THE HUMANITARIAN –DEVELOPMENT -PEACEBUILDING NEXUS:

APPLICABILITY IN CAMEROON’S CRISES

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, Cameroon’s reputation as an oasis of tranquility has been threatened, primarily
by the presence of the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northern Region of Cameroon and, more
recently, by the presence of the Anglophone crisis, which has exposed Cameroonians, notably
inhabitants of the Northwest and Southwest Regions, to a significant amount of violence. The
war has had devastating effects on the two English-speaking regions and the country at large.
Over 5,000 Cameroonians have died; individual and state properties have been destroyed;
mandatory lockdowns have stalled economic development; criminality has increased; kidnapping
for ransom has increased; and 3.9 million people have been displaced, according to a report
released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in
2022. The negative outcome of the Anglophone war and other security concerns plaguing the
national territory bolstered Cameroon's decision to volunteer at the World Humanitarian Summit
to implement the Nexus approach, as she was named one of the seven priority countries of the
United Nations Joint Steering Committee to Advance Humanitarian Development Collaboration
established by the UN Secretary General in 2017 1

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDP) concept was hatched as a strategy to meet

the needs of the ever changing dynamics of conflicts while also blurring the gap that exists
between humanitarian actions and peace building. The Humanitarian-Development–Peace Nexus
(HDP), as defined by the United Nations, is the linkage between humanitarian, development, and
peace actions. This approach seeks to strengthen collaboration, coherence, and complementarity
as well as capitalize on the comparative advantage of each pillar, which seeks to reduce
vulnerability and unmet needs incurred during crisis, strengthen risk management capacities, and
address the root causes of conflict. The promulgation of this approach has since 2016 been on the
agenda of policymakers and practitioners as there has been an increase in the need for

1
United Nations Cameroon : Humanitarian- Development –Peace (HDP) Nexus in Cameroon(2019) available at
st
https://cameroon.un.org/en/176471-humanitrian-development-peace-hpd-nexus-cameroon Accessed on 31
August, 2022
collaboration in the guise of better addressing poverty and conflict, while also meeting the needs
incurred from the ever changing dynamics of conflicts.

The promulgation of this agenda is further due to the fact that some analysts, researchers, and
actors advocate for humanitarian actions to be integrated as an integral part of the peace-building
process. They not only affirm that peace building is expressed in several forms, one of which is
the humanitarian agenda, but also believe that Humanitarianism can go beyond just providing aid
to positively influence the dynamics of a conflict, as humanitarian organizations have a
significant part to play in the peace building process considering their specific comparative
advantages, which include local expertise, close links to local actors, better geographical access,
and a respect for neutrality and independence. In the same light, the United Nations’ Nexus
policy also believes that development causes peace and that humanitarian action can help to
sustain development, thus building peace2. The United Nations’ agencies such as the United
Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and its partners have even made structural changes to break down the
barriers between their humanitarian, development, and peace interventions; created new
coordination mechanisms; and instigated systems of information sharing, capacity development,
and sharing expertise and research3 . This new concept has unfortunately been met with great
criticism as humanitarian actors continue to state that the HDP Nexus risks politicizing
humanitarian actions which are guided by the principles of neutrality, impartiality, and
independence. Attention has also been drawn to ideological differences within each of the three
sectors, as they illustrate the differences between and overlaps in humanitarian, development,
and peace objectives, activities, and outcomes. The role of the government in the nexus is
unclear and maintaining the agility and flexibility to respond to changing circumstances within
large scale multisectorial interventions is problematic.

2
C. Schellas and A. Seegers, Peace Building: Imperialism’s New Disguise, (Institute for Peace and Security
Studies,2010), p. 1
3
Roberts, Rebecca, Responding to Protracted Displacement Using the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus
Approach: Scoping Study (UNRISD Working Paper, 2020), pg. 2
THE MISSING OPPORTUNITY

Despite all odds, an HDP Nexus Task Force, which is chaired by the UN Humanitarian
Development Peace Coordinator and includes more than 100 representatives from the
government, UN agencies, the World Bank, member states, donors, international and national
non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, was created in May 2019 4 The vision of
this task force is to create synergies between humanitarian, development, and peace building
interventions in municipalities where conditions allow for the three types of interventions
(convergence areas). Its collective outcomes state that "by the end of 2026, the most vulnerable
populations (internally displaced persons, returned internally displaced persons, refugees,
repatriated or economically inserted refugees, host and/or communities of origin) living in areas
of convergence in the Far North, East, North West, and South West priority regions, or in regions
affected by crises, recover indiscriminately their fundamental rights and improve their physical
well-being and social welfare.”5 Unfortunately, growing controversies continue to becloud
humanitarian actions in Cameroon as some have been accused of collusion with non-state armed
groups fighting against state armed groups in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon. Research
on humanitarianism within the context of the crisis that has plagued the North West and South
West states that some organizations perceive their humanitarian interventions as a way of
attracting more funding from donors and have thus resulted in insignificant results as people
continue to suffer..6 Also, as a result of these hidden agendas, most humanitarian actors did not
envisage working as a team to address a common issue that is important to them.7 However,
while many challenges and unknowns remain and as the continuous proliferation of conflicts
continues to prove a greater need for collaboration between humanitarian actions and peace
building, the question still remains "can a nexus actually be achieved?"

4
Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus in Cameroon available at
https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/cameroon/nexus, Accessed on 29th August, 2022
5
Ibid
6
Eugene Muambeh, An appraisal of the involvement of Humanitarian missions in Cameroon’s conflict zones ( North
West and South West Region), (international Journal of Legal Studies, 2020) , pg. 153
7
Ibid
A Success Story
The Cameroon–Nigeria squabble over the Bakassi Peninsula is not really a contemporary story
that should be discussed, but on a closer look, it provides avenues for discussions that prove that
humanitarian actions can actually enhance peace building and sustainable development if
properly coordinated.

After about 17 years of confrontations between the Nigerian and Cameroonian forces over
Bakassi, the International Court of Justice finally ruled in favor of Cameroon. However,
Cameroon was led to face more unrest within its just acclaimed community as the court’s ruling
was received with a lot of dissatisfaction and bitterness as the indigenes of Bakassi land declared
emphatically that they were Nigerians living in their ancestral home and could not afford to have
a strange culture and government imposed on them.8 These disgruntlements saw the birth of the
Bakassi Movement for Self Determination (BMSD) and the Bakassi Liberarion Movement
(BLM), which fought for the independence of the territory through the creation of a Democratic
Republic of Bakassi.9 From that moment, the territory recorded hideous killings and loss of lives;
kidnappings; raids; piracies; displacements; and radicalization; as one of the interviewees stated
that "locals were forced to belong to thug groups to take up arms for their protection." The
territory witnessed a serious humanitarian crisis as a deteriorating security situation in the
territory brought about more hunger, poverty, and displacement, with tens of thousands of
fishermen and their families fleeing to neighboring Ekondo-Titi, Mundemba, Akwa, Mbenmong,
and Ngosso, amongst others, stated an interviewee. Coupled with the lack of basic infrastructure
and serious environmental degradation owing to oil production activities, humanitarian
interventions from both non-governmental organizations and the government began to flood the
territory.

Humanitarianism in the Bakassi Peninsula

The way in which humanitarian responses are designed has a real impact on the lives of people
and their communities and can become the building blocks for building peace and development.
Such was the case of the Bakassi peninsula, as she witnessed the influx of humanitarian

8
Shaibu et al, “An Appraisal of the Dominant Causes of Boundary Conflicts” p.19
9
George, Ngwane. Preventing Renewed Violence through Peace Building in the Bakassi Peninsula (Cameroon)
(March, 2015) available at https://www.gngwane.com/2015/03/preventing-renewed-violence-peace-building-
th
bakassi-.html. Accessed on 27 August, 2022
interventions where the provision of health, education, food, and socio-economic empowerment
were at the top of the priority list of humanitarian actors and even the government.

When it comes to health, the World Health Organization states that health and peace are
interrelated as there cannot be health without peace, and there cannot be peace without health 10.
Conflicts are a major obstacle to health, while a lack of access to health and basic social services
can lead to feelings of exclusion, which are themselves a major driver of conflict and violence.
Delivering health care can help to prevent this vicious cycle, if done in a way that is specific to
the context, sensitive to the triggers of the conflict and both delivers health benefits and
contributes to the peace process. In line with her global health for peace initiative, health
interventions can help improve the prospects for local peace by working to improve trust and
communication between citizens and by improving social cohesion at local levels through
community healing or inclusive health promotion initiatives11. In the Bakassi Peninsula, this
became apparent through the efforts of Reach Out Cameroon, whose health initiatives, as stated
by an interviewee, built some level of trust in the Cameroonians and their government in the
inhabitants of Bakassi, who are predominantly of Nigerian origin and who denied the
Cameroonian rule.

Just like the provision of health, the provision of education and educational facilities(both formal
and informal) is also a significant contributor to peace as it could be a part of building peace by
supporting the transformation of the security situation, political institutions, economic
regeneration, and social development as well as helping develop identities and deal with the
grievances of conflicts, improving social cohesion and moving societies towards reconciliation
provided it is inclusive, affordable, accessible, and provides opportunities for previously
marginalized communities.12 Education can also be a significant contributor to peace and be a
part of building a better future if it supports the transformation of the security situation,
economic regeneration, and social development by reducing grievances and attitudes towards
and participation in violence. In the Bakassi peninsula, the provision of education was a positive

10
Worl Health Organization, Global Health for Peace initiatives available at https://www.who-health-and-peace-
nd
initiative Accessed on 2 September, 2022
11
Ibid
12
Stephen Thompson, Links Between Education and Peace, 2015, online article available at
https://gsdrc/publicatios/links-between-education-and-peace. Accessed on 29th August, 2022
boost to peace. It did not only meet the above-mentioned criteria but also went a long way
towards reducing attitudes towards and participation in violence, as the indigenous inhabitants of
this area were educated on the ills of violence. Furthermore, girls’ education was particularly
encouraged, and mobile library spaces were created.13 The experience of one respondent
revealed this in the following words: "we were schooled on what was right and what was
wrong".

Finally, the provision of food was not left out of the agenda of the humanitarian actors in
Bakassi, as the aftermath of the conflict was the inaccessibility of farms, markets and
consequently to food. The outbreak of the conflicts, that is to say, international and domestic
conflicts, affected the people’s ability to produce, trade, and gain access to food, notably fish and
farm produce, which the people traded locally and in neighboring Nigeria. As stated by one of
the interviewees of this research work, 90% of the population of Bakassi, besides trading, tends
to their families through fishing and subsistence farming, and as such, the outbreak of the
Bakassi border conflict did a lot of harm to the people, as starvation and hunger were now the
order of the day. In the provision of food, the Cameroonian Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR);
an elite military force and army combat unit of the Cameroonian Armed Forces, was actively
involved in distributing rice, salt, and even sugar in Jabane. Apart from the BIR, sources reveal
that religious institutions were also actively involved in this process of food provision. As stated
by one of the interviewees, "the Catholic Church was taking care of their Christians and giving
them food." These gestures greatly contributed to the legitimacy of and trust in the government
of Cameroon, given the fact that the crisis erupted because the Bakassi indigenes never wanted to
be governed by Cameroon. This further goes to validate research that states that food assistance
14
can assist a process of recovery as it can enhance social cohesion, address root causes or
drivers of conflict and contribute to the legitimacy of and trust in governments 15. The Food and
Agriculture Organization also states that there are increasing evidences that when implemented

13 th
Ngwane “Preventing Renewed Violence” Accessed on 27 August, 2022
14
Timothy .R. Frankenberger, Can Food Assistance, Promoting Food Security and Livelihood Programs Contribute to
Peace and Stability in Specific Countries? , (High Level Expert Forum on Food Insecurity in Protracted Crisis, 2012),
p. 9
15
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Security Nutrition and Peace: Proceedings of the
United Nations Security Council Meeting, 2016, p.8
appropriately, food security related interventions can promote recovery from conflict and
contribute to mitigation by supporting sustainable development more broadly.16

Conclusive Thoughts

Good words have been put in for the localization of the HDP nexus by analysts, researchers, and
even practitioners. In an attempt to localize the HDP Nexus, Cameroon created a taskforce in
2019 to create synergies between humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding interventions.
In the past years, however, growing controversies have beclouded the implementation of the
nexus in Cameroon as humanitarian actions are criticized and are being accused of collusion,
adequacy, and insignificance. Amidst these controversies, one is tempted to ask if a nexus in
Cameroon is feasible. Humanitarianism within the Bakassi peninsula, however, goes a long way
to prove that the nexus is possible if it is designed in a way that can positively influence peace.
There is, however, a greater need for collaboration for this nexus to be achieved. In the words of
an interviewee, "a nexus platform where both humanitarians and peace builders come together
should be created. The platform will enable all partners to understand the objectives of the nexus
and work toward achieving these goals. This further goes to enhance other practitioners’
recommendations that there should be both national and local ownership of processes put in
place for the localization of the nexus, wherein government leadership is a critical factor for
success. Furthermore, emphasis should be laid on the clarity of roles and responsibilities between
all actors involved. This would entail coherent discussions to avoid the duplication of plans,
programs, and funding instruments. Finally, there should be the implementation of inclusive
financial strategies which allow funds to be available for the implementation of nexus projects
such as the Salaam School initiative by Local Youth Corner (LOYOC) Cameroon in the Far
North Region of Cameroon .(watch this short video of the program) Should, for instance, these
majors and many others not be put in place by all actors involved, the localization of the nexus in
Cameroon would simply be mere words on paper.

16
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Food Security and Peace: Discussion Note, online
th
article available https://europa.eu. Accessed on 4 November, 2019