The ICRC regional delegation in Yaoundé

08-02-2012 Overview

The ICRC regional delegation for Central Africa promotes the implementation of international humanitarian law in Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and Sao Tome and Principe. It also protects and helps people displaced in the wake of violence, restores family links, visits detainees and fosters the development of National Societies.

Promoting international humanitarian law

The ICRC has been in Yaoundé since 1992. It maintains an ongoing dialogue with the political authorities with a view to promoting international humanitarian law (IHL) and its implementation. As a result of these consultations and discussions with Cameroon's political authorities, breaches of IHL are now covered by the draft criminal code in French and English.

The ICRC runs IHL training sessions every year in the armed and security forces' training centres and in universities. It also promotes the fundamental principles of IHL among influential civil society actors, such as religious leaders and the media.

Training sessions for students are also held. In Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo, the national IHL moot court competition is a chance for students from a range of universities and other higher educational institutions to test their knowledge of IHL and of humanitarian issues.

The ICRC works with subregional players such as the Economic Community of Central African States (based in Libreville), the United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa (based in Yaoundé), the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (based in Bangui), and the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (based in Libreville) in order to promote the inclusion of IHL in the training and instruction of the forces belonging to the Mission for the consolidation of peace in the Central African Republic.

Visiting detainees

The ICRC's goal is to protect security-related and particularly vulnerable detainees. To this end, it assesses their conditions of detention and treatment during its visits to detention facilities in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. It then shares its findings and recommendations with the relevant authorities so that measures can be taken to improve the situation. At the request of the Gabonese authorities, the ICRC assessed the state of the country's prisons and made recommendations for improvements.

Cooperating with the National Societies

Lastly, the ICRC works with the National Societies to build their operational capacity. The focus is on preparing for and responding to emergencies, restoring family links, and promoting international humanitarian law and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Providing relief

In 2011, the ICRC joined forces with the Cameroon Red Cross to provide household items to the victims of clashes between the Bambalang and Balikumbat communities in north-west Cameroon. In the Republic of the Congo, with the support of volunteers from the Congolese Red Cross, the ICRC distributed farming and fishing tools to more than 100,000 people living in the Likouala area, which played host in 2009 to some 120,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Équateur province.

Offering protection

An ICRC team was sent to Angola to collect data about the situation in Lunda Norte province. Their task was to assess the treatment of foreign nationals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who had been expelled from Angola because they were residing there illegally.

The ICRC has 57 staff members in the countries covered by the regional delegation in Yaoundé.