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| VIPs at project launch at Ayaba Hotel |
An innovating program known as Juvenile Justice
Reform has been launched in Bamenda in the North West Region of Cameroon. This program which seeks to address
societal issues like alternatives to detention, humane incarceration, and
reintegration of children-in-conflict-with-the-law is spearheaded by the
Bamenda-based international Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, CHRAPA,
Bamenda City Council, BCC, and the Health Development Consultancy Services,
HEDECS, was launched last Thursday April 9, 2015 in the presence of
administrative, judicial and local authorities of the North West Region.
Present at the official launching
ceremony was Ann Charlotte Sallmann, of the Economic, Commerce and Governance
Department of the European Union, funders of the Juvenile Justice Reform
program in Cameroon.
Vincent
Nji Ndumu, government delegate to the Bamenda city council in his welcome
speech said he was delighted that the Bamenda City Council was associated to
the project. He applauded CHRAPA, the lead organization in the execution chain
for championing and bringing the idea to fruition.
On
his part, the Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Peace
Advocacy, Chrapa, Mr. Chongsi Joseph Ayeah who is also Cameroon’s U.N Permanent
Mission Representative to the Geneva Human Rights Council said the new project
was CHRAPA’s wish that the rights of the Cameroonian Child be fully protected
and promoted in accordance with existing regional and international
instruments. He narrated how the project has come to fill a felt-need given
that all countries across the world were urged to move toward juvenile justice
reform and Cameroon could not be left behind.
According
to Chongsi Joseph, of all the justice areas in Cameroon that need reform,
juvenile justice reform was urgent given that the child was not just father of
man but also that juvenile justice reform leads to a more open, just and
democratic society. Although the initiative was Cameroon to Cameroon after
being implemented in South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi, it was going to be more
in-depth and more enclosing in Cameroon as they were going to benefit from the
good practices and experiences of Nigeria and South Africa.
After x-raying the existing legal
instruments in Cameroon in relation to children’s rights and more especially
children-in-conflict-with-the-law, the Executive Director of Chrapa was
conclusive that although Cameroon has signed and ratified the convention on the
rights of the child and its optional protocol, enacted protections in the 2005
Criminal Procedure Code, and, with the assistance of the European Union and
UNICEF, trained and equipped some judicial and Ministry officials to protect
the rights of children-in-conflict-with-the-law, major gaps still exist. It is
because of these gaps that the project: Juvenile Justice Reforms: Diversion,
Humane Incarceration and Reintegration of Children in Conflict with the law
finds its relevance.
The two year project which has as
primary beneficiaries’ children-in-conflict-with-the-law has as primary
objective to unify all None State Actors, NSA, and Local Authorities, LA, to
transform children-in-conflict-with-the-law in Bamenda into productive citizens
by giving them constructive skills and opportunities in the pre-trial, trial,
incarceration, and post-incarceration stages of the judicial chain.
On the choice of Bamenda to implement
this project, Mr Chongsi Joseph Ayeah said Bamenda has been known over the
years to be receptive to new ideas and its activism in human rights has not
been beaten by any other town or region in Cameroon. Going by this, he said
Bamenda fulfilled all the conditions for the launch of the project and being a
prototype other cities and regions would welcome the project after the Bamenda
initiative.
In
presenting the components of the project, the Program Officer for the Centre
for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, Jane Francis Mufua said the project had
four major components, viz: Electronic Tracking System, ETS, Juvenile Justice
Reform, Advocacy and Diversion. By
Electronic Tracking System, ETS, is meant a computerized system where minors in
conflict with the law are monitored at each stage of the judicial chain via a
software system of information with the use of ombudspersons and other secret
service providers. This serves as a check to abusers of the law in relation to
children’s rights and enables prompt intervention for respect of the laid down
procedures in dealing with Juveniles. By advocacy is meant the lobbying at all
levels of state organs and policy makers for better collaboration between the
government and the civil society, and possibly drafting of better policies in
favour of the child’s rights.
This
include the use of authorities like the Bamenda City Council, parliamentarians
and senators to spearhead in their own spheres of intervention the protection
of children-in-conflict-with-the-law. By diversion is meant the provision of
alternative behavioural therapy to children-in-conflict-with-the-law rather
than repression in public detention centres. This will entail the use of
psychologists and social workers to work to diagnose the causes of deviant
behavior in children as well as liaise with their families for possible
reintegration. And finally by Juvenile Justice Reform is meant, the ensuring of
strict implementation of laws and procedures put in place by the State of
Cameroon in conformity with international instruments in the protection of the
rights of the child. It targets law enforcement officials, the police, the gendarmes,
state counsels and Examining Magistrates as well as Prison Officials.
Jane
Francis was the more convinced that once these four components are implemented
with exactitude wayward children in Bamenda would be transformed into
productive members of their communities by letting them opt out of the judicial
chain prior to trial for constructive skills-building opportunities in
Diversion programs. She was also confident that by creating housing
alternatives to jail prior to trial and improving conditions for those in jail
who do not qualify for non-custodial alternatives would greatly work to achieve
the objectives of the 24 months project.
To
this, the European Union Representative, Ann Charlotte SALLMANN agrees and says
all European Union’s efforts would be geared at helping Cameroon achieve those
objectives. She thanked Chrapa for bringing up the initiative and for choosing
viable partners to work with given that such work needs collective effort. She
was optimistic the juvenile justice reform project would register great success
as obtained in Georgia, South Africa, Nigeria and Malawi. She pledged the
European Union’s support to civil society in Cameroon and was confident
government would join hands with CSOs to see to it that Cameroon is more open,
just and democratic.
While
declaring launched the Juvenile Justice Reform program in Bamenda, Inspector
General of Services in the North West Governor’s Office, Makoge Ivo said the
government of Cameroon has done a lot in the domain of juvenile justice reform
and given that no effort was enough, it welcomed that brought in by the
collective of CSOs represented by CHRAPA. He pledged the support of the North
West administration and thanked the European Union for always being there for
Cameroon.
Source: Dignity TV
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