Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho, leader of the defunct Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, CACSC, has been invited to the Paris Peace Forum in France.
During the peace conference, the President of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa, CHRDA, plans to educate and lobby support to pressurise decision makers to propose best ways of solving the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon.
In a statement issued in relation to the forum, which we were privy to, the Human Rights Lawyer wrote: “As an advocate for Peace in the world in general and in particular for a peaceful resolution to the Anglophone Crisis, the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) was invited to the First Edition of the Paris Peace Forum from the 11-13 November. It is an honour to be representing the Centre with the Executive Director in the presence of more than 60 Heads of State and Government.”
Hammering on the need for peace, Balla stated that “Peace is not just the suspension of war. It is made up of all the solutions that help minimise international tensions: institutions to channel power rivalries and administer global public goods, justice to assuage grievances and frustration, regulation to address inequalities and abuses of power.
“International norms, in particular human rights, are disregarded and international justice is questioned”.
Balla explained that the Paris Peace Forum was created to convene all those among States and Civil Society that still believe that collective action, multilateralism and the good stewardship of common public goods are our best chance to address common challenges and maintain peace.
The plan for the Paris Peace Forum is the brain child of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, though it is organised by an NGO founded in 2018 by the Körber Foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Institutfrançais des relations internationales, the Institut Montaigne, Sciences Po and the French Ministry for European and Foreign Affairs.
At the Peace Forum, Barrister Balla is expected to speak on the degenerating Anglophone Crisis back in Cameroon and also lobby support aimed at pushing for a lasting solution to the Crisis and problems that keep resurfacing in different generations of the former West Cameroons, but has now reached its peak of an armed conflict after the brutal crackdown on peaceful protests.