Volume 4 (No 1-2)

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    Global Campus Human Rights Journal, Volume 4 No 1
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]
    This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part, ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’, is the first time the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. In the second part, we publish a single article of a general bearing. In this article, Chofor Che finds the root causes for the ongoing political malaise in Cameroon in the failure of that state to effectively implement the decentralisation framework provided for under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon. The third part contains a regular feature of the Journal, a discussion of ‘recent developments’ in the fields of human rights and democratisation in four of the regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
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    Children’s rights to privacy in times of emergency: The case of Serbia in relation to internet education technologies
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Cendic, Kristina
    In the digital era the privacy of children has become an issue of particular importance. With the spread of COVID-19 many schools turned to online education, causing this vulnerable group of internet users to be more and more engaged in the digital sphere. It has thus become questionable whether children are protected enough when education systems increasingly turn to online teaching. When Serbia declared a state of emergency in an attempt to contain the new virus in March 2020, the national educational system also implemented online schooling. Since there have been severe privacy breaches in Serbia even before this pandemic, a basic question arises as to whether the right to privacy of children was adequately respected and protected when the students were required to use a number of programmes, networks and applications in order to attend classes. This article investigates the right to privacy of children during the recent application of online teaching/learning technologies and platforms in Serbia, exploring key emerging issues concerning online schooling and identifying further research on problems pertaining to this right that will inevitably appear in the years to come.
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    Rohingya children in Bangladesh: Safeguarding their health-related rights in relation to the available healthcare system
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Das Gupta, Sudipta ; Zaman, Maliha Samiha ; Begum, Korima
    As at March 2020 Bangladesh hosted approximately 859 160 Rohingya people of which 54 per cent were children. The magnitude of their health problems is undeniable and uncertainty about the consequences of these health issues persists. Although Bangladesh is not a state party to key treaties in international refugee law, several human rights treaties to which Bangladesh is party (and some provisions of its Constitution) entail that the state should safeguard the basic human rights of the Rohingya people in its territory. This includes special protection for Rohingya children, particularly in relation to access to essential services. This article analyses whether the healthcare services and provision in one of the 34 camps set up in the Cox’s Bazar district are sufficient to safeguard the health-related rights of Rohingya children. The article employs a qualitative research methodology, on the basis of field work conducted in September and October 2019. In parallel, the authors look at the healthcare system available for Rohingya children from a human rights-based approach, which should inform possible public health interventions. Their analysis illustrates that for different reasons the existing system struggles to provide adequate protection of the health-related rights of these children. In exposing the critical situation related to the ability of Rohingya children to enjoy their rights on Bangladeshi territory, the article suggests that sustainable solutions to safeguard these rights can be found only if the relief distribution, healthcare services, healthcare procedures and related conditions work concurrently in an effective way as they are all interrelated. If a single component does not function well, the affected rights cannot be secured and children’s unhealthy living conditions in the camps are exacerbated.
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    Redressing language-based exclusion and punishment in education and the Language Friendly School initiative
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Hurwitz, Deena R. ; Kambel, Ellen-Rose
    Despite decades of scientific literature showing the benefits of multilingual programmes that allow children to learn through their mother tongue, millions of children around the world continue to be denied the right to be educated through a language they understand. Not only are home languages largely excluded from the official curriculum, but children belonging to ethnolinguistic minorities often are also prohibited and sometimes even punished for speaking their mother tongue on the school grounds. Contrary to what is generally believed by educators, preventing children from using their home language does not improve their educational performance, but rather has harmful social and emotional effects. After presenting examples of these practices in various countries, this article examines the human rights implications when students are banned from using their home language at school, by referring to the international instruments in force regarding children’s rights in education, with a focus on the European context and its relevant framework. We find that such practices violate the right to education, freedom of speech, and the right to be protected against direct and indirect racial and language-based discrimination. The Language Friendly School is introduced as a new initiative with the explicit aim of ending language-based punishment in education by 2030, the ‘deadline’ of the Sustainable Development Goals. While schools are the primary location where these practices take place, tackling the deep inequalities in education cannot be left to schools alone. We end our analysis with a call to action on governments to redress these violations of children’s rights, and to human rights educators, advocates and lawyers to hold them accountable. Key words: right to education; language-based exclusion and punishment; ethnolinguistic minorities; racial discrimination; mother tongue education; multilingual education
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    Procedural precarity: An examination of Canadian immigration policy and practice in relation to immigrant youth
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Weizman, Aviva
    All newcomers, regardless of age, face a compounded variety of barriers, risks and challenges that are exacerbated by their immigrant status. However, newcomer youths face some of these same issues with heightened vulnerability, often with a lower level of visibility or opportunity to reap the benefits bestowed by immigration policies or federally-funded programming. The Centre for Newcomers, an immigrant-serving organisation that has for more than 30 years been providing services to Calgarian newcomers, has identified several substantial gaps within these parameters. This article explores some of the most pressing gaps in Canadian immigration policy in relation to the following inter-connected and fundamental issues facing newcomer youth in Canada: protracted and ongoing status issues; educational barriers; and poverty. The article then contextualises these policy gaps with reference to CFN’s Real Me programme, which has recently been recognised as a best practice by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, to provide evidence- and practice-based policy recommendations.
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    Children’s rights budgeting and social accountability: Children’s views on its purposes, processes and their participation
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Lundy, Laura ; Orr, Karen ; Marshall, Chelsea
    Children’s rights budgeting is an international human rights priority and the focus of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s 2016 General Comment on Public Budgeting for the Realisation of Children’s Rights. General Comment 19 was informed by a consultation that gathered the views of 2 693 children in 71 varied national contexts across all five UN regions. The article describes the process and findings of this consultation, setting out the views of children across the world as to how their governments should make spending decisions that are sufficient, equitable, efficient, transparent and participatory. The consultation provides unique insights into how children in very different contexts think about the ways in which their governments can and do allocate public funds for children and their families in ways that support or undermine the realisation of their rights. The article identifies some of the barriers to including children in decision making on public spending, but challenges assumptions that they are not able to be or interested in being involved. It suggests that if participatory budgeting is to be effective for children, it will require bespoke forms of social accountability. Key words: children’s rights; participation; budgeting; social accountability
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    The Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Preliminary case law assessment for the effective promotion and protection of children’s rights
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Carletti, Cristiana
    On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the locus standi of the child could be considered among its key elements. CRC has also been strengthened by the adoption of the Third Optional Protocol (Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure) introducing the communication mechanism under the mandate of the CRC Committee. The decisions released by this monitoring body interestingly exemplify how the mechanism functions. The reasoning the Committee takes on in cases related to the best protection of the rights of claimants is examined in this contribution. In order to understand the operational relevance of the mechanism, different categories of cases so far handled by the CRC Committee will be explored: for instance, communications that have either been declared inadmissible, discontinuous or examined and decided on in order to take measures against the states directly concerned. The investigation will be supplemented by referencing pending cases, as described by the CRC Committee in its latest published report about the communications still under examination. Starting from the rights under examination and the recognition of the locus standi in favour of the child, the ultimate aim of the contribution is to assess how the communication mechanism is relevant in terms of advanced guarantees. Additionally, the article will explore whether, although different from judicial reasoning, it remains a relevant mechanism for the promotion and protection of children’s rights at the maximum level. Key words: Convention on the Rights of the Child; Third Optional Protocol; communication procedure; best interests of the child; children’s rights
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    Editorial of special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Altafin, Chiara
    The thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) represented an occasion for many in the field to take stock, reflecting on achievements and challenges of children’s rights advocacy and engagement with the CRC Committee. It also presented an opportunity to critically reflect on the extent to which the Convention has impacted on children’s rights research, including in terms of empirical and conceptual approaches, methodological innovations and gaps. We chose to contribute to the debate generated by the anniversary celebration with this edition of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal, which provides insight into selected developments in the area of children’s rights in different regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
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    Editorial
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) [...]
    This volume of the Global Campus Human Rights Journal consists of three parts. The first part, ‘Special focus: Selected developments in the area of children’s rights’, is the first time the Journal devotes special attention to the rights of children. In the second part, we publish a single article of a general bearing. In this article, Chofor Che finds the root causes for the ongoing political malaise in Cameroon in the failure of that state to effectively implement the decentralisation framework provided for under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon. The third part contains a regular feature of the Journal, a discussion of ‘recent developments’ in the fields of human rights and democratisation in four of the regions covered by the Global Campus of Human Rights.
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    Children’s deprivation of liberty as a tool of immigration and national security control in Europe? Unlocking captured childhoods by means of child-centred strategies and non-custodial solutions
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Altafin, Chiara ; Storbeck, Majsa ; Ninnin, Noémie ; Balnaves, Hugo ; Voziki, Vassia
    This article explores children’s detention on immigration or national security grounds as affected by European states’ contemporary security rationale neglecting children’s rights. Attention is given to how non-custodial solutions and child-centred strategies could avoid the systemic deprivation of liberty for these reasons. In acknowledging the range of contemporary threats against the right to liberty and security of children, it is crucial to investigate the link between detention and security narratives, as children – a particularly vulnerable group – are affected disproportionately. The focus is placed on the situations in The Netherlands, France, Greece, Ireland and Cyprus. Concluding remarks are based on the case studies and the regional perspective taken beyond these cases, to draw arguments for law and policy changes at both levels. Key words: children’s rights; migration; national security; repatriation; detention; security rationale
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    Migrant children and adolescents from North Central America towards Mexico and their deprivation of liberty
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Comas, Rocío ; Morales, Natalia ; Bottazzi, Florencia ; Agredo, Valentina ; Orué, María José
    A growing number of migrant children and adolescents, mainly from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, embark on a perilous journey to Mexico. This article intends to provide detailed information on and an analysis of Mexico as the receiving, issuing, transiting and returning country. The intention, in turn, is to analyse the countries of North Central America, as the main countries of issuance, transit and return of migrants to and from Mexico. The situation of migrant children and adolescents reveals the violation of international and regional legislation on the protection of children’s human rights. The migration process itself involves multiple risks to the security and integrity of migrant children, whose rights are affected at each stage of the process. In this regard, the data collected reflects the deprivation of the freedom of migrant children and adolescents in Mexico, while noting that this situation proves to be the focal point of all other rights violations that occur in the migration context. The analysis includes the perspectives gathered from international and regional standards for the protection of their rights. The article also examines conceptual definitions used in connection with migrant children in light of their vulnerability and the countries’ national context. To address the specific situation of children, the article reviews each country’s legislation, as well as outlines the migration flows taking place, in light of the causes identified as a general framework for the migration phenomenon. The article is informed by information gathered through the analysis of conventions, judgments, laws, theoretical documents, thematic reports as well as statistical analysis gathered from reports and surveys by human rights organisations. Finally, the conclusion considers this information alongside existing legal provisions so as to make recommendations aimed at better protecting migrant children and to prevent the violation of their fundamental rights. Key words: children and adolescents; migration; North Central American countries; Mexico; deprivation of liberty; international human rights law
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    Deinstitutionalisation of children with disabilities: Process, progress and challenges in South-East Europe
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Fazlić, Muamer ; Kalem, Melina ; Latić, Esma ; Rasiti, Gresa ; Milić, Nikolina
    More than a decade since Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia made a commitment to gradually close their institutions for children with disabilities, the process of exchanging institutional with family-based care seems to be stalling. These countries have an immediate Socialist/Communist past where, as some authors argue, there is a legacy of heavy institutionalisation of persons with disabilities that creates one of the key challenges related to ending disability-based deprivation of liberty of children in South-East Europe. Although some progress has been made, children with disabilities are still overrepresented in institutions, sometimes due solely to poverty and limited community-based support to families who would otherwise be able to take care of their children. This article seeks to explore the root causes of heavy institutionalisation of children with disabilities in South-East Europe while discussing the key challenges in the process of managing the transition from institutional care to community living in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Serbia. Key words: deprivation of liberty; children; children with disabilities; institutions; deinstitutionalisation; South-East Europe
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    Recent regional developments in human rights and democratisation in South-East Europe during 2019
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Icoski, Marjan ; Salihović-Gušić, Aida ; Ceku, Mariola ; Mušanović, Meris ; Ivanović, Marija
    The region of South-East Europe (SEE) continues to be marked by competitive authoritarian regimes. This article employs a dynamic understanding of competitive authoritarianism that places the emphasis on a movement of a regime towards or away from either ends of the imagined consolidated democracy-authoritarian regime spectrum. More precisely, the article highlights strategies used by the parties in power to increase the control in society and thus consolidate political power, while also paying attention to contestations that arise against these negative trends in four countries of the region: Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia. The general findings reveal that the region is experiencing a continued trend of democratic backsliding in 2019. Two main structural reasons behind this seem to be (i) weak democratic institutions; and (ii) autocratic-minded political leaders, who tend to increase their power. As the contributions demonstrated, in 2019 ruling parties (or coalitions) in the region tended to increase control over media, continued to show disregard for the human rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, while also taking advantage of the ill-functioning judiciary unable to prosecute high-level cases of corruption. These negative trends resulted in a rather bleak democratisation impulse in the region, despite the larger scale citizen mobilisations against increased authoritarianism present in several countries. Key words: competitive authoritarianism; political control; protests; democracy; human rights
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    The 17 October 2019 protests in Lebanon: Perceptions of Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents of Tripoli and surroundings
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Dahrouge, Elias ; Nammour, Jihad ; Lotf, Ahmed Samy ; Abualroos, Karim ; Ait Youssef, Iasmin ; Al-Burbar, Eman ; Al-Salafi, Azal ; Alsheikh Ali, Rana ; Arbi, Chiraz ; Benyahya, Khawla ; Bhatti, Sarah ; Cavalluzzo, Francesco ; Comaro, Elena ; Daniaud, Elise ; El-Zein, Jamal ; Fares, Asmaa ; Hosta Cuy, Elena ; Lavigne Delville, Solene ; Maaninou, Nouha ; Olea Corral, Andrea ; Pannunzio, Marta ; Ramdani, Adel ; Salloum, Hazar ; Werf, Charlotte : van der ; Yousef, Nedaa
    Starting from 17 October 2019, Lebanon had witnessed an unprecedented wave of mass protests and mobilisation across its territory. This so-called Thawra came to question the state’s social contract, which is built on a peculiar political system: sectarian con-sociationalism. Characterised by institutionalised clientelism and systemic corruption, coupled with an unprecedented economic crisis, the system recently showed its limits. Tripoli is Lebanon’s second-largest and most deprived city. Yet, it hosted the largest protests across the country, aptly referred to as the ‘bride of the revolution’. To better understand the city’s dynamics in this respect, field research was conducted there in January 2020. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the study reflects on Tripoli’s residents’ perceptions about the protests. Beyond focusing exclusively on the city’s Lebanese residents, it gives some important insights into its vulnerable Syrian and Palestinian refugee inhabitants. The study also demonstrates that, surprisingly, Tripoli’s citizens have nuanced perceptions about these protests. It reveals through charts how divergence in some of these perceptions depends on conditions such as employment, sex, age and nationality. Finally, it gives some tangible insights into Tripoli’s level of mobilisation, engagement, and inclusion of women in the wave of protests. Key words: Middle East; Lebanon; mobilisation; protests; refugees
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    Migration related detention of children in Southern Africa: Developments in Angola, Malawi and South Africa
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rono, Carolyne ; Vries, Kelvin ; Sibanda, Opal ; Gadisa, Girma
    This article examines the laws and practices in Angola, Malawi and South Africa regarding the migration-related detention of children in light of international human rights standards. Detaining a migrant child is in conflict with article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, namely, that detention of a child should be used as a the measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time, the principle of the best interests of the child and the right to development. At the African Union level, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child serves as the primary human rights instrument that comprehensively guarantees children’s rights. The countries in the case study have ratified both CRC and the African Children’s Charter. Nevertheless, children are deprived of liberty in Southern Africa, with Malawi serving as a transit country and South Africa and Angola mostly as destination countries. While Angola and Malawi lack adequate legal and effective protection of migrant children, South Africa has put in place robust legal guarantees, but in practice migrant children are nevertheless detained. Thus, the article suggests that these countries need to adopt and implement comprehensive child protection policies including alternatives to detention with a view to ensuring improved respect for children’s rights. Furthermore, it emphasises the need for enhancing regional cooperation to curb the problems that children are facing in relation to migration and beyond. Most importantly, states must show the political will not only to adopt protective laws but also to effectively implement these laws in order to create a safer world for children. Key words: children; migration; detention; liberty; Southern Africa
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    Human rights and democratisation during 2019: The case of Armenia, Georgia and Moldova
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Rakopyan, Marina
    The three countries discussed in the article, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Georgia and the Republic of Moldova, have all witnessed developments and experienced weaknesses as far as human rights and democracy are concerned, particularly during 2019. From elections to emigration, the three countries have had different obstacles to overcome. All post-Soviet Union countries are making efforts to improve their record in respect of human rights and as they forge closer ties with the European Union (EU). Over the course of 2019, the three countries were moving forward slowly but steadily towards improved protection and promotion of human rights. All three countries had an issue with arbitrary detention, and the independence of the judiciary, while the majority of them had issues with torture and inhuman treatment and unlawful interference with privacy by government. Despite some differences in the areas, women’s rights were not fully respected in the three countries. Minorities had fewer opportunities to participate in governmental structures. Protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ persons remained an issue in all three countries, despite the considerable effort that countries made toward greater tolerance. Children’s rights were not fully respected in the countries, especially as far as child labour and child trafficking are concerned. Key words: Armenia; Georgia; Moldova; human rights; democracy; arbitrary detention; torture and inhuman treatment; women’s rights; minorities; rights of LGBTQ+ persons
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    A contradictory 2019 in the Arab world: The heralds of a second Arab Spring in times of increased vulnerability and upgraded authoritarianism
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Ait Youssef, Iasmin ; Alsheikh Ali, Rana ; Comaro, Elena ; Diana, Elise ; Lavigne Delville, Solène ; Maaninou, Nouha ; Pannunzio, Marta ; Werf, Charlotte : van der
    During the year 2019 mass mobilisations broke out throughout the Arab region, with protestors calling for regime change and denouncing mismanagement, corruption and the lack of basic services and human rights in countries as diverse as Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt. In some cases they were violently opposed and quelled; in others they brought about a transitional process. These democratic processes and authoritarian reactions were accompanied by an important case of democratic consolidation in Tunisia and peaceful transfer of power in Mauritania. Some observers saw in these movements the sparks of a second Arab Spring, while others noted an upgrading of authoritarianism, through different repression techniques against protesters, activists and civil society organisations. Security forces and tribunals have been used for repression, but so have new constitutional and legislative texts that have shifted the balance of power in favour of the executive and the military. The repression of cyberspace was extended through new technological tools that allow for the monitoring, tracking and silencing of dissenting voices. Beyond these two opposing dynamics, the socio-economic situation in many countries across the region deteriorated, increasing the vulnerability of groups such as women, children, stateless persons and refugees. The socio-economic situation has also provided several local, national, regional and international actors with a means to exercise economic violence that typically impact on the most vulnerable, depriving them of their most basic human rights or allowing them only conditional access to these rights. Key words: democratisation; authoritarianism; cyber control; socio-economic violence; refugees; protests, human rights; Arab Spring; oppression; arrests
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    Selected developments in human rights and democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa during 2019
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Nyawa, Joshua ; Nyemba, Chisomo ; Nyokabi, Deborah ; Mathenge, Ian ; White, Thomas Kagiso
    This article reviews selected developments in human rights and democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa during 2019. It contextualises the withdrawal of Tanzania from the optional declaration under article 34(6) of the African Court allowing individuals and non-governmental organisations to submit cases directly to the African Court. It notes that while the withdrawal is a painful blow, it is not fatal as the African Commission remains a viable access channel. The authors further commend developments in women’s rights in the areas of child marriage, the protection of pregnant school girls, sexual and reproductive health rights and democratisation, but notes that they are piecemeal in nature and more still needs to be done. The article discusses the monumental judgment nullifying presidential elections in Malawi and its implications for democracy, particularly in asserting the independence of the judiciary in Africa. The article also analyses the killings and persecutions of persons with albinism in Malawi and the need for urgent redress. The authors evaluate the mixed developments in LGBTIQ rights juxtaposing the parliamentary successes in Angola, the judicial victory in Botswana, on the one hand, with the judicial setback in Kenya, on the other. The article highlights the fall of Al Bashir’s regime in Sudan as a remarkable step towards democratisation in Africa. Finally, the authors screen the drawbacks of violence on human rights and democratisation through the case studies of xenophobia in South Africa, the Anglophone Cameroon crisis, violent extremism in West Africa, and civil strife in Ethiopia, urging for an end to bloodshed in line with the African Union’s vision of silencing the guns by 2020. Key words: courts; African Court; Tanzania; democratisation; elections; human rights; same-sex relationships; sub-Saharan Africa; violence; women’s rights
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    Two sides of the same coin: Contradictory legal and administrative practices towards children in immigration detention centres in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Yutthaworakool, Saittawut ; Pokharel, Shraddha ; Try, Sophea ; Tapiheru, Joash
    The scale of migration among Asian countries has increased over the decades. Children are also part of this migratory flow as they travel either alone or with their parents. Since much of the migration occurs through extra-legal routes, many migrants and their children face a multitude of legal problems, including incarceration. The number of children deprived of liberty for migration-related reasons in the Asia Pacific region has also increased over the past few years. This study will look at Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, as three of the most popular transit countries that routinely detain large numbers of children in immigration detention centres. Despite the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child (to which all three countries are party) emphasises the fact that detention does not serve the best interests of the child and, therefore, should only be used as a last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time (article 37(b)), children nevertheless are routinely detained and then also for long periods of time. This is particularly problematic when children are detained for migration-related reasons, since it never serves the purpose of the best interests of the child (Nowak 2019). This study examines immigration detention centres (IDCs) by analysing from a sociopolitical perspective existing regulations and practices in the three countries selected. Using secondary data, the study addresses two questions, namely, (a) how existing legal and administrative practices of three Asia Pacific (transit/ destination) countries impact children in immigration detention centres; and (b) why these countries fail to uphold international obligations regarding the best interests of children in IDCs. The article argues that adverse administrative practices and the absence of domestic legal frameworks on children in IDCs contradict numerous international obligations. Not only does this jeopardise the survival and development of children, but it also creates barriers for these children to access fundamental human rights, social justice and other entitlements. Key words: children; best interests; deprived of liberty; detention; immigration law
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    Rethinking the façade of decentralisation under the 1996 Constitution of Cameroon
    (Global Campus of Human Rights, 2020) Aime, Chofor Che Christian
    The 1996 Constitution of Cameroon tried to put in place a decentraliased system of government in order to accommodate Cameroon’s diverse communities. The constitutional and political evolution from the colonial era up to the present has a role to play in decentralisation efforts. The country today faces a number of serious challenges to governance which the decentralisation project in the 1996 Constitution was supposed to address. Some of these challenges that were discussed during the national dialogue that took place in the country from 30 September to 4 October 2019 include difficulties in dealing with the country’s dual colonial heritage, particularly the perception of marginalisation by the Anglophone community. Other challenges include embracing constitutionalism; tackling minority concerns such as the rights of women and indigenous people; curbing ethnic tensions; and managing the transition from authoritarian to democratic governance. An examination of the constitutional and legal framework of decentralisation under the 1996 Constitution shows that these issues have not been adequately addressed under the current dispensation. There thus is a need for a fundamental constitutional overhaul that would provide a more effective decentralised framework for administrative, political and fiscal decentralisation. The new framework should equally entrench the basic elements of constitutionalism such as upholding human rights, fostering the separation of powers, the amendment of the Constitution and judicial independence. There equally is a need for legal safeguards, such as a constitutional court, to guard against the usurpation and the centralisation of powers by the central government. Only such elements can facilitate Cameroon’s decentralisation efforts and thus ease the accommodation of diversity, enhance development, democracy and manage conflict. Key words: decentralisation; federalism; constitutionalism; democracy; human rights; diversity management