BACKGROUND TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CAMEROON HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

The National Committee on Human Rights and Freedoms was established by Decree  No. 1990/1459 of 8 November 1990. The fundamental mission of the committee was the promotion of human rights and freedoms. The members of the Committee were government officials, and head office was located in Yaoundé. However, the Committee  had no presence in the regions. The inherent deficiencies of the legislation that gave rise to the formation of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms.

The National Commission on Human rights and freedoms created by Law N⁰ 2004/016 of 22 July 2004  subsequently amended and supplemented by law N⁰ 2010/004 of 13 April 2010.The fundamental mission of this Commission has been to promote and protect human rights and freedoms. The Commissioners were appointed by presidential decree and did not hold official government positions. The National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms comprised 30 Commissioners, including both the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson. The Head Office of the organisation was located in Yaoundé, with a further nine operational regional branches situated throughout Cameroon. The deficiencies inherent in the legislation that resulted in the establishment of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms (NCHRF) ultimately precipitated the formation of the current national human rights institution in Cameroon, namely, the Cameroon Human Rights Commission (CHRC).

The CHRC was establishedby Law No. 2019/014 of 19 July 2019, relating to the establishment, organisation and functioning of the Commission. The Cameroon Human Rights Commission  mission is the Promotion and Protection of human rights and the Prevention of Torture in all places of detention in Cameroon. In this light, Commission also acts as the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture. The Commission is comprised of 15 Commissioners who have been appointed by Presidential Decree and it is headquartered in Yaounde. The Cameroon Human Rights Commission is present and operational in all the 10 regions of Cameroon, as well as in the Logone and Shari divisional branch. The CHRC is constituted by three standing sub-commissions, which are the Sub-Commission on the Promotion of Human Rights, the Sub-Commission on the Protection of Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of torture.

The CDHC has three standing sub-committees:

• the Sub-Committee on the Promotion of Human Rights,
• the Sub-Committee on the Protection of Human Rights,
• the Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture.