Project to foster Human Rights-based prison systems launched in Yaounde.

The project which is an initiative of a consortium comprising Lawyers Without Borders, ASF France, Cameroon Network of Human Rights Organisations, CNHRO, and the Research Institute for Development, RIDEV, was launched Thursday. 

Speaking at the launch ceremony, the Chief of Service for Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOS, at the Ministry of Territorial Administration, CSNGOs/MINAT, Tanyi Grace Apongpoh, lauded the initiative that seeks to support and transform vulnerable persons in prison.

She pointed out that MINAT grants authorisation to associations and organisations so that they can complement government action.

“The government cannot do everything. So, it is partners like this that can accompany government in its mission. We pray that the project achieves its missions and objectives in Cameroon and put a smile on the faces of those that are vulnerable,” Tanyi stated.

She hoped that before the project comes to an end, there will be detained vulnerable persons reinserted into society with the ability to contribute to growth and development.

On her part, the Executive Director of ASF France, Anne Lutun, revealed that the initiative is not creating anything new but rather complementing what has already been put in place by the government of Cameroon.

“The objective of the project is to sustain and support vulnerable people in jail. We will work in collaboration with Cameroonian actors in the penitentiary domain to help them,” Lutun said.

She said as part of the project, “trainings will be organised for some judicial personnel who will be part of the project”.

She said they will also work in synergy with local and United Nations authorities to implement the project.  

Time to implement alternative penalties

The National Coordinator of the Cameroon Network of Human Rights Organisations, CNHRO, Joseph Désiré Zebaze, added that the project by the consortium is geared towards reinforcing the capacity of local actors in the criminal justice system.

This, Zebaze said, is to meet up with international standards relating to detention as well as advocate the implementation of Alternative Penalties.

“Human rights-based prison systems is already part of government policy evident in the 2016 revision of the Penal Code whereby Alternative Penalties were introduced. However, their implementation is pending because there is need for an implementation decree to specifically state how the penalties will be implemented,” Zebaze stated.

About PAGOC

As explained by the consortium, the main objective of PAGOC is to contribute to the consolidation of prison and judicial governance that is sensitive to human rights and the protection of people in detention, particularly the most vulnerable detainees in Cameroon.

This will be done through a participative and inclusive process involving stakeholders in the criminal justice system to improve access to justice for vulnerable detainees, their conditions of detention and their socio-professional reintegration. 

According to the consortium, the socio-professional reintegration aspect responds to the need to empower these prisoners in order to limit the number of repeat offences. 

The interactions and multi-stakeholder dynamics will serve as a basis for lobbying for the effective application of alternative sentences with a view to reducing prison overcrowding.

The project answers to certain human rights issues notably the eradication of torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, and fair access to justice.

The project will run for a period of 42 months, that is April 1, 2024, to October 30, 2027. It will be implemented in several cities and communities across seven regions including the North West, South West, Centre, Littoral, West, North and Far North.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3242 of Friday September 27, 2024