Violations of human rights are major challenges confronting the Cameroonian nation. These violations come in many forms including torture, domestic violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual assault, land theft, girl trafficking, adultery, arson, extra-judicial killings, female genital mutilation, breast ironing among others. An increase in violent conflict and the instability that it creates is often linked to an increase in violations of human rights.
Presently Cameroon faces a number of destabilizing factors including the Boko Haram crisis in the North region, refugee influx in the East region from Central African Republic, but most especially the protracted insurgency in the North West and South West regions. But beyond this big picture of the political human rights situation in the two regions lie an avalanche of socio-economic and cultural violations that sometimes does not have much attention and visibility.
It is therefore imperative that more grassroots human rights advocates are trained to map, monitor, document, and report human rights violations of all forms in the South West and North West regions of Cameroon.
It is in this regard that a three-day workshop organised by AFRICAphonie took place from 15th to 17th November 2018 at the Victoria Guest House Hotel, Limbe with the aim of training 30 human rights organisations on the concept of monitoring (contact building), documenting (fact finding) and reporting (advocacy) human rights violations in the political, economic, cultural and social domains in their local communities. Participants were drawn from the South West and North West regions. It shall result in the production of a Guide book and hosting of a website on the Monitoring Documenting and Reporting process in these two regions.
Facilitators included Barrister Enow Agbor Benjamin, Barrister Deborah Itoe, Barrister Ivo Njuh and Journalist Eugene Nforngwa.
The project was supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.
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