The Human Rights Commission of Cameroon received, on July 9, 2026 in Yaoundé, a delegation from the ACDDH who came to request institutional support to better protect human rights defenders, against a backdrop of denunciations of police brutality and legal proceedings.
A last-minute reconstituted audienceCommissioner Joseph Constantin Balla presided over the hearing initially scheduled for Thursday, July 9, with Professor James Mouangue Kobila, President of the CDHC, who was unable to attend.
He was accompanied by several senior officials from the Institution: Guy Armand Essery, Head of the Division for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights, Christelle Béatrice Ongbassilek Emok, Chief of Staff, as well as other members of the promotion and communication team.
Facing him was the delegation from the Cameroonian Association for the Defense of Human Rights (ACDDH), led by its national executive president, Joseph La Paix El Hadj, accompanied by the secretary general Peter Atenkeng and the treasurer general David Tchomtchoua.
An expanded mandate, a commission in an intermediary positionCommissioner Balla reiterated the three missions of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CDHC) as defined by Law No. 2019/014: the promotion and protection of human rights, and the prevention of torture in places of detention.
He highlighted the recent expansion of the Commission’s powers, which now allows it to conduct unannounced visits to places of detention without being accompanied by an authority.Human rights defenders in difficulty on the groundThe president of the ACDDH outlined the difficulties encountered by members of his organization in carrying out their activities: police brutality, abuse of power, arrests, custody and legal proceedings which he himself said he had been subjected to while assisting citizens in defending their rights.
Beyond these concerns, the delegation expressed the desire to build a structured partnership with the CDHC: training of state agents, joint awareness-raising actions, monitoring and prevention of human rights violations, as well as technical support to strengthen the capacities of its representations in the field.
Caution is advised when dealing with public authorities.Responding to these demands, Guy Armand Essery urged ACDDH officials to exercise caution, arguing that a « logic of confrontation » often puts civil society organizations at a disadvantage vis-à-vis public authorities.
He advocated for dialogue and existing institutional mechanisms, presenting the CDHC as « a true bridge between civil society organizations and public authorities. »Towards a formal affiliationIn closing, Commissioner Balla commended the ACDDH’s initiative and encouraged it to consider official affiliation with the CDHC, in accordance with the mechanisms provided for civil society organizations, in order to fully benefit from the Commission’s institutional support.
