Commonwealth, AU, OIF visit Cameroon, encourage dialogue

In a bid to finding a lasting solution to the political crisis in Cameroon, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, Secretary-General of the International Organization of la Francophonie, Louise Mushikiwabo and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, concluded a tripartite visit to Yaoundé, Cameroon on Thursday.

The tripartite mission is an extension of the visits that the leaders of the above-mentioned organizations had undertaken over the last months to Cameroon.

The aim of the tripartite mission was to encourage the ongoing national efforts for the implementation of the conclusions of the Grand National Dialogue, and support the pacification of the situation, peace-building, national cohesion and unity in this important country, which is a member of the three organizations.

The tripartite mission held talks with the President of the Republic, His Excellency Paul Biya and the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute. It also met with the main political actors, religious leaders, youth representatives and other Civil Society Organizations.

The Chairperson of African Union Commission, the Secretaries General of the OIF and Commonwealth welcomed the convening of the Grand National Dialogue which ushered in a new dynamic and which recommended, inter alia, the acceleration of decentralization, the special status of the North West and South West regions, and the review of the education and legal systems, including the measures taken by President Biya to defuse political tensions.

Convinced that dialogue remains the preferred path to be encouraged within the present Cameroonian context, they encouraged all the stakeholders to continue on the path of wisdom and responsibility, particularly that of the government in the implementation of the conclusions of the Grand National Dialogue.

The Chairperson of the AU Commission and the Secretaries General reaffirmed their commitment to support the national actors in the quest for ways and means to reach the necessary national political consensus, and the creation of conditions conducive to the conduct of legislative and local elections, particularly in the North West and South West regions of the country, in peace, national unity and in accordance with our shared democratic values.

The three leaders also urged for every effort to be made in order to restore security, justice and the conditions for the resumption of normal life in the regions affected by the crisis.