For outstanding works: Cameroon Human Rights Commission gets international recognition.

The CHRC was awarded the ‘A’ status recently after several months of evaluation and findings. The information is contained in a release signed by the commission.

According to the Chairperson of the CHRC, Prof James Mouangue Kobila, the commission’s 'A Status' accreditation attests to its compliance to Cameroon's National Human Rights Institution, NHRI.

The said compliance, he said, is in line with the Paris Principles on the Status and Functioning of NHRIs, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly as an annex to its resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993 on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. 

The status, the commission’s head noted, testifies to the relevance of the work CHRC is doing in implementing the three aspects of its mandate which include: the promotion and protection of human rights as well as the prevention of torture in all places of detention at national, African and universal level.

The accreditation, James Kobila said, is the highest level of international recognition of the credibility, independence and operational effectiveness of the main human rights mechanism in Cameroon, set up by the President of the Republic.

“I would like to extend the deep gratitude of the CHRC Chairperson to all the African and international partners who provided invaluable assistance to the CHRC during this evaluation. These include the National Human Rights Institutions of Ivory Coast, France, Kenya, Mali, Morocco and Togo; the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, UNCHRD-CA; the Secretariat of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation; the Association francophone des Connissions nationales des Droits de I'homme, AFCNDH, and the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions, NANHRI,” a portion of the release reads.

According to the note, the commission was evaluated between October 2, 2023 and April 30, 2024. The body was evaluated by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation of GANHRD, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

The evaluation, we gather followed a lengthy, confidential, holistic, and highly demanding evaluation process.

The commission was following the process, accredited with 'A Status', for the entirety of its work since it went operational three years ago on 29 April 2021.

The accreditation process of the CHRC dates back to the amendment of the enabling law of the country's NHRI, subject of Law No. 2019/014 of July 19, 2019 on the establishment, organisation and functioning of the CHRC.