ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs) in the democratization process of Cameroon: case OF Norwegian Refugee Council from 2017 to present. Despite the presence of many INGOs in Cameroon, their contribution towards consolidation of democratic values has been insignificant. With the role of INGOs cut out to be consolidation of the democratic values in the democratization process, INGOs have instead criticized the state for lack democratic values hence INGOs failing to consolidate the democratic values. Such blame games between INGOs and the State initiated the researcher to undertake the study in this area, thus this study examines the role of INGOs in the democratization process of Cameroon using the Norwegian Refugee Council as the Case study.

 Qualitative analysis and a descriptive analysis method was used to attain the objective of the study. The study was conducted by using the Norwegian Refugee Council as a case study. Respondents were executive staff of the Norwegian refugee council. Respondents were selected through purposive sampling. Questionnaires, interviews and document review techniques were employed. The statistical tools used to analyze data were percentage, tables, graphs and charts. The results have revealed that the role of INGOs in the democratization process of Cameroon was a recent development where INGOs have spent considerable time in service delivery activities. As far as the contributions of INGOs in the area are concerned, it is insignificant. INGOs have faced many challenges many of which arise from government. The INGO-state relation in the area in Cameroon was not smooth for various reasons. There were also instances where INGOs were engaged beyond their mandate especially in the political activities. The government of Cameroon has enacted Law no 99/014 of 22 December 1999 and the law no. 90/053 of the 19 December 1990 regulating freedom of association, which governs INGOs and NGOs in Cameroon. Its immediate impact was negative while in the long term its effect seems to be yielding positive results.

Keywords: International Non-Governmental Organizations, Democratization, civil society

I.                   CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

According to the United Nations Commission for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report 2002, the volume of world trade has increased tremendously in the last two decades but unfortunately, poverty too has increased globally, with Africa most affected[1]. About half of her total population lives below the international poverty line (less than one dollar a day) says the same report.

Cameroon being a member country of the ACP, established bilateral relation with the then European Community as early as 1967 and the European Union (EU) have remained the number one trade partner and donor of aids to Cameroon. Cooperation between both partners was redesigned on July 16, 2001 with the signing of a new partnership accord. This agreement gives more room for the EU to lay emphasis on supporting the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Programme, which constitutes road infrastructural development, institutional reforms, health, rural development, environment, decentralization and human rights.

In 1990, the government signed the famous ‘Liberalization Laws’, which allowed non-state actors like civil society to emerge and participate fully in political, social and economic matters. However, a number of International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs), some of which are under our study now, had been working in the field in Cameroon before 1990. This research is aimed at identifying the place of non-state actors in policymaking and implementation of democratization that affect local economies of a developing country. It would critically look at what roles have NGOs of the North in particular been playing in helping to build Africa’s democracy and development challenges.

The global community has become inversely interdependent, with the constant movement of people, ideas, goods and resources. In a nexus to give and take, this marks the 21st century. For a better appraisal of our study, it will be important to situate the context within which it is carried.

Cameroon is an officially bilingual (English and French) and a culturally diverse country located in Africa, lying on the western side of Central Africa, on the Bight of Biafra, which is a bay in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. Cameroon shares borders with Chad, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Congo. According to census results published by the General Census of Population and Habitat (GCPH), Cameroon had a population of 23,248,044 inhabitants in 2017[2]. This number increased over the years and the estimated population of Cameroon today stands at approximately 26 million[3]. Cameroon‘s population is predominantly young, as individuals under the age of 15 account for over 43% of the total population, people aged 15-34 make up more than 35% and those over 60 represent less than 6%[4]. This makes Cameroon the 52nd most populated country in the world and the 17th most populous country in Africa. In addition, Cameroon covers a surface area of 475,442 square meters (183,521 square miles). With the growing population, the government of Cameroon launched in February 2009 the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) in which development goals in different sectors are designed. The latter was evaluated and updated in December 2019. The evaluation led to the adoption of the National Development Strategy (NDS30) presented on November 16 2020 by the Minister of the Economy and Regional Development (MINEPAT). The latter aligns with the 2035 emergence vision of Cameroon. The said vision in one sentence is presented as ‟Cameroon: An emerging, democratic and united country in diversity”. [5]This vision hinges on the results of past studies, identification of populations needs, aspiration and ambitions of politicians. Generally, it synchronizes the aspirations and hopes of all Cameroonians. Some major objectives outlined in the GESP and NDS30 include amongst others; a prosperous economy with good infrastructure; Minimal poverty, illiteracy and social exclusion rates; Low employment and underemployment rates; A well-trained youth exalting merit and country expertise.

To realize the different objectives set up in the GESP and NDS30, the governments of Cameroon sought for diverse means that will in one way or the other ameliorate its socio-economic situation thereby taking Cameroon to the desired level of emergence by 2035. Amongst the different opportunities opened for Cameroon, the international cooperation mechanism of emergent states stands tall.

The political history of Cameroon should no doubt have laid the grounds for western liberal democratic values. Having been colonized by three European colonial powers viz Germany between 1884-1917, France and Great Britain 1917 –1961 and at the same time its homogenous African population; one would imagine democratic values to be exercised by the rulers. The colonial policy of indirect rule instituted in the British part of the colony gave the people at this early time an opportunity for them to make decisions for themselves in traditional autonomous units. Though the French had a different policy, which was called Assimilation- converting local values to French ways, the French made a remarkable move by organizing the early general elections by 1951 for the colonized to be represented in the Territorial Assembly (Ngoh, 1987:141). By independence in 1960 and reunification in 1961, there were a number of local political parties and trade unions in the newly independent state until 1966 when the state of Cameroon was made a one party state by its first president Ahmadou Ahidjou. This did not authorize opposition parties or civil societies to emerge until 1990s when a new law was signed by the State’s second president Paul Biya. This new law was known as the ‘Liberalization law’ and it authorized the formation of opposition parties and civil society organizations. With a population of about 17million,with over 250 tribal units dominated by Christian, Moslem and African religions, the homogeneity here is questionable as to how inter-tribal differences can set the pace for democracy.

There are many ways to compare societies. We could develop economic indicators, security indicators, education indicators, etc. and each of these surveys would ask different questions to determine how a society is doing in a particular area. [6]The Democracy Indicators is designed to determine how a society is doing in developing as a democracy.  It is just one of many tools that could be used to judge a society. The objective of the democracy indicators is to have the participants judge their own democratic institutions to determine where they are strong and where they are weak. The Finnish democracy indicators publication divides the indicators into nine categories which are elections and party democracy, participatory democracy and social capital, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) participation, citizens’ views on citizenship and their own opportunities to influence, attitudes towards political institutions and actors, criteria of informed citizenship, democracy institution, municipal democracy, and democracy and equality.   

International non-governmental organizations emerged alongside humanitarian aid with the realization that no single government could single-handedly solve global crises. Governments began offering greater support to private, international organizations and NGOs in the 1980s as a way of allowing more time and resources to be spent on national projects. Often, a humanitarian aid organization would clash with a government’s approach to the unfolding domestic conflict[7]. In such cases, INGOs have sought out autonomy to extend help regardless of political or ethnic affiliation.

In 1910, the Union of International Associations (UIA) were the first to suggest that a “super-national” status be given to international organizations with diplomatic intentions without governmental influence. [8]The International Law Association (ILA) modified this, adding that this “super-national” organizational status may be adopted for associations formed for no profit. Some few INGOs which we could name are Danish Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, Plan International, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Humanists International, etc.

[9]International Non-governmental organization (INGO) are typically nonprofit entities and many of them are active in humanitarianism or clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that INGOs do not have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a controversial proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, INGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations such as the World Economic Forum. INGOs are distinguished from international and intergovernmental organizations (IOs) in that the latter are more directly involved with sovereign states and their governments. The term as it is used today was first introduced in Article 71 of the newly formed United Nations Charter 1945[10]. While there is no fixed or formal definition for what NGOs are, they are generally defined as nonprofit entities that are independent of governmental influence, although they may receive government funding. 

INGOs are classified by ; orientation( which is the type of activities an INGO undertakes, such as activities involving human rights, consumer protection, environmentalism, health or development)and level of operation ( which indicates the scale at which an organization works: local, regional, national, or international).

INGOs are classified by their: Orientation:  Charity; often a top-down effort, with little participation or input from beneficiaries. They include INGOs directed at meeting the needs of disadvantaged people and groups. Service; includes INGOs that provide healthcare including family planning and education. Participatory; self-help projects with local involvement in the form of money, tools, land, materials, or labor. Empowerment; aim to help poor people to understand the social, political, and economic factors affecting their lives, and to increase awareness of their power to control their lives. With maximum involvement by the beneficiaries, the NGOs are facilitators.

Level of operation: Community based organizations (CBOs); popular initiatives, which can raise the consciousness of the urban poor, helping them, understand their right to services, and providing such services. Citywide organizations include chambers of commerce and industry, coalitions of business, ethnic or education groups, and community organizations. State NGOs include state-level organizations, associations, and groups. Some state NGOs are guided by national and international NGOs. National NGOs is an NGO that exists in only one country; they are rare. These include national organizations such as YMCAs and YWCAs, professional associations and similar groups. Some have state or city branches, and assist local NGOs. International NGOs (INGOs) range from secular agencies, such as Save the Children, to religious groups. They may fund local NGOs, institutions and projects, and implement projects.

The basic purpose of most democratization INGOs has been, tackling the question of poverty, human right, health in the less developed world.[11]Cameroon is a lower-middle-income country with a population above 25 million inhabitants and a human development index (HDI) of 0.563, ranking 153 out of 188 countries. During the second phase of operationalization of the national 2035 Vision, Cameroon adopted the National Development Strategy, 2020-2030 (NDS30), whose objective is to enable the country’s transition to a high-income industrialized nation by reducing poverty, promoting strong economic growth, and consolidating democracy. [12]The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), 2022-2026, developed against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, aims to contribute to achieving national priorities through four strategic priority areas: inclusive and sustainable growth through structural transformation of the economy and creation of decent jobs; quality, inclusive and equitable human and social development; institutional support and citizen participation; and environmental sustainability and climate and disaster risk management. The UNDP programmatic offer is aligned with the UNSDCF and informed by its comparative advantages in structural transformation, inclusive governance, peacebuilding, climate change and socioeconomic development. The country programme document considers the independent country programme review (ICPR) recommendations and the 2019 national Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) reports. UNDP will contribute to the achievement of UNSDCF priorities by addressing four interlinked challenges. Cameroon experiences volatile situations due to violent extremism by Boko Haram in the far-north and the socio-political crisis in the north-west and south-west regions. By March 2021, these conflicts resulted in 711,056 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the west, center and littoral regions and the influx of over 440,000 refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria to the northern and eastern regions[13]. To respond to the internal social and security challenges, in 2019 the Government organized a national dialogue that recommended granting special status to north- local development. Despite these efforts, basic service delivery and overall decentralization have been slow because of the limited transfer of resources and expertise to local administrative units called decentralized territorial collectivities (DTCs)

[1] Global statistics on the rate of poverty in Africa over the last two decades www.unctad.org/Templates/StartPage.asp?intItem 2002. Accessed on the 14th October, 2022

[2] Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, (2020), National Development Strategy. For structural transformation and inclusive development pg. 68

[3] https/www.worldometers.infos

[4] Op cit pg 68

[5] Cameroon‘s vision 2035 is based on the results of retrospective studies, the identification of needs and aspirations of the population and political ambitions. Specifically, it systematizes the aspirations and views expressed by different actors.

[6] The indicators of democracydesigned tio determine how a society is doing  https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/2147_ww_democracy_indicators_040407.pdf. Accessed on the 15^th October 2022

[7] Buse, Kent; Tanaka, Sonja (2011-08-01). “Global Public-Private Health Partnerships: lessons learned from ten years of experience and evaluation”. International Dental Journal. Live.Learn.Laugh. A Unique Global Public-Private Partnership to Improve Oral Health. 61: 2–10.

[8] Meaning of international non-governmental organizations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_non-governmental_organization#History. Accessed 18^th October 2022

[9] COM (2016). The Commission and Non-Governmental Organizations: Building a
Stronger Partnership.

[10] Global Policy Forum. (1999). NGOs and the United Nations. Retrieved Mar. 18, 2009,
from http://www.globalpolicy.org/ngos/docs99/gpfrep.htm#2. Accessed 18^th October 2022

[11] Republic of Cameroon and UNDP (2019), ‘2019 National Human Development Report: Inclusive growth, inequalities and exclusions’, p. 96,
https://issuu.com/undp13/docs/nhdr_2019. Accessed 18^th October 2022

[12] On the website of the Independent Evaluation Office at: https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/12268. Accessed 21^st October 2022

[13] https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/evaluations/detail/12268. Accessed 21^st October 2022