Anglophone crisis in Cameroon: Human Rights Watch says violence is worsening in the North West and South West Regions
2 min readIn the WORLD REPORT 2022 publish and shared on 13 January 2022, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said the situation in Cameroon is worsening despite all efforts by the national and international community.
Human Rights Watch, an International Human Rights Body has released World Report for 2021 wherein Cameroon is one of the countries facing serious human rights violations. according to the report, Armed groups and government forces committed human rights abuses, including mass killings, across Cameroon’s Anglophone regions and in the Far North region.
As the crisis in the Anglophone regions continued unabated for the fifth year, over 712,000 people were internally displaced in the Anglophone regions and in the Francophone Littoral, West, and Centre regions as of August 2021, and at least 2.2 million people were in need of humanitarian aid.
The Human Rights Watch also reported that the Separatists, who violently enforced a boycott on education since 2017, continued to attack students and education professionals.
In 2021, Boko Haram increased its attacks in the Far North region from January to April, killing at least 80 civilians, with over 340,000 internally displaced as of August 2021. In responding to the armed conflict, government forces have also been responsible for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including unlawful killings and arbitrary arrests.
The Cameroon government have also continued to attack or restrict freedom of expression and association according to HRW. In 2021, the government intensified crackdown on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. and also subjected asylum seekers deported from the United States to serious human rights violations following their return, including physical assault and abuse, arbitrary arrest and detention, extortion, and confiscation of identity documents, thus impeding freedom of movement, ability to work, and access to public services. The government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic lacked transparency and was marred by allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds.
Human Rights Watch also said that at least 4,000 civilians have been killed by both government forces and armed separatist fighters since late 2016 in the North-West and South-West regions, as separatists seek independence for the country’s minority Anglophone regions.
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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.
