of health personnel and humanitarian workers, restricting the delivery of vital aid and forcing various international humanitarian organisations to suspend their operations. 

According to OCHA, more than 1.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in the restive Anglophone regions with 638,421 people forced to live as Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, and over 87,033 who have fled to Nigeria to live in dire situations as refugees.