The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. (Article 21 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Yaoundé 10/07/2010 – The role of independent elections management bodies in the promotion and protection of human rights within the context of electoral processes was the focus of the first edition of the Carrefour littéraire organized by the Central Africa Regional Office (CARO) of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday 9 July 2010.

During the event, the Regional Representative Maarit Kohonen Sheriff emphasized the importance of human rights in electoral processes noting their intrinsic relationship that must be respected.

Elections constitute the foundation of any true democracy. Such elections must be carried out in respect of international standards and norms to ensure that the very essence of elections – the prevalence of the will of the people, is respected. This is enshrined in article 21 of the UDHR (above) and in several other United Nations human rights instruments and ins African Union (AU) regional instruments. This was the principal message by CARO Human Rights Officer Robert Kotchani in his presentation.

The articipants in the first Carrefour littéraire, namely the general public, academics, students, media and representatives of non-governmental organizations, benefitted from a substantive presentation by the Me Ebanga Ewodo, Vice-Chairman of Elections Cameroon (ELECAM). The presentation highlighted the various concrete human rights considerations of elections in the period before, during and after the elections, based on the principles of free, fair, regular, honest and transparent elections.

“Democracy is a universally recognized ideal, based on values common to people everywhere regardless of cultural, political, social and economic differences. Democracy is equally a political system that enables people to choose freely an effective, honest, transparent and accountable government”. Report of the Parliamentary Forum on the occasion of the Fifth Conference of New or Restored Democracies - 11 September 2003.

When critically examined, the role of independent national electoral commissions (or elections management bodies) is to guarantee the respect of the rights of citizens to choose or to be chosen without distinction of any sort as to race, color, sex, religious, ethnic background or any other discrimination. Me Ebanga said members of these independent bodies have a duty to exercise equity and fairness in the discharge of their duties and must have no affiliations with competing parties or candidates, in such a way that their judgment may become biased.

In a lively question and answer session that ensued, participants exchanged with the ELECAM Vice-Chairman on issues surrounding elections in Cameroon and the state of preparedness of the new organ. Issues of voter registration, setting up of Elecam structures in the field, election observation and the training of elections monitors, human and material resources were debated.

Meanwhile, CARO Representative Maarit Kohonen Sheriff, while answering questions on the economic, social and cultural rights aspects of elections, said Governments remain the primary responsible for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights so that all citizens are able to exercise their voting rights. This means that everyone must belong to a community, have access to housing and be recognized by the Government in order to be able to be eligible to vote. Governments must therefore facilitate the work of elections management bodies in ensuring an inclusive electoral register, including reaching out to marginalized, poor and vulnerable populations.

The first Carrefour littéraire ended with a visit of the CARO Documentation Centre which is presently open to the public. (To receive free access to the Documentation Centre, please send an application and 2 passport size photographs in a sealed envelop addressed to the Regional Representative, United Nations Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, P.O Box 836 Yaoundé