By Daniel D.
Human rights lawyer, Barrister Agbor Nkongho, aka Balla, has received an award from the American Bar Association (ABA) honoring his “exceptional achievements” as a champion and defender of human rights outside the United States.
He received the accolade during a ceremony that was held in the USA Thursday, August 1.
According to the ABA, Barrister Balla’s contributions demonstrated leadership, dedication, courage, and perseverance in advancing human rights.
He is the President of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), a non-governmental organization that advocates for human rights protection, good governance, and peace in Cameroon and the rest of Africa.
The award Balla received is presented annually on behalf of six ABA entities: the Centre for Global Programs; the Centre for Human Rights; the Rule of Law Initiative; the Civil Rights and Social Justice Section; the International Law Section; and the Litigation Section.
“Mr. Nkongho stood out, among an exceptionally strong field of nominees, for his courageous and principled advocacy in support of human rights and the peaceful settlement of disputes,” said Mark Agrast, chair of the ABA’s International Human Rights Award selection committee.
Balla’s Difficult Journey As Human Rights Defender
In an acceptance speech, the CHRDA President chronicled his fight for human rights, starting from when he was a student at CCAS Kumba, in Cameroon’s South West Region, where he was wrongfully dismissed for subversive writing popularly known as “Lavoir”.
This was an article challenging abuses and wrong actions by school administrators.
“This marked the starting point of my activism and work towards guaranteeing the respect of all fundamental human rights. I rather described my dismissal as a blessing in an interview because it earned me a meeting with the late Bate Besong, a renowned Anglophone playwright, poet, and critic,” he said.
The barrister said his unwavering search for knowledge on how to defend and protect the rights of others took him from Cameroon to Nigeria, Belgium, and the USA.
“After working abroad as a researcher at the Centre for International Law in Belgium, as an assistant legal officer at the Sierra Leone International Criminal Court, and as a human rights officer at the United Nations office in Afghanistan and the Congo, I felt it was time to come back home to my people and defend their rights,” he stated.
That is how he founded the NGO CHRDA, which has been monitoring and documenting human rights abuses in Cameroon as well as advocating for the rights of victims.
“Passage as president of the Fako Lawyers Association in Cameroon; former vice president of the African Bar Association; Central African Region; and a member of numerous African and international law associations, I could not stay back and watch the sufferings of my people – I mean the people from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon,” he said.
“As a leader in the civil society movement to challenge the marginalisation of and systemic discrimination against Anglophone Cameroonians, in 2016, I joined other prominent activists in leading peaceful protests of Anglophone lawyers and teachers to express their grievances against the increasing marginalisation of the English language and the Common Law in the courts and schools of Anglophone Cameroon,” he added.
In January 2017, the Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was banned by the Government of Cameroon, and Balla, among other leaders, was arrested and charged with treason, terrorism, civil unrest, and jeopardising the peace and unity of the Republic of Cameroon.
But after pressure from the international community, on August 31, 2017, they were released, while a good number are still detained under deplorable conditions.
“From that point till date, myself, my organisation, and my partners have to advocate solutions to the Anglophone problem in Cameroon and to draw attention to the growing humanitarian crisis that has resulted since it escalated in 2016,” he said.
“The human rights violations and abuse cases in Cameroon are on the rise by day and changing in form by night.”
