Speaking during the opening of the symposium, the Secretary of State to the Minister of Defence in charge of Ex-servicemen and War Victims, Koumpa Issa sitting in for the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence quoted the President of the Republic and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces when he said ‘the nation will forever be grateful and won’t forget all those who have suffered and sacrifice themselves for the fatherland. To this their efforts are recognized.
He went ahead to place the objectives of the symposium which brings together experts, researchers and civil society actors to reflect in depth on the management of Victims of War in Cameroon with a view to proposing a strengthened legal framework to effectively address the issue of the management of this vulnerable group. Secretary of State to the Minister of Defence in charge of Ex-servicemen and War Victims reiterated that, at the end of the symposium, it is expected that, the conceptual framework of war victims will be clarified, the establishment of an appropriate framework for supervising and monitoring war victims and greater care for internally displaced persons.
Unveiling the symposium was the inaugural conference by Professor Jean Louis Atangana Amougou who centered on ‘Between humanitarian emergency and sustainable policy: thinking about coherent and inclusive management of war victims in Cameroon’. This theme highlights the major challenges facing the country in terms of catering for victims of Armed conflict. He went further to stressed on the fact that, it is imperative to move beyond a strictly security-based approach and adopt a holistic vision that places the victim at the heart of public policies.
It should be recalled that, the Army’s many commitments in various internal and external theatres of operation have had their share of consequences. In addition to the material destruction and loss of life that these conflicts unfortunately entail, there is also a considerable emotional and social burden for the victims of war and their families.
