US Department of State Report on Human Rights violations in Cameroon

The United States Department of State has recently released a Human Rights Report which highlighted a number of human rights issues in Cameroon. The report covers human rights issues relating to political, economic and socio-cultural events in the year 2020.

Publish on 30 March 2021, the US Department of State says “Significant human rights issues included: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by security forces, armed Anglophone separatists, Boko Haram, and ISIS-West Africa; forced disappearances by security forces; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government, Cameroonian peacekeepers deployed to UN missions, and nonstate armed groups; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests; political prisoners or detainees; politically motivated reprisal against individuals located outside the country;”

The report also cited that there are grave difficulties with the justice system across the country “serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on freedom of expression, the press, and the internet, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists, censorship, and criminal libel laws; substantial interference with the right of peaceful assembly and freedom of association; serious restrictions on freedom of movement; inability of citizens to change their government peacefully through free and fair elections; restrictions on political participation; serious acts of corruption; lack of investigations and accountability for violence against women; unlawful recruitment or use of child soldiers; trafficking in persons; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex persons; and the existence or use of laws criminalizing same-sex sexual conduct between adults.”

The report also acknowledges the efforts by the Cameroonian government in punishing officials responsible for the human rights violations but regretted that the proceedings are not public and fair “Although the government took steps to identify, investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, it did not do so systematically and rarely made the proceedings public. Some offenders continued to act with impunity.”

“In July jailed separatist leader Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe announced he talked with the government regarding the prospects for peace in the Anglophone regions. The government, however, denied Ayuk Tabe’s announcement, and other separatists opposed the talks. Cameroon Renaissance Movement president Maurice Kamto urged Cameroonians to stage nationwide peaceful protests on September 22 to demand a resolution to the crisis in the Anglophone regions and for electoral reform before the December 6 regional elections. Hundreds of protesters were arrested, including journalists, and Kamto was placed under unofficial house arrest.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
   1. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or Politically Motivated Killings
   2. Disappearance
   3. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
   4. Prison and Detention Center Conditions
   5. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
   6. Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees
   7. Denial of Fair Public Trial
   8. Trial Procedures
   9. Political Prisoners and Detainees
   10. Politically Motivated Reprisal against Individuals Located Outside the Country
   11. Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
   12. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
   13. Abuses in Internal Conflict
2. Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
   1. Freedom of Expression, Including for the Press
   2. Internet Freedom
   3. Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
   4. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association
   5. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
   6. Freedom of Association
   7. Freedom of Religion
   8. Freedom of Movement
   9. Status of Treatment of Internally Displaced Persons
   10. Protection of Refugees
   11. Stateless Persons
3. Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political Process
   1. Elections and Political Participation
4. Section 4. Corruption and Lack of Transparency in Government
5. Section 5. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights
6. Section 6. Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
   1. Women
   2. Children
   3. Anti-Semitism
   4. Trafficking in Persons
   5. Persons with Disabilities
   6. Members of National/Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
   7. Indigenous People
   8. Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
   9. HIV and AIDS Social Stigma
   10. Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
   11. Promotion of Acts of Discrimination
7. Section 7. Worker Rights
   1. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining
   2. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
   3. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
   4. Discrimination with Respect to Employment and Occupation
   5. Acceptable Conditions of Work

Read/Download the full report through the link below: Cameroon – United States Department of State

Berinyuy Cajetan, Publisher

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.