Cameroon: Human Rights Watch want A3 members to influence the United Nations Security Council to scrutinize human rights and humanitarian crisis in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon and Ethiopia
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Both national and international stakeholders have continued to call for a cessation of hostilities in the North West and South-West regions of Cameroon in vain. Civilians, including women and children, have continuously been killed, properties destroyed and people forcefully displaced both internally and externally. The more than four-year-old armed conflict has seen gross human rights violations and humanitarian crisis. In Ethiopia, crimes against humanity have also been committed in the Tigray region.
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the three elected members of Africa in the United Nations Security Council, Kenya, Niger and Tunisia (A3) should be at the forefront in addressing crises in Africa at UNSC. “The security council is the most powerful body of the United Nations. The three elected members from Africa on it for the next two years — Kenya, Niger and Tunisia — should use the considerable power they wield to ensure scrutiny of serious humanitarian and human rights crises affecting the African continent. They should start with Ethiopia and Cameroon.”
HRW highlighted that they have documented acts committed in these countries amounting to crimes against humanity along with other organizations but the UN has not still pushed for accountability. “Human Rights Watch and other organisations have documented war crimes and called for a UN inquiry into possible crimes against humanity in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. The “A3”, as the African members are called, supported a draft statement voicing concern about the humanitarian situation in Tigray at a closed-door council session, but they can and should go further. They have an opportunity to promote a human rights-centred African agenda by immediately demanding that the council add two African conflicts characterised by widespread rights abuses to its official agenda.”
The HRW while establishing the reason for the A3 members to push for the discussion of the ongoing crisis in Africa said the Separatists fighters and Cameroon government forces have committed human rights violations in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon “Then there’s the ongoing crisis in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Since 2017, separatists have targeted civilians, including aid workers, students and teachers, while continuing to enforce a boycott on education. Security forces have also committed a litany of abuses including the killing of civilians, destruction of property, sexual violence and torture. The A3 should act at the security council to ensure that rights abuses by all parties in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions get the international scrutiny they deserve. Without this scrutiny, the victims’ hopes for justice and accountability may be dashed.”
According to the HRW, the case of Cameroon and Ethiopia needs to be looked into “Unlike Cameroon and Ethiopia, South Sudan is on the security council agenda, but it has long been a difficult and occasionally divisive issue. In April, the security council will discuss the renewal of an arms embargo and individual sanctions designations for those responsible for atrocities or undermining the peace deal. But some delegations would like to see the sanctions ended. Niger and Tunisia voted in favor of renewal last year — unlike former African council member South Africa, which joined China and Russia in abstaining. Preserving the arms embargo and other targeted sanctions is critical for the protection of civilians as widespread abuses are still rife in South Sudan. The African members should also ensure that the security council keeps pressure on the AU and the South Sudanese government to live up to their promise to make the hybrid court for serious crimes a reality. This would signal an important political commitment toward justice for abuses, restore the dignity of victims and ultimately break the cycle of impunity in South Sudan.”
At the end of their plea, HRW emphasized that the A3 members should lay more emphasis on the ongoing crisis in Africa at the UNSC “The A3 doesn’t need to take their marching orders from the permanent council members. The A3 can take the lead on African conflicts by highlighting rights abuses and putting pressure on the security council to demand that those responsible for rights abuses are held accountable. This would not only resonate with the AU’s founding principles, but it would strengthen the security council’s peace and security agenda by actively addressing situations before they escalate into cycles of grave abuses and mass atrocities…The A3 have power and influence on the security council. They should use it.” Read details through the link below: UN Security Council Needs A3’s Leadership on African Crises | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
