Professor James MOUANGUE KOBILA, Chairperson of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission (CHRC) now occupies the position of Vice-Chairperson of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI).

It was during the 14th NANHRI Biennial Conference which was held from  18 to 20 October, 2023 in Accra, Ghana on the theme “Promoting responsible business conduct and respect for human rights in Africa” that the President of the CHRC was appointed to this position. Consequently, Cameroon will host the 15th Biennial Conference of the NANHRI in 2025. On this occasion, the National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) of Cameroon will take over the Presidency of the NANHRI for a period of 2 years.

Before this election, the Chairperson of the CHRC had been designated by all the members, as the Representative of Central Africa Region within the NANHRI office.

In addition to this appointment, the 14th Biennial Conference of the NANHRI was marked by the much appreciated speech of Professor James MOUANGUE KOBILA which focused on “the perspectives of the NHRI of Cameroon relating to the link between businesses and human rights and conflicts in Africa.”

 To sister NHRIs in Africa, the President of the CHRC recommended the use of different strings of their bow to contribute to the prevention of business-related conflicts and ensure early warning in Africa.

 Concretely, this involves intensifying active awareness-raising among businesses, public authorities and victims, as well as encouraging the authorities to adopt National Action Plans on businesses and Human Rights.

 He particularly invited companies to “adopt a conflict-sensitive approach and respect human rights by putting people at the heart of their decisions.”

 In addition, he noted the preponderant role of investors and economic operators in the access to justice for their employees.