Civil society’s advocacy for the fulfillment of indigenous peoples’ cultural rights: A case study

Indigenous peoples’ rights have been guaranteed under international conventions, declarations and charters and mechanisms and institutions have been put in place to ensure the fulfilment of their cultural rights. Despite these mechanisms indigenous peoples right to culture are continuously violated. This is why efforts are being made to protect these rights at the judicial as well as through out of court actions. These actions could be carried out by national and international institutions, state and non state actors including nongovernmental organisations formed by these peoples to fight for the protection of their fundamental rights. For this reason, the Moko-oh People formed AFTRADEMOP to advocate for the protection of their cultural rights. Since the days of colonisation, The Moko-oh people in Cameroon live in a state of extreme poverty and violation of their fundamental right to culture. Some of these cultural rights include the dispossession of their ancestral lands and natural resources, their language, customary and traditional rites, craft and artefacts. Such violation threatens their identity, existence and ability to survive as individuals and as a group. They formed AFTRADEMOP which has been advocating for their fundamental rights from the date of its creation. It acts both at the national and international level. AFTRADEMOP has faced numerous challenges in this fight but Government’s violation of its obligations to ensure the respect and fulfilment of these rights has contributed to the association’s failure to realise most of its objectives.