News In Focus
8 September 2008
Govan LC spreads the word to Africa
The community law centre could be about to arrive in Africa, following a visit to Cameroon by Govan Law Centre's principal solicitor Mike Dailly.
Mr Dailly has just completed a 10 day visit to the country, working with Mrs Laura Naddin Ngwa, a Cameroonian human rights commissioner, to win political and operational support to set up the first pilot community law centre in Cameroon.
Sponsored by Glasgow University's international aid agency, the Active Learning Centre, in partnership with Govan Law Centre, his task was to secure government and civic approval for the law centre project and help local human rights activists get the project off the ground.
As a first step, and with support from the British High Commission and the British Council, a short term project bid was drafted to set up a child protection unit, to help prevent child trafficking by implementing new laws which were not being enforced by the police or local magistrates, and which remained unknown to most of the population.
Other matters waiting to be tackled include child sacrifices, mutilation and occultism, the exploitation of workers, and inefficiencies in the justice system - for example some prisoners languish in jail after completing their sentences simply because no one has bothered to process their release certificates.
Ignorance of rights
Speaking at a meeting hosted by the British High Commission at the conclusion of his visit, Mr Dailly said he had been struck by the complexity of the legal system in the country. "There are many sources of law: French, English, national law, and the law of tradition and custom. The latter category is particulary complex as it varies between ethnic groups, and with 250 different ethnic groups in Cameroon that is a lot of law!"
He added that it was clear from speaking to lawyers, judges, NGOs and representatives of civil society groups that customary law "can all too often be used to justify violence, discrimination and human rights violations. Yet such violations are generally unlawful as they are contrary to the national law". However most people in the country were ignorant of their rights due to poverty and lack of education, and easily exploited by others; and corruption and human rights abuses were widespread.
A local community law centre could work with law enforcement officers and the judiciary to ensure the national law was implemented and respected in practice.
"Although I have only been in Cameroon for a short time", Mr Dailly continued, "I have travelled across six of your country's 10 provinces and spoken to many people. I have been struck by the goodwill and passionate desire to see the national law implemented. The project I have been assisting is an attempt to contribute to that desire."
He concluded: "I believe there is a will and so the challenge is to deliver the way."