Senior and mid-career law enforcement officers from the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon have undergone a two-day capacity-building workshop in Buea, aimed at building their capacities on the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms ahead of the upcoming elections in Cameroon.
The training, focused on the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the electoral context, was co-organised by the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (UNCHRD-CA) and the Cameroon Human Rights Commission (CHRC).
The workshop, which ran from August 26-27, is part of a series of sessions aimed at raising awareness and professionalising the security forces ahead of the 2025 electoral cycle. It brought together thirty senior officers from the National Police and National Gendarmerie, equipping them with the knowledge and practical skills to secure electoral processes while strictly adhering to national and international human rights standards.
In his opening address, the Vice-Chairperson of the CHRC, Galega Gana Raphael, underscored the critical role of Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) in safeguarding democracy. He highlighted that electoral periods are often fraught with instability and violence, making the conduct of security forces paramount.
He recognised that electoral processes lie at the heart of democracy, the rule of law, and human rights, and that law enforcement agencies play a pivotal, decisive, and delicate role in all stages of the process, thus necessitating the training.
He particularly emphasised the heightened responsibility in the Northwest and Southwest Regions, which have faced major security challenges for eight years. “This environment calls for an approach that is respectful of human rights, even in the most difficult situations… respect for human rights is not opposed to operational effectiveness. On the contrary, it is its essential condition.”
Echoing this sentiment, Fonyuy Kiven, Programmes Officer at the UN Human Rights Office for Central Africa (the Centre), stressed the intrinsic link between fundamental freedoms and credible elections.
“Election periods are very sensitive periods… and constitute a risky period for fundamental freedoms,” Kiven said. “When I talk about fundamental freedoms, I am talking about freedom of opinion and expression, of association, and freedom of peaceful assembly. If these freedoms are not guaranteed during election periods, then the ability of voters to exercise their right will be trampled upon.”
He explained the strategic decision to target mid-to-senior ranking officers: “The reason we have mid-rank to senior rank officers is because they are those who have command responsibility. They will have to ensure that the troops being deployed to the field also have a restitution of this training… They would have to advise, inform, and instruct their elements to ensure that they respect human rights while carrying on their operations.”
The intensive two-day programme covered critical topics including the legal framework for law enforcement, managing demonstrations, preventing gender-based violence, and respecting civil and political rights. The methodology blended expert presentations with practical group exercises and panel discussions, culminating in the drafting of a set of recommendations and a code of conduct for LEOs.
The workshop series, which began in Bafoussam and will conclude in Yaoundé, aims to train between 250-300 officers nationwide. The capacity-building workshops are deemed a crucial investment in building trust between security forces and civilians, which is expected to ultimately contribute to a safer, more inclusive, and democratic electoral environment in Cameroon.
