704- These thrusts are defined and attributed goals to be achieved as well as strategies to
achieve these goals.
705- A Multisector Plan of Action for the implementation of the National Gender Policy
(2016-2020) was adopted in December 2016 following a participatory approach in order to
lay down guidelines for the mastery of the NGP according to sectors and its operationalisation
by all stakeholders.
706- Furthermore, the adoption of global approaches did not leave out the adoption of sectoral
strategies to address specific concerns regarding women. Among these is the National
Strategy for the Fight against Gender-Based Violence adopted in 2011 and updated in 2016,
the Five Year Action Plan to combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) adopted in 2011 and
revised in 2016, the National Multisector Programme to Combat Maternal, Neonatal, Infant &
Child Mortality in Cameroon (2014-2018), the Support Programme for the Promotion of
Female Entrepreneurship (SPPFE), and the Gender Climate Change and Agriculture Support
Programme (GCCASP).
- Direct Application of the Protocol and Invoking it before the Courts
707- The reception of the Maputo Protocol under Cameroonian Law may be assessed
pursuant to Article 45 of the Constitution which provides that: “Duly approved or ratified
treaties and international agreements shall, following their publication, override national
laws, provided the other party implements the said treaty or agreement”. Evaluation of the
implementation of international Human Rights Conventions by courts revealed a dual
tendency. Indeed, some judges consider that these Conventions are part of the block of
constitutionality and can therefore only be applied by the Constitutional Judge. Others,
however, consider that these conventions are part and parcel of the legal corpus and apply
them depending on whether they are self-executing or not.
708- In a bid to harmonise the practice, awareness-raising and capacity building sessions were
held with legal actors on the applicability of international Human Rights Instruments.
Increasingly, there is proof of mastery of the provisions of the Protocol as seen in court
decisions. For example in the matter between the People and “Crédit du Sahel SA”, Mora
Branch vs Mrs Apsatou SALKI BOUBA BEBE, judgement No. 36/ADD/CRIM of 19
November 2015 rendered by the Mora High Court can be cited. To order the release of the
accused who was pregnant, the Judge evoked both Articles 24 and 14 of the said Protocol,
recalling the obligation of the Sate to protect “the right of pregnant or nursing women or
women in detention by providing them with an environment which is suitable to their
condition and the right to be treated with dignity” and to guarantee that “the right to health of
women, including sexual and reproductive health is respected and promoted by establishing
and strengthening existing pre-natal, delivery and post-natal health and nutritional services
for women during pregnancy and while they are breast-feeding”.
- Brief Description of State Institutions Relevant to the Protocol and
Information about their Budget Allocation
709- Structural reforms were put in place to consolidate policies adopted in the sector. One of
the most important reforms was the establishment of a Ministry of Women’s affairs by Decree
No. 84/95 of 26 March 1984. At the beginning, this Ministry was attributed very few
assignments and had no local representation but was later maintained in the structuring of
Government. Its assignments was then well refined and extended through Decree No.
2011/508 of 9 December 2011 which provides it with decentralised services and specialised
technical units across the 10 Regions. These assignments concern the priority areas targeted
by international instruments on the promotion of women and gender. They include:
- eliminating all forms of discrimination against women;
- increasing equal access for women in all fields of activity;
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