The Case for a Data Bank at the Ministry of External Relations - Cameroon

CHAPTER TWO. THE CASE FOR A DATABANK

The methodological concepts and institutional frameworks presented above lead us to the argument for the creation of a databank in MINREX. The use of databases is common-placed in both national and international politics. From IOs, NGOs, MNCs, academic institutions, to government agencies, databanks are increasingly used as a research or decision-making tool. Our paper considers the principal purpose of a databank (the placing of citizens in IOs) before presenting arguments to convince decision-makers to create this bank.

a. The stakes of elective posts in IOs

The growth of international organizations in the Twentieth Century has brought as added aperitif to the quest of states on the international scene. National interest in IOs can be divided into three,

§ Interest in hosting the headquarters, directorates or regional representations,

§ Interest in occupying important posts in the organizations

§ Interests in having the organization take decisions in favor of state interest.

We are interested here in the second interest, the occupation of important posts in IOs by Cameroonian citizens. All of the three interests above have high stakes; therefore require efficient diplomatic skills for interested states. Each of these interests has stakes peculiar to it. We should therefore present the benefits Cameroon, as any other state, stands to draw from acquiring elective posts in IOs.

What does a state stand to gain by placing a national in the post of say UN Secretary-General? Goldstein affirms that «The Secretary General of the UN is the closest thing to a `president of the world' that exists»^19(*). Though the UN Charter, as in all other IOs, sets employees apart from the authority of member states, how many Cameroonians are found within the over 50,000 civil servants? What governs the political considerations that govern the appointment of international civil servants? We also know that the posts of Deputy Secretaries General of the UN are attributed by great-powers in the Security Council, and that Third World Countries are putting increasing pressure for the distribution of these posts and many more on geographical basis. In this light, one should question what South Korea stands to gain from the recent appointment of its national to succeed Koffi Anan. The Korean Times says that Ki-moon Ban's election "is one of the greatest events in the history of Korean diplomacy. This will dramatically promote the state and image of this nation at global level." Prof. Denis Smith of the New York University said: "The emergence of this candidacy is truly a noteworthy fact given that South Korea's admission into the United Nations is relatively recent (1991). It is a homage to the rapid ascent at global level of both the nation and the candidate"^20(*).

Alougou identifies two principal advantages for placements in IOs^21(*). The first factor that makes posts in IOs important is that their acquisition reflects the dynamism and prestige of the diplomacy of the state. As such it helps promote the image of the state on the international scene. It actually symbolizes the sacrifices states have been making for these IOs, as the state becomes respected and even feared. State contributions to these IOs should be understood from this same perspective. It is therefore understandable that states that contribute most for IOs claim proportionate posts in the administration of the organization.

The second importance of IO posts is the optimization of national interest on the international scene. From a purely realist viewpoint, what states go after in IOs is their national interest and the placing of nationals participates in the furthering of this interest. The presence of the national of a particular state in a prominent post in an IO permits the IO in question to become more interested in the problems of that state. Again, as Alougou rightly puts it, «even those who arrive in IOs by their personal means work for the interest of their countries»^22(*).

Apart from these advantages, Ndzesop identifies other reasons for placement in IOs. The need for posts in IOs, he says, could be attributed to the following reasons:

1. Provide jobs to nationals and draws many others into the international circle.

2. Repatriated funds provide capital for micro-projects.

3. State's diplomacy shines on the international scene.

4. Access to international resources available through the IOs.

5. Opens up the country to the rest of the world, especially hitherto unknown countries.^23(*)

It appears from the above that IOs play quite strategic roles in the development of a country, and that the advantages a state will draw from placing nationals in them are many. These advantages call for the formulation of a specific and operational policy of placement.

b. Cameroon's policy of placements

Does a policy of placement exist in Cameroonian diplomacy? The four internships reports scrutinized above all seem to say no. It might be more accurate to say that that policy is not clear enough, or is not well managed. However the debate of existence or non-existence of a placement policy in Cameroonian diplomacy does not really advance our present study.

An empirical study of Cameroonians in IOs reveals the weaknesses of Cameroonian policy of placement. If many Cameroonians hold prominent posts in CEMAC, it is probably because the posts were negotiated during the signing of treaties establishing the institution. This impression was reinforced when Cameroon obtained the seat of the Stock Exchange market of the sub-region. At the continental level, the 25-year time lapse that separates William Eteki Mbouma as OAU Secretary General (1978), and Mrs Elisabeth Tankeu as Commissioner for trade and Industry (2003) reveals the tasks Cameroonian authorities will have to face in the policy of placement. We acknowledge and hail the presence of Issa Hayatou as CAF president. But the absence of Cameroonians in such African IOs as the AfDB, AU, the Economic Commission for Africa and all the UN regional offices in Africa reveals the necessity of a rigorous policy and management tools in MINREX.

From a global perspective, it appears certain that, apart from fairly considerable posts such as Tankeu at the AU, Obam Nlong at the International Organization of the Francophonie, Sona Ebai at COPAL, Mboui at the UNESCO, Rabiatu Njoya at the African High Council for Sports, Paul Bamela at the International Court of Justice, Victor Pungong at the Commonwealth and Victor Ndjomatchoua at the AU office in Bruxelles, Cameroon has a long way to go. But then, Cameroon is identified as a member of several IOs such as ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, C, CEMAC, Commonwealth of Nations, ECCAS, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, the International Commission of Lake Chad Basin Countries, the Commission of the Gulf of Guinea,^24(*) etc. A more muscular placement policy needs to be adopted for posts in these IOs.

Cameroon's placement policy could be defined as a policy gathering muscle, requiring audacious decisions and collective engagement. The 2005 decree organizing MINREX seems to affirm Cameroon's determination to have a clear, planned and supported policy in relation to placing nationals in IOs. The CMU has been attributed that special task. But such a task requires rigorous tools, committed personnel and politico-financial means. What happens in other countries ought to inspire Cameroonian authorities.

c. Examples in other countries

A scientific demarche requires that both researchers and practitioners draw from past cases and examples from other contexts to inspire and facilitate their tasks. Cameroon is a relatively young state (less than half a decade) comparatively to other states. Countries such as the United States of America, France, Britain, Ethiopia, Italy, Canada, etc., are quite old and experienced in the management of state affairs. Apart from financial constrains, there are no reasons why Cameroon should not copy from them as it has done in other domains (democracy, good governance, etc.). Even when there are financial constrains, countries with lesser means could come up with a miniature.

Several countries have developed efficient mechanisms for the placing of nationals in IOs. Such countries as Senegal, South Africa, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Bangladesh, Jamaica, Rwanda, etc., have developed fruitful policies to push their citizens to top posts in IOs. Most of these countries neither have a heavier diplomatic arsenal nor bigger sums of money, if we judge from their GDP. If most of these countries have lesser resources, less-trained personnel and negligible strategic interest, what then makes them for efficient? Of course, we know they are efficient from the number of nationals they have in IOs and the quality of post these nationals occupy.

The existence of a department in the Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of placing Senegalese in IOs is an often-quoted example. But Senegal is not the only country to create such a department. Other successful cases exist, though not necessarily in the same nature. Recently, a Western diplomat in Nairobi explained to us that his principal task in Kenya was to seek to obtain posts in the several IO headquarters in Kenya. According to this diplomat, he was in charge of identifying vacancies or future vacancies then identify a French national who is best trained for the post, and then lobby for their placing in the said organization. Cameroon needs to define such job descriptions to specific diplomats. But when that will be done, how will the diplomat carry out his/her job?

Particularly about databanks, several countries have developed powerful databases in their Ministries of Foreign Affairs for career management and placement in IOs. The Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs runs an online database entitled, Databank for Career Opportunities in International Organisations. Within this database are two main entries:

1. Job opportunities 2. CVs for prospective candidates. This means that Italians around the world can consult posts available in IOs for which Italy is eligible. At the same time, they can download the modalities online, and/or send their their CVs for application. Italians could submit CVs even in the absence of posts and will be notified when a post that suits their CV comes up. In Jamaica, a powerful database has been built in the department for Jamaicans abroad that serves as an interface between Jamaicans of the Diaspora and enterprises at home. It is called the Jobs & Skills Data bank. The data-bank offers Jamaican employers cost free help in identifying expatriate Jamaican professionals with key knowledge and skills for employment or consultancies in Jamaica. It is divided into two sectors Professionals by Occupation^25(*) - skilled professionals interested in returning to Jamaica and joining the work force and current Employment Opportunities - vacancies for qualified professionals on the island in collaboration with a local job management firm. These skills include technical, personal, communicational skills as well as ability to work in a group or under pressure in multilateral institutions. The bank is not limited to the above-mentioned functions. Data from Jamaicans of the Diaspora are used for placement in IOs^26(*). At the same time, a Personal History Form is accessible for on line completion if desired by prospective Skills Bank candidates.

d. The importance of a data bank for Cameroonian diplomacy

Recourse to a databank will be one of the most efficient ways to implement the head of State's policy of placement. In deed, Cameroonian diplomacy stands to gain enormously from the creation of a databank in MINREX. A databank is not the magic solution that will solve all the problems related to the placing of Cameroonians in IOs. But it has several advantages that MINREX stands to gain by putting them in place. The importance of a databank has been underscored by the French system of administration. In France, several observatories exist in the form of databanks. In a disorderly and non-exhaustive manner, there are observatories for refuse, integration and town, medical demography, drugs, noise and urban transport, information and communication strategies and technologies, careers and competences, the prescription and consummation of drugs in ambulatory and hospital sectors, poverty and social exclusion, household indebtedness, delinquencies, prisons, and for democracy.

The databank we are presenting here should serve the following purposes:

1. Cataloguing the entire Cameroonian diplomatic personnel;

2. Determining where they are found;

3. Determining their career profile, in terms of grade, function and expected progress;

4. Cataloguing the entire patrimony of MINREX;

5. Cataloguing Cameroonians present in IOs;

6. Assembling elective and non-elective posts in IOs;

7. Cataloguing profiles of Cameroonians likely to become international civil servants;

From the above functions, the importance of a databank becomes self-explanatory. At the moment, MINREX is experiencing far-reaching innovation, a databank will be important to optimize the actions of the politician and administrator.

* ¹⁹ Joshua S. Goldstein, International Relations, 5^th Ed, 2003, p. 278.

* ²⁰ See Breaking Christian News at WWW.breakingchristiannews.com of Wed Oct 11 16:02:07 2006.

* ²¹ Alougou, op. cit. pp. 16-18.

* ²² Alougou, op. cit. p. 19.

* ²³ See Ndzesop, op. cit. p. 4.

* ²⁴ See CIA World Factbook on-line, last modified on September 7, 2006.

* ²⁵ See www.mfaft.gov.jm/jod/JOD_Professional_by_Occupation.htm

* ²⁶ See http://www.careersjamaica.com/ , www.cwjamaica.com