By Macdonald Ayang, February 22, 2017
Cameroon Journal, Yaoundé – A team of investigators from the Yaoundé office of the United Nations Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, has ended a fact finding mission that took them to the Northwest and Southwest Regions prompted by the ongoing crisis in the two regions.
However, it is not exactly clear what information the investigators gathered during the outing. The Cameroon Journal, gathered, however, that they left the two Regions with bulks of documents they will forward to the United Nations Human Rights office in Geneva.
The delegation, led by a Beninois, we gathered, was in the South West regional capital, Buea, on Friday February 10, during which it met with some human rights officials, civil society actors as well as relatives of some of those arrested in connection to the ongoing crisis in the region.
In Buea, we gathered that Governor Bernard Okalia Bilai refused to meet with the delegation after making them wait for over two hours in a duly scheduled audience. The officials, The Cameroon Journal gathered, left the governor’s office feeling snubbed by the Governor. The head of the delegation left vowing that he will petition the Governor to his superiors in Yaoundé.
A source later told our reporter that the Governor’s absence wasn’t intentional, that he was held up in a regional security meeting.
Over in the North West, we gathered that the visiting UN officials were given a more cordial reception by Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, Governor of the region. They delegation had over 45-minute exchange with the Governor, we learned. The investigators are said to have also met with other relevant stakeholders including officials of the North West regional office of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms as well as prominent civil society actors.
The mission of the UN officials, we are told, is related to the ongoing crisis which has crippled activities in courts and schools in the North West and South West Regions. It is believed the field mission was for the officials to gather firsthand information in relation to the crisis so as to feed the UN Rights headquarters with the true picture of the situation on the ground.
It should be recalled that in the heat of the crisis early this year, the UN Human Rights Commission issued a statement condemning what it called gross rights abuses on peaceful Anglophone demonstrators. The commission had also called for restrain and the need for dialogue so as to put an end to the deadlock.
The African Union Commission, it should be said, has also spoken out on the crisis, saying it is ready to play the role of mediator between the aggrieved parties and government.
So far, schools remain ineffective in the two Anglophone Regions despite the call for suspension February 4.