Public Independent Conciliator Edifies Council Development Officers On Rights-Based Programming, Inclusive Local Governance

The Office of the Public Independent Conciliator of the North-West Region has equipped council development officers with practical tools, participatory stratégies and contextual knowledge to mainstream rights in local governance.

This was within the framework of a workshop on Rights-Based Programming (RBP) for Regional and Council Development Officers in the North-West Region held in the auditorium of the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator on November 13, 2025 in Bamenda.

Local and regional councils play a pivotal role in delivering inclusive, accountable and equitable services. However the Public Independent Conciliator observed that many council development officers lack structured exposure to rights-based programming (RBP).

This is a framework that intergrates human rights principles into planning, budgetting and service delivery.

The workshop had as objectives to:
– build foundational understanding of rights-bases programming and its relevance to council development,
– strengthen skills in integrating human rights principles into local development plans,
– promote peer learning through scenario-based exercises and regional case studies and
– foster collaboration between regional and local council authorities and the Public Independent Conciliator.

Some presentations done by experts to meet the goal of the workshop were:
– Introduction to Rights-Based Programming by Mr Ndi Nelson – Research Officer no. 1,
– Legal and Institutional Frameworks for RBP by Bar. Tamon Olivia,
– Mainstream Rights in Regional and Council Functioning by Fongwa Kesten, Complaint Management Officer no. 1
– Participatory Planning and Budgeting by Mr Shey Henry Nganji and
– Disability and Vulnerability Inclusion by Madam Nina Ambuban – Research Officer no. 5.
Development Officers were shared documents as scoring tools for their individual councils, a survey instrument used by the Office of the Public Independent Conciliator to check council functioning in the North-West Region.

It is expected that, after the workshop, participants will;
– be equipped with pratical Rights-Based Programming (RBP) tools and frameworks,
– draft action plans for intergrating RBP into council development stratégies,
– strengthened collaboration between councils and oversight institutions,
– enhanced awareness of inclusive governance and citizen engagement.