Insecurity Cameroon: 20 Women calls the attention of the UN Security Council on the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon and the IMF on gross embezzlement of COVID19 funds by the government authorities
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In an appeal letter published on 4 June 2021, 20 women from different domains of life in Cameroon have highlighted four areas of conflict in the country including the Boko Haram – the Extreme North, Separatists – North West & South, Armed Gangs – East, Adamawa, and Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and bring to the notice of the International Community.
This is coming just a few days an International Nongovernmental organization, the Norwegian Refugee Council had earlier placed the ongoing crises in Cameroon as the most neglected in the world, with attentiveness on the Ambazonian armed conflict in the English Speaking regions of the country, which has, claim at least 5000 lives since 2016
According to the Women, Over 10,000 of our people have died in the Boko Haram conflict and the Anglophone crisis. Over 1,000,000 of our children have had their schooling disrupted by conflict. Gross human rights violations and the most ruthless violence is meted out upon our people daily. This is in a context where drinking water, electricity, roads, jobs, hospitals and schools are scarce commodities even for citizens living in the parts of the country considered as peaceful.
In the appeal letter, the women-led initiative is of the opinion that to address the Anglophone Crisis, there should organize an inclusive bottom-up national dialogue process with ALL actors to resolve the root causes of the crisis and that in relation to the Boko Haram Crisis, there should be a bottom-up dialogue that will set priorities for development and inclusion, then effectively execute development projects.
While highlighting the political situation of the country and its importance in the region, the 20 women said that there is a risk of an abrupt change of the head of the nation and that the stake is high. According to them, this is likely to result in a sharp increase in violence should this change occur without a consensual national plan in place.
They also suggest that there should be a political transition in Cameroon. “It is in the interest of Cameroon, the entire sub-region and the world as a whole that the discussion on political transition in Cameroon begins now and a consensual framework is established that will ensure a peaceful transition and the stability of Cameroon.”
In the appeal letter, they caution the United Nations Council that Cameroon is a member and that “We do not want to be the subject of your next peacekeeping operation. We do not want to be the next home for blue helmets. By taking simple actions today, the world can avoid this….We ask that you consider the peace and security of our entire sub-region, it is hanging by a thread. We are that thread.”
In relation to the COVID-19 funds, they write (as delivered) below.
“Cameroonians died from Covid-19 because tests were unavailable, because oxygen was unavailable and because personal protective equipment was unavailable. It is unfathomable to us that money borrowed from the IMF to assist these Cameroonians precisely for the fight against Covid-19 was misappropriated and stolen.
Ms. Georgieva, Cameroon like most countries around the world is reeling from the shock of Covid-19. Our population desperately needs assistance for healthcare as well as to weather the economic turbulence.
It is likely, Cameroon needs one or more IMF loans. However, the funds managed by the current Government of Cameroon under the ECF from 2017 to 2020 as well as those managed under the RCF in 2020, must be audited and fully accounted for before any new funds are disbursed.
All persons found responsible for misappropriation and theft of funds belonging to the people of Cameroon must suffer the full consequences under Cameroonian law and can in no circumstance be put in charge of managing additional funds.
Our request to you is simple. Until the above two conditions are met, no funds should be disbursed to the current Government of Cameroon.
As women leaders of Cameroon, we remind that the IMF is not in partnership with any group of individuals, it is in partnership with the nation of Cameroon. It is we, the citizens, who will reimburse these loans. We ask that you do not engage contracts with persons who have not respected the commitments made to the IMF or the most elementary rules of public are legally bound to do.
Cameroonians are facing war, displacement, extreme poverty, and a severe lack of basic services such as jobs, roads, hospitals and schools. As you well know, our country has the economic potential to provide all this and more. As women leaders in this country, we work extremely hard, risking our safety and our lives to change this situation.
We ask that you do not increase our burden by emboldening government officials who have not only
steered our resource-rich country to this place of poverty where we currently find ourselves but have done so by indebting us even as they steal to enrich themselves.”
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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.
