REDHAC Organizes Intercommunity Dialogue For Peace And Reconciliation

By ShingTimothy M

In an effort to promote peace and reconciliation in Cameroon, the international human rights organisation Network of Human Rights Defenders in Central Africa, best known by its French acronym REDHAC have organised an inter community dialogue across the country.

 The inter community dialogue according to the organisation is to brainstorm ways to bring back peace and reconciliation in Cameroon in general and the Northwest and Southwest regions in particular.

The meeting took place in Buea Southwest region on the 21^st August at the conference hall of the Pan African University Institute for Development; bring together traditional rulers, religious leaders, opinion leaders, human rights advocates, youths, women and vulnerable people from across the ten regions of the country. 

This inter community dialogue session was organized to get the views of Cameroonians from all parts of the country to see how the crisis can be stopped in the two regions, said the Executive Director of REDHAC Maximillienne Ngo Mbe. “Today we see the communities coming from the Far North, Littoral and all the other regions of Cameroon to talk about what we can do together with our culture, with our tradition to move on and to recommend to the government to take part of this inter community dialogue to find a solution to this crisis because we have all suffered enough”. We want peace and reconciliation she added

We are gathered here to talk and listen to each other on how make progress in the peace process as far as resolving this conflict is concerned and bringing peace to Cameroon. I urge you all to speak freely so that we can try to find a solution to your problem”, she told participants as she welcomed guests to the inter community dialogue

Since the beginning of the crisis in late 2016, the social fabric of Cameroon in general and the North West and Southwest regions in particular has been broken. Since there is no hope of return to normalcy any time soon, REDHAC which works for peace in Central Africa decided to bring stakeholders from all the regions to discuss and make recommendations to the government to resolve the crisis. “…for four years now we see that the crisis in the North West and Southwest region is taking another turn with the killing of women and children. There are a lot of executions and now since we don’t have a solution, we need to join the communities to talk together not just communities in the North West and Southwest regions, we want to bring all the communities in Cameroon together”

According to some of the traditional rulers present during the dialogue process, peace and reconciliation will be possible if we return to our traditional values as Africans. Most of the participants advocated for a return to the pre 1972 constitution which had made Cameroon a federal state because of its bicultural background.

The Buea inter community dialogue organized by REDHAC is the slated fourth in a series of similar events organized by the organization in other cities like Bafousam, Bamenda and Dschang. More of the dialogue sessions are slated for eight other towns and cities in the days ahead.

REDHAC covers the entire Central African sub region with its human rights defence network covering. Chad, Gabon, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Saotome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea.