National Human Rights Commission says government hindering access to detainees

The Cameroon Human Rights Commission has faulted the government for preventing it from accessing scenes of torture and other rights abuses in the country.

Speaking today after meeting the constitutional laws committee of the national assembly, the commission chairperson, James Kobila said the commission was finding it hard to operate.

He said, “the commission has the broad mandate to promote and protect human rights and prevent any situations of torture”.

“For that purpose,” he said, “we should visit all the places where people are detained all over the country.”

This to the official, however, has not been feasible, given the action of authorities in charge of these detention centers: “we face lack of access to the places where the allegations of human rights violations are raised”.

Cameroon, it should be recalled, has a track record for several human rights violations including indescribably horrible detention conditions, often accompanied by torture and lack of adequate medical care.

Mimi Mefo Info