CAMYOSFOP Executive Director gets African Union recognition.

This was in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday July 17. It was on the sidelines of the African Union Citizen Forum.

The event also marked the 20th anniversary celebration of the African Union ECOSOCC. ECOSOCC, it should be noted, is the civil society organ of the Africa Union, created by Article 5 of the constitutive Act of the Union.

Ngalim Eugine Nyuydine was awarded for his outstanding performance in the operationalisation of the Livingstone Formula on the involvement of the civil society in the promotion of peace, security and the stability of Africa from 2017 – 2019. During this period Ngalim was the chair of the Peace and Security Cluster of ECOSOCC. 

Within his mandate, Ngalim and his team also succeeded to get the Heads of State to endorse the September Africa Amnesty Month on the voluntary collection of illicit weapons in Africa as a stepping stone to the Silencing the Gun Agenda by 2020. 

In Cameroon, for example, over 1,500 illicit weapons were destroyed on May 19, 2021 as part of the implementation of the Africa Amnesty Month.

Laureate hailed 

Global Anti-Corruption Consultant/Activist, Barrister Akere Muna, who was also honoured by the African Union ECOSOCC, writing on X (formerly Twitter) hailed Ngalim for his “pivotal role in operationalising the Livingstone Formula, promoting the involvement of civil society in advancing peace, security, and stability in Africa”. 

“Under his leadership, they successfully garnered support from Heads of State for the September Africa Amnesty Month in 2017, focusing on the voluntary collection of illicit weapons as a crucial step towards the Silencing the Gun Agenda by 2020. I have had the privilege of knowing Eugine for over 20 years, and I extend my heartfelt congratulations to him for his tireless efforts in mobilising youth against illicit weapons,” Akere wrote.

Ngalim’s credentials within ECOSOCC

It should be noted that Ngalim Eugine Nyuydine has a rich credential with the African Union ECOSOCC.

From 2014 to 2018 he was elected Cameroon’s Representative to the ECOSOCC Second Permanent General Assembly. December 2018 – 2022 he was re-elected Cameroon’s Representative to the ECOSOCC Third Permanent General Assembly.

From March 2015 – June 2019 Ngalim was Chairperson of the Peace and Security Cluster of the Africa Union ECOSOCC. 

As Chairperson of the Peace and Security Cluster of ECOSOCC, Ngalim had an avalanche of achievement to his credit. 

These include operationalisation of the Peace and Security cluster with relevance and visibility to the cluster and civil society organisations working on the question of peace and security in Africa; operationalising the Livingstone Formula on the involvement of the Civil Society in the promotion of peace, security and the stability of Africa set up by the Peace and Security Council in 2008. Through this mechanism the Annual Civil Society Forum on diverse themes on peace and security was organised from 2016 to 2019.

He also contributed to the AU Master Roadmap on Silencing the Gun in Africa by 2020 by proposing an Africa Amnesty Month on the voluntary collection of illicit weapons in Africa in the AU Master roadmap adopted by the Peace and Security Council, PSC, and later endorsed as a Decision by the Assembly of the Africa Union in 2017; submitted an Advisory Opinion to the PSC on: Conflicts emanating from irregular elections, violent extremism, terrorism and the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALWs, in Africa. 

Ngalim represented ECOSOCC as the Focal Point of the Africa Centre for the Study and Research on Terrorism, ACSRT, shared ECOSOCC efforts in the fight against violent extremism and terrorism in the various policy documents and annual Focal Points meetings of the ACSRT from 2015 to 2019.

He was appointed a member of the Africa Union Steering Committee on the Security Sector Reforms, SSR. This committee is aimed at providing a consistent and institutionalised platform where: members reflect on challenges and opportunities and devise effective means to coordinate and consolidate efforts and approaches on the Security Sector Reforms in Africa. 

CAMYOSFOP, it should be noted, is a CSO with special consultative status with the UN since 2013 in the domains of human rights and moral rearmament.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3176 of Monday July 22, 2024