How Cameroonian Victims of Torture can seek redress at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, a Research publication by two International NGOs
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Two international organizations have published research on how victims of torture in Cameroon can seek redress at The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa and African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The research that focuses on the redress mechanisms within the African Human Rights system was motivated by the growing violence and cases of torture documented by CHRDA and other CSOs in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon.
The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) together with the Edinburgh International Justice Initiative (EIJI) officially published the research on 8 June 2021. The publication of joint research on the redress mechanisms within the African human rights system that is available for victims of torture in Cameroon.
The research details various procedures involved in engaging such bodies as; The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“It is hoped that this informs and enhances knowledge on the African human rights system, and especially as it has to do with available redress mechanisms for torture victims, and engaging such bodies. This of course is important for reasons that the national redress mechanisms in Cameroon and other African countries have failed and/or are limited in providing adequate redress to such heinous human rights violation.” CHRDA wrote on their official website
Background to Human Rights Violations in Cameroon: There have been protests in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions since 2016 that have been predominantly led by English-speaking lawyers, students, and teachers. These scholars allege that they have been unsatisfactorily under-represented and marginalised by the central government.[1] The government security forces responded by killing civilians, torching villages, and using torture and incommunicado detention. Armed separatists have also committed similarly violent acts.[2] In 2019, Human Rights Watch (HRW) indicated that over 3,000 civilians and hundreds of security forces personnel had been killed in the Anglophone regions since the crisis started. Additionally, HRW estimates that the ongoing conflict between government forces and the Islamist armed group Boko Haram has killed thousands of Cameroonians and displaced over 270,000 since 2014.
International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and HRW have condemned the Cameroonian Government’s involvement in the violence. Human Rights Watch indicates that the Cameroonian authorities have ‘cracked down on the political opposition, violently broke up peaceful protests, and arrested hundreds of opposition party leaders, members, and supporters’.[3] Victims are often taken to illegal detention facilities to be tortured, the most notorious one being the State Defense Secretariat (Secretariat d’état a la defense, “SED”).[4]
At the SED there have been allegations of gendarmes and other security forces severely beating and using torture techniques to extract confessions from detainees suspected of ties to armed separatist groups. Amnesty International reported that in 2019 there were 101 documented individual cases of torture in undisclosed locations.[5] Of these 101 victims, 32 alleged that they had witnessed the deaths of other inmates following torture.[6] The Government has claimed that it conducts private investigations into allegations of crimes committed by security forces and does not publish findings publicly to avoid endangering the morale of government troops.[7] However, the Advocates for Human Rights note that this lack of transparency seemingly ‘creates a climate of impunity and fuels further human rights violations, including the arbitrary detention and torture of Anglophones’.[8] Overall, the situation in Cameroon is increasingly hostile and human rights violations are pervasive.
The research lays more emphasis on the following human rights bodies below:
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) is one of the main independent institutions of the African Union.[9] It was established by Article 30 of the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) in November 1987 and has its headquarters in Banjul, The Gambia.[10] It was first adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and has been ratified by all African Union (AU) Member States; as of 2020 Burundi and Morocco are the only African States which have not ratified the ACHPR. The ACHPR’s operations are governed by the African Charter and its Rules of Procedure.[11]
As stipulated by the African Charter, the ACHPR is responsible for promoting and protecting human and peoples’ rights in Africa.[12] The ACHPR functions in four main areas, namely: interpreting the African Charter, promoting human rights, protecting human rights, and performing other tasks as instructed by the AU Assembly.[13] Over the years, the ACHPR has considered cases most commonly concerning the right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and those involving the unlawful prosecution of journalists, lawyers, political actors and human rights activists. The ACHPR includes requirements for state parties to protect human rights, protect families and guarantee the independence of the judiciary.
The ACHPR protects human rights by operating an individual complaints system, examining State reports[14] (which it uses to monitor compliance with the African Charter), and conducting fact-finding missions in Member States. Due to the individual complaints system, the ACHPR can receive communications from States, individuals and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on alleged human rights abuses.[15] In such cases, the Commission may issue a provisional measure if the threat of harm is sufficiently urgent.[16] The ACHPR can also establish special mechanisms to promote human rights.[17] These special mechanisms include special rapporteurs, committees, and working groups, which have a specific mandate.[18]
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa: The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA) is one of the special mechanisms and was established in 2002 during the ACHPR’s 32nd Ordinary Session. The CPTA was established to promote the implementation of the Robben Island Guidelines (RIGs) which elaborated on the prohibition of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in Article 5 and the right of liberty and security of person in Article 6 of the African Charter.
The RIGs are a form of soft law which call upon States to take action to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, and prosecute any perpetrators. States are encouraged to coordinate national laws with ratified regional and international treaties, to safeguard those deprived of their right to liberty and security and implement monitoring mechanisms. The guidelines advise States to support NGOs and other members of civil society to raise awareness. They declare that victims of torture and Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) specifically should receive protection.
In cases of article 5 violations, the CPTA sends letters of appeals to State Parties requesting them to provide clarification, reiterates the State’s obligations under the African Charter, and requests States to take specific remedial measures.[19] According to Resolution ACHPR/Res.61 (XXXII) 02, the CPTA’s mandate includes:[20]
- organising, with the support of interested partners, seminars to disseminate the RIGs to national and regional stakeholders;
- developing and proposing to the ACHPR strategies to promote and implement the RIGs at the national and regional levels;
- promoting and facilitating the implementation of the RIGs within State Parties; and
- making a progress report to the ACHPR at each Ordinary Session.
Overall, the CPTA is overseen by the ACHPR and its work supports the ACHPR’s mandate to promote and protect human rights.
Human Rights Bodies’ Responses to the Situation in Cameroon
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ response: Since 2016 when the violence initiated, the ACHPR has addressed the ongoing violence in the Anglophone region.[21] In December 2016, an ACHPR press release described the protests as a cause by “discontented Anglophone” persons in the English speaking Cameroon who were “legitimately and peacefully seeking a halt to the gradual, but systematic destruction and obliteration of the Common Law Legal System and the Anglo-Saxon System of Education”.[22] Further, in 2018 the ACHPR passed two resolutions concerning the situation in Cameroon. Resolution 395 “condemn[ed] the various human rights violations committed” in Cameroon since October 2016 and recalled the right of Cameroonian citizens to be treated equally.[23] As such, the ACHPR decided to undertake a general human rights promotion mission to Cameroon. Moreover, Resolution 405 called on the Cameroonian authorities to “increase efforts towards finding a speedy solution to the Anglophone crisis” to restore peace and stability in the region.[24]
In a December 2019 press release, the ACHPR restated its concerns about the ongoing violence and reiterated its request to conduct a visit to Cameroon to assess the situation more thoroughly as a means to bring about a peaceful resolution.[25] In its most recent resolution concerning Cameroon, the ACHPR urged Cameroon to “establish mechanisms for peace and reconciliation by addressing the historical causes of the crisis, including systemic discrimination against the English-speaking minority”.[26] Additionally, the ACHPR considered the Combined 4th-6th Period Report of Cameroon at the 67th Ordinary Session. The report mentioned torture allegations and suggested that some institutional changes had been implemented to combat the culture of impunity regarding torture violations.[27] However, Honourable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso (the Chairperson of the ACHPR) urged Cameroon to address the ACHPR’s observations “including the urgent need [to] resol[ve] the conflict in the Anglophone regions” in his closing statement,[28] signalling that there is still progress to be made in Cameroon to ensure the effective protection of human rights violations.
The Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa’s response: The CPTA has similarly addressed the escalating situation in Cameroon. In 2017, its 60th Intersession report condemned the “excessive use of force by security personnel” against protesters in the English-speaking regions which had already resulted in some deaths and injuries by then.[29] Similarly, the 64th Intersession report highlighted the “extrajudicial killings, abductions, armed confrontations” in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.[30] Significantly, the CPTA referenced some NGO reports which highlighted that the Cameroonian government forces are “responsible for killings, the excessive use of force, burning down of houses, arbitrary detentions and torture”.[31] Most recently, in its 66th Intersession report, the CPTA expressed concern about “reports of a pattern of unlawful killings in the Anglophone regions”.[32]
Overall, the ACHPR and CPTA’s steady observance of the developments of the situation in Cameroon is promising. This report hopes to contribute a useful resource for both institutions to work towards an effective resolution and halt to the torture violations in Cameroon.
Read details through the link below: Redress Mechanisms at the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights for Victims of Torture in Cameroon
or read the original publication through the link below: Redress Mechanisms at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights for Victims of Torture in Cameroon. Research by CHRDA and EIJI – CHRDA
Footnotes
[1] Human Rights Watch ‘World Report 2019: Cameroon’ [2020] <https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/cameroon#03d283> accessed 29 November 2020.
[2] Human Rights Watch (n 2).
[3] Human Rights Watch (n 2).
[4] Human Rights Watch ‘Cameroon: Detainees Tortured. Abuse, Incommunicado Detention at Yaoundé Prison; Enforced Disappearances’ [2019] <https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/08/20/cameroon-detainees-tortured> accessed 1 December 2020.
[5] Amnesty International, ‘Secret Torture Chambers in Cameroon’ <[https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/07/cameroon-torture-chambers/>accessed 1 December 2020.
[6] ibid.
[7] The Advocates for Human Rights ‘ Cameroon’s Compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment’, submission to the 70th Session of the Committee against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, p. 3 <https://www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org/uploads/ahr_loi_cameroon_report_on_anglophone_crisis_final.pdf> accessed 4 December 2020.
[8] ibid
[9] International Justice Resource Centre, ‘Advocacy before the African Human Rights System: A Manual for Attorneys and Advocates’ [2016] p 10. <https://ijrCentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2.-African-Human-Rights-System-Manual.pdf> accessed 8 March 2021.
[10] ibid
[11] ibid
[12] African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (adopted 27 June 1981, entered into force 21 October 1986), OAU Doc. CAB/LEG/67/3 rev 5, 21 ILM 58, Arts 30 and 45. <http://www.achpr.org/instruments/achpr> accessed 25 September 2020. Hereinafter the African Charter.
[13] International Justice Resource Centre (n 11) p11.
[14] The African Charter, Art 62.
[15] International Justice Resource Centre (n 11).
[16] ibid
[17] ibid
[18] ibid
[19] The African Commission Website/ Special Mechanisms/ Committee for the Prevention of torture in Africa – https://www.achpr.org/specialmechanisms/detailmech?id=7.
[20] The African Commission Website/ Special Mechanisms/ Committee for the Prevention of torture in Africa – <https://www.achpr.org/specialmechanisms/detailmech?id=7> accessed 8 March 2021.
[21] Press Release on the Human Rights Situation in Cameroon Following strike actions of Lawyers, Teachers and Civil Society [13 December 2016] <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=103>; Press Release on the human rights situation in Cameroon [29 January 2018] <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=63>; Press Statement on Letter of Concern Issued on Human Rights Issues Arising from the Violent Crisis in the Republic of Cameroon [14 November 2019] <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=457> all accessed 22 January 2021.
[22] Press Release on the Human Rights Situation in Cameroon Following strike actions of Lawyers, Teachers and Civil Society [13 December 2016] <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=103> accessed 22 January 2021.
[23] The African Commission ‘Resolution on the Human Rights Situation in the Republic of Cameroon’ ACHPR/Res. 395 (LXII) [2018] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/resolutions?id=404> accessed 19 January 202.1
[24] The African Commission ‘Resolution on the Continuing Human Rights Violations in the Republic of Cameroon’ ACHPR/Res. 405 (LXIII) [2018] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/resolutions?id=425> accessed 19 January 2021.
[25] Press statement on Letter of Concern issued on human rights issues arising from the violent crisis in the Republic of Cameroon [14 November 2019] <https://www.achpr.org/pressrelease/detail?id=457> accessed 22 January 2021.
[26] The African Commission ‘Resolution on the Deterioration of the Human Rights Situation in Cameroon during the Covid-19 Period’ ACHPR/Res. 442 (LXVI) [2020] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/resolutions?id=473> accessed 19 January 2021.
[27] The African Commission ‘Cameroon: 4th – 6th Periodic Report, 2015 – 2019’ <https://www.achpr.org/states/statereport?id=130> accessed 19 January 2021.
[28] The African Commission, Closing Ceremony of the 67th Ordinary Session ‘Closing Statement of the Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Honourable Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso’ [3 December 2020] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/statements?id=140> accessed 20 January 2021.
[29] The African Commission ‘Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa 60th Intersession Report’ [May 2017] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/intersession?id=271> accessed 22 January 2021.
[30] The African Commission ‘Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa 64th Intersession Report’ [May 2019] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/intersession?id=317> accessed 22 January 2021
[31] The African Commission (n 29).
[32] The African Commission ‘Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa 66th Intersession Report’ [August 2020] <https://www.achpr.org/sessions/intersession?id=339> accessed 22 January 2021.
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.
