Child Rights Centre: So That The Academia Would Dig Deeper

It is count three! And three child rights centres have already been inaugurated in three Cameroonian universities. The latest is the Child Rights Centre in the University of Yaounde I, Yaounde. Which was opened on Tuesday, February 4, 2025 by the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF Representative for Cameroon, Mrs. Nadine Perrault. And the Rector of the University of Yaounde I, Prof. Remy Magloire Etoua.     

In All Dignity 
“We must allow our children to develop and grow up in dignity… Promoting child rights is building humanity,” Prof. Etoua noted. Recalling that a child is someone less than 18 years of age. Commending UNICEF for the initiative, the Rector of the University of Yaounde I said children make up almost half of Africa’s population, but are deprived of their rights because of conflicts…

Research, Curriculum Development 
“The University of Yaounde I commits to promote children’s rights through research and evaluation. Lecturers and students will be involved in child rights research and courses will be developed on Behaviour Change Communication and other child rights issues… We will develop training modules, organize workshops, public lectures, in-service training, and monitoring and evaluation in areas such as child protection, social and behavior change, education, health and social inclusion,” Prof. Magloire Etoua announced.

Five Rights Centres Awaited     
“Thanks to the Rector of the University of Yaounde I, Prof. Remy Magloire Etoua, it is the third Children’s Rights Centre to be inaugurated in a Cameroonian university. Two others will be inaugurated before the end of 2025. The University of Maroua and the Catholic University of Central Africa will then follow suit. By this, Cameroon has become the first nation in the Central African sub-region to promote children’s rights in the university. Cameroon deserves congratulations! The centre contains all what is required for research on children’s rights. Which will enable us to understand why some people behave the way they do towards children; and what can be done about it,” Mrs. Perrault noted. 

The Place Of Students 
“It is a whole research programme and also capacity building for students. We hope students will fully participate in the initiative through training, colloquia, lectures, symposiums as well as research on child rights and related themes. It is about raising awareness on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the university, to be followed by concrete actions in neighbouring communities.

Persistent Challenges 
“The centre aims to promote and disseminate children’s rights. It will involve the academia to carry out research, training and studies to understand how to translate the rights of the child into reality. Significant progress has been made since Cameroon ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 22 years ago, though challenges on its implementation remain,” Mrs. Perrault underscored. 

Integrating Rights Into Curricula 
“It is the result of our strategic partnership with these institutions. It reflects our shared ambition to create an academic ecosystem where child rights become a lasting priority through research, teaching, and advocacy,” Mrs. Perrault said. According to her, the initiative builds on successful models from Greece and Georgia. It is rooted in an ambitious vision to integrate child rights into university curricula; also raising awareness and mobilizing future generations of professionals and leaders.

Two Universities Left
The first Child Rights Centre in Cameroon opened in the University Yaounde II on December 11, 2024, and the second in the Dschang University on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. Followed by the University of Yaounde I Child Rights Centre on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Another step of the partnership between UNICEF and the academia in Cameroon. “It marks a significant milestone in our collaboration with the academia to advance child rights in Cameroon”, said Nadine Perrault. 

Role Of Centre 
The Child Rights Centre in the University of Yaounde I will strengthen its roles in driving societal change. While equipping students and researchers to become active advocates for children’s rights in their respective disciplines. The Centre is a win-win project. The University will benefit from a focal point for research, policy influence and training in children's rights. While the wider children's rights programme will benefit from academic resources and expertise.

Critical Year For UNICEF
The inauguration of the Yaounde I University Child Rights Centre comes at the beginning of a special year for UNICEF in the West and Central Africa region, which is dedicated to girl’s rights. UNICEF in Cameroon takes the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to child rights and calls on a collective commitment to sustainable, profound and positive change for the realization of children’s rights in Cameroon.

MOU With Universities 
Meanwhile, on July 16, 2024, a Memorand...