 YAOUNDE—The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma and President Paul Biya will meet in Yaounde this week for “talks on bi-lateral issues.”
Mr Sharma comes to Cameroon at a time the regime is losing face over human rights abuses, especially following the death in jail of a journalist last month.
He also comes shortly after Yaounde decided to take steps backward on key electoral reforms, which the commonwealth helped bring about.
A statement by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London does not indicate if Mr Sharma will take up these issues with Mr Biya during his trip from May, 17-19.
The meeting is also not expected to produce any fireworks because the Commonwealth prefers a softly-softly approach in dealing with Yaounde.
“Mr Sharma’s discussions with President Biya and senior government officials will seek to identify options for strengthening the Commonwealth's relationship with Cameroon,” the statement said.
“The values of democracy, freedom, peace, the rule of law, human rights, sustainable development and opportunity for all... remain the compass for the Commonwealth’s engagement with Cameroon,” it added.
Cameroon joined the Commonwealth in 1995, promising to undertake wide ranging reforms to meet up with the “values” of the organisation contained in the so-called Harare Declaration.
The National Elections Observatory (NEO) and later on Eections Cameroon (ELECAM) are the major outcomes of the work between the organisation and Yaounde to improve often flawed elections in the country by creating an independent election management body.
Following the appointment of ELECAM’s pioneer electoral board last year, the Commonwealth refused to publicly state its stand on the organ’s make-up, which was criticised as loaded with senior members of the ruling CPDM and well-known supporters of the Biya-regime.
“The Commonwealth has not issued any public statement on the establishment and composition of ELECAM. We will be discussing the matter as part of our ongoing engagement with the Government of Cameroon,” it said in a statement.
But in March, the authorities in Yaounde made further changes to the law on ELECAM by bringing back government agents that have often been accused of spearheading past flaws to again be part of the election management process.
The Commonwealth press office did not reply our email request to accept or deny that these issues would be on the agenda when the Commonwealth SG and President Biya meet.
Mr Sharma’s visit is partly to take part in an international conference to mark the 50th annivesary of the Independence in January 1960 of the French speaking part of Cameroon.
“Some 16 other African countries reach the 50th independence anniversary milestone in 2010,” the statement said.
“The Yaoundé Conference will offer a significant and unique platform to reflect on Africa’s achievements and challenges, and to exchange ideas on moving the continent forward.
“Under the theme ‘Africa21’, the Yaoundé conference will explore the new challenges Africa faces in the 21st century and recommend solutions.”
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