A two-day workshop focused on prioritizing sectors for the baseline study on the guiding principles on business and human rights in Cameroon took place from April 29 to 30, 2025, in Mbankomo, on the outskirts of Yaounde.
From reports, Cameroon has been described as one of the countries in Africa with a high rate of human rights abuses and violations in the business and entrepreneurial sectors.
This is why the technical workshop held from the 29th to the 30th of April 2025 in Mbankomo was highly applauded by the different stakeholders who took part in discussions.
The main objective of this two-day workshop was to identify and analyze economic sectors with significant risks of human rights violations to target priority areas for implementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
It was also aimed at strengthening participants’ capacities regarding the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
In his welcoming address, Mr. Nouhoum Sangaré, Regional Representative of the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Director of United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa thanked the government of Cameroon for its active role in the elaboration of the baseline study that sets the pace for the effective implementation of the United Nations guiding principles on business and human rights.
Speaking on behalf of the government, Jean de Dieu Momo, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice, said the respect of human rights is not only an affair of the government but it is the duty of every citizen. Everybody has a right, and the rights of human beings must be respected at all costs.
He lauded the efforts of various society organizations that, in one way or another, fight daily for the respect of human rights in enterprises.
He said enterprises are a milestone in the development of a country and also have a crucial role to play when it comes to the respect of human rights.
Minister Momo Jean de Dieu said the respect of human rights in the entrepreneurial sectors starts with General Managers who have to implement good rules of conduct and regulations within their companies.
He stated: “Take, for instance, in the mining sector, you all know the hard conditions under which people work in these companies. Yet, many companies hide violations of human rights. We have to make them know that the government of the Republic is watching them. We are the watchdogs of human rights in Cameroon, and we are striving for its respect.”
As one of the participants, His Royal Majesty Mfaw Robinson Tanyi of Tinto in the South-West region said:
“As a traditional leader, I take part in this workshop to represent communities. It is the communities that toil day and night and are not been respected by the various enterprises and entrepreneurial codes. This particular workshop is very welcome because it reminds all those concerned by Human Rights issues how relevant some aspects need to be taken into account. The State, the enterprises themselves that employ, and we the communities as watchdogs, have to be very careful about giving the best of the people to develop our communities without respecting their rights…”
As underscored by the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, this technical workshop comes in after a dialogue on National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights in the Central African sub-region, held in Mbankomo, Cameroon on the 22nd of June 2023. And jointly organized with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the African Union (AU).
This hybrid event brought together representatives from governments, businesses, civil society, and national human rights institutions (NHRIs) of Member States of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) – that is: Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo, and Rwanda, in a bid to advance the multi-stakeholder discussion on the development, adoption, and implementation of National Action Plans (NAPs) on Business and Human Rights.
During the workshop, Cameroon emphasized the need to conduct a study assessing the opportunities, challenges, and human rights risks associated with business activities in Cameroon.
A baseline study is considered an essential strategic tool to guide Cameroon’s efforts toward building a human rights-respecting economy. It represents the indispensable starting point for any serious reform aimed at integrating the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into national frameworks.
The Guiding Principles are grounded in recognition of: States’ existing obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms; the role of business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights; the need for rights and obligations to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached.
Elise Kenimbeni
