Global Conscience Buea Office goes operational
Buea May 30, 2009
Global Conscience is delighted to inform the general public that her Buea office has fully gone operational in Suit 9 - Entrance B of the magnificent Fakoship Plaza in Buea Town. GCI's CEO Samba Churchill is currently setting up the office and is assisted by international interns Jordan Pearlstein from the USA and Francesco Frigerio from Italy.
CEO Samba Churchill has said the Buea office is very crucial in GCI's work as it brings GCI very close the administrative heirarchy of the Southwest Region. "We are able to meet the different adminitrative heads at very short notice and to get action to correct rights violations taken in good time," said the human right journalist. "We are looking at how to effectively colaborate with the regional administrative heirarchy and with the regional office of the national human rights commission in Buea to acheive human rights for all," he added.
He also said the Buea office will be kicking off with two main projects: The Centres for Arbitration and Mediation, currently headed by Ms. Jordan Pearlstein, and the Prisoners Defense Rights Project directed now by Mr. Francesco Frigerio. Work has already started in the field on both projects, and GCI is using some local volunteers in Buea to assist.
Ms. Jordan is a recent graduate from the The Fletcher School, Tufts University. She holds a Masters degree in Law and Diplomacy, and specialises in International Negotiations, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights. Ms. Jordan will be in Cameroon for the next three months for field placement and will be working with community/village councils to improve their ability to handle low level disputes. She has started a training mediation trainers and facilitators at the GCI office and the training is open to volunteers in and around Buea.
Mr. Francesco Frigerio is currently building a questionnaire for a survey of the situation and condition of untried prisoners in Buea. In the weeks ahead he will try to build individual dossiers for some indigent untried prisoners, research their cases using Cameroonian laws, prepare briefs and then pair the accused persons with GCI's pro bono law partners for legal assistance and representation in court.
Beside the two projects, the GCI Buea office will also monitor human rights situations in the Fako Division, receive complaints and investigate cases of human rights abuses in collaboration with the Regional Office of the National Human Rights Commission. NCHRF Regional Secretary for the Southwest Province, Barrister Tambe Tiku Christopher has assured GCI of the full support and collaboration of his office. Barristers Yanou Michael and Blaise Berinyuy will also legally assist the Buea office, and GCI continues to knock on the doors of lawyers interested in doing public interest law in Buea.
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