ECCAS Commission
In brief

Mme Banaken Elel Nelly

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Mme Banaken Elel Nelly
Commissioner

Mme Banaken Elel Nelly

In brief

Career diplomat and expert in human rights and social development, with over twenty years of experience designing, coordinating and implementing humanitarian and human rights programmes at national and international levels. Since November 2017, First Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the United Nations in New York, heading the Human Rights, Social and Cultural Affairs section and serving as the Mission's Chief of Staff. Lead negotiator of resolutions on social inclusion, the rights of indigenous peoples, the right to development, the family, persons with disabilities and the World Social Summit; contributor to the negotiation of the Pact for the Future. Former Vice-Chair of the Third Committee and of the UN-Women Executive Board, and Coordinator of the African Group. Deep knowledge of the African and international context, strategic planning and negotiation.

Career

  1. 2003 – 2014 Officer for Central African Affairs, then Head of the Service for UN Economic, Social and Humanitarian Organs, Cameroon's Ministry of External Relations. Delegate to the Human Rights Council (2008-2014) and the Third Committee (2008-2017); defended the periodic report before the Committee against Torture (2010); national focal point for the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  2. 2014 – 2017 Acting Sub-Director for the United Nations, Ministry of External Relations. Supervised the national study identifying indigenous peoples; member of the inter-ministerial committee following up international commitments (treaty bodies, UPR); coordinated the Governance and Basic Services component of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPBA).
  3. 2017 – 2025 First Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the United Nations, New York. Head of the Human Rights, Social and Cultural Affairs section and Chief of Staff. Negotiator of the Pact for the Future, of the G77 and China Convention on the Right to Development, and of the 2025 political declarations on non-communicable diseases and trafficking in persons.