Displaced, stateless persons: Rights commission, UNHCR drum collective responsibility to boost protection.

The Deputy Chairperson of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, Dr Raphael Galega Gana, and the Deputy UNHCR representative, Jerome Sebastien Franck Merlin, made the call in Yaounde yesterday.

Both officials were speaking during the launch of a three-day workshop for state and non-state actors in the protection chain for the rights of displaced and stateless persons in Cameroon.

The workshop is being organised within the context of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed between the UNHCR and the rights commission in September 2023.

It has brought together 60 participants from across different fields, including commissioners and staff of the rights commission, UNHCR staff and members of the defense and security forces. 

It is expected to build the capacities of police and gendarmerie officials and officials of other administrations and civil society actors in regards to compliance with standard framework for humanitarian assistance to displaced and stateless persons.

Per the organisers, the event is also designed to enable the dissemination of the legal framework in the chain and provide a platform for the training of magistrates and other legal professionals on the rights and treatment of refugees with the law and civil-documentation related issues.

It will also facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices to better address the challenges that have been identified in the chain. 

Workshop crucial…

Speaking during the launch, Dr Galega Gana and Jerome Sebastien Franck Merlin said the Yaounde workshop serves as a timely demonstration of the major adjustments that are required in enhancing the protection of displaced and stateless persons at the level of Cameroon and the larger world. 

Per the officials, figures released in May this year indicate that some 123 million displaced and stateless persons exist in the world with nearly 40 million of them on the African continent.

They said figures also show that by 2019, the number of refugees reached 417,374 in Cameroon alongside more than seven thousand asylum seekers with subsequently numbers released in September this year indicating that Cameroon had more than two million displaced persons, with nearly a million internally displaced persons and more than 470,000 refugees. 

The UN refugee agency official said the challenging state of affairs calls for urgent steps to be taken in notably in notably “reinforcing coordination and inter-institutional cooperation, improve access to justice and protection conditions for all these people, consolidate the implementation of national and international commitments and identify new commitments and share good practices”.

The rights commission official said the disturbing numbers highlight the need for more effective coordination in the chain.

He said events like the ongoing workshop are designed to play a crucial role in the entire framework as it assembles key stakeholders involved in ensuring the respect of the fundamental rights of the displaced and stateless persons.

Among them, the obligations of the State, national and international protection mechanisms; as well as the stereotypes and stigma that affect them.

He said gaps in the handling of the issues can unintentionally increase the vulnerability of affected persons, compromise their protection, limit their access to essential services and heighten tensions within host communities.

“The protection of forcibly displaced persons is a shared responsibility; no institution or structure can claim to provide all the solutions alone. It requires synergy among political and administrative authorities, including the defence and security forces, the judiciary, regional and local authorities, civil society and humanitarian partners,” Dr Galega Gana, who hailed the existing relationship between the UNHCR and the Rights commission, stated. 

Renewed sense of collective responsibility

Like the UN refugee agency official, Dr Galega Gana said the rights commission remains fully committed to ensuring that the status quo keeps changing for the betterment.

That, he argued, is the reason why the commission is recommending a renewed sense of collective responsibility among state and non-state actors in Cameroon and beyond by coming up with decisive recommendations.

He said the Rights commission is notably urging authorities in Cameroon to strengthen commitment and prioritize greater promptness in implementing the recommendations formulated by the rights commission especially concerning the operationalization of bodies responsible for refugee status and the administrative and social integration of displaced persons.

“…to international partners, the Cameroon Human Rights Commission recommends that they reinforce their solidarity not only through financial support but also through the sharing of technical expertise in order to sustain efforts to protect, identify and integrate all forcibly displaced persons,” he stated.

He said the institution is also urging defense and security forces, magistrates and regional and local authorities to strengthen their capacities, improve coordination and further exemplify practices respectful of human rights, particularly in relation to non-refoulement, freedom of movement, access to healthcare, education and legal identity.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3637 of Wednesday November 26, 2025