13 – 16 September 2006, Yaoundé - Cameroon
Seminar Brief
1. Organized by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in collaboration with the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), the Seminar brought together participants drawn from indigenous civil society organisations, indigenous communities, National Human Rights Institutions, NGOs, state delegates from the Central African region, members of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and relevant organs of the African Union. Local NGOs, individuals, journalist, the academia and other institutions interested in indigenous issues also attended the deliberations (Please see Annex 2 for the list of participants).
2. The seminar was the first in a series of sensitization seminars to be held in different regions of Africa. The regional focus of this first seminar was onCentral Africa. (Please see Annex 3 for the programme of the Seminar).
3. The main objectives of the seminar were to
• Sensitize major stakeholders in Central Africa about the African Commission’s approach to the issue of the rights of indigenous populations;
• Encourage Central African states to broaden their perception of indigenous issues on the continent;
• Identify the challenges and problems faced by Central African countries in dealing with indigenous populations; and
• Develop strategies for collaboration with Central African governments, AU institutions, civil society and indigenous communities themselves
