For promoting peace, dev’t: CAMYOSFOP Executive Director clinches another award.

Ngalim was awarded for his fight against illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALWs, through the promotion of the Africa Amnesty Month on the voluntary handing over of illicit weapons in Africa.

The award was handed to the experienced civil society expert on Friday January 24, during the Heroes Impact Award night. 

He was awarded alongside other eminent Cameroonians during the ceremony organised by Go Africa Initiative for Community Action and Mobilisation, GAICAM. The award night was attended by several prominent personalities from home and abroad.

According to GAICAM, the award recognises Ngalim Eugine Nyuydine for his “immense contribution to the growth and development of Cameroon through peace promotion”. 
It added that Ngalim’s “outstanding records of achievements and impact in our Fatherland are indeed remarkable and visible”.

Reacting after receiving the award, Ngalim, said: “I am very grateful for this recognition and others that I received especially in 2024. This is a clear indicator that I am making some impact to the life of this nation and the continent as a whole”. 

“It’s also remarkable that this is the second time GAICAM is recognising me. The first time was in 2022 and two years after they are again awarding me another trophy on my contribution to the fight against the illicit proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Cameroon and Africa through the Africa Amnesty Month on the voluntary handing over of illicit weapons. I can only wish GAICAM her founder Search Taminang for this initiative that valourises Cameroonians and institutions excelling in various domains,” he added.

Renowned and acclaimed academic, Jean Emmanuel Pondi, who was present at the award ceremony, had words of praise for Ngalim.

“I just want to testify that I have known Ngalim Eugine since when he was much younger and he was already dedicated to peace resolution, peace reconciliation at his young age,” he said. 

Prof Pondi added that: “I have seen him in Yaounde, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, so many towns. I want to say that it is a well-deserved recognition and it is dedicated to the ideal of peace. Without peace, there can be no life, no development and no hope”. 

Ngalim Eugine the man

Ngalim has over 23 years proven track record as an accomplished leader in national and international evidence-based policy making and civil society advocacy in a variety of sectors including arms control, security sector, peace building and conflict management, human rights, youth and gender including the UN Agenda 2030 and AU Agenda 2063.

He is the founder and Executive Director of the Cameroon Youths and Students Forum for Peace, CAMYOSFOP, in 1999, co-founder and President of the Cameroon Action Network on Small Arms, CANSA, Focal Point of the International Action Network on Small Arms, CANSA, and Control Arms Coalition for Cameroon. Ngalim is also Secretary-General of the Central Africa Action Network on Small Arms, RASALAC, Focal Point of the Civil Society Coalition for Peace and Conflict Prevention in Central Africa, COPAC, former United Nations Youth Spokesperson for Africa 2015 MDG campaign from 2004 – 2015, former member of the UN Women Civil Society Consultative Working Group from 2012 - 2015, former member of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, CHC, appointed by the Head of State from 2006 – 2014, Cameroon’s Representative to the AU ECOSOCC from 2014 - 2022 and former Chairperson of the Peace and Security Cluster of AU ECOSOCC from 2015 - 2019. From 2022 to date, he is a member of the AU ECOSOCC Ethics Committee. 

As Chair of the Peace and Security Cluster, Ngalim greatest achievements were the operationalisation of the Livingstone Formula on the involvement of the civil society in the promotion of peace, security and the stability of Africa and the advocacy for an Africa Amnesty Month on the voluntary collection of illicit weapons. 

This was as part the Africa Union Master Roadmap on Silencing the guns in Africa by 2020, endorsed by the decision of the Assembly during the AU Summit of June 2017. The September Africa Amnesty Month has been highly celebrated throughout the continent since 2017. 

Amongst the 15 member states that have benefited from this initiative through the UN/AU Support fund, Cameroon is one of them, funded in 2020. The Amnesty Month, permitted Cameroon to collect and destroy for the first time over 1500 illicit weapons in Buea on 19 May 2021.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3358 of Monday February 03, 2025