US Senate calls for an immediate ceasefire and genuine dialogue to end the Anglophone armed conflict in Cameroon
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The ongoing-armed conflict in the English Speaking regions of Cameroon has continued to rise despite calls for a cessation of hostilities from the national and international stakeholders. The armed conflict, which started in 2016, has led to the killing of thousands, destruction of properties, gross human rights violations, and mass internal and external displacement of civilians.
The recent resolution Passed on 01/01/2021 by the United States (US) Senate is not the first of its kind, but the US government officials have continuously been calling for a cessation of hostilities in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions. They have gone as far as suspending Cameroon from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) agreement and reducing its military support to the country. The European Parliament resolution passed on April 18, 2019, has also called the parties to consider an inclusive political dialog to end the armed conflict.
The recent resolution which was introduced in the US Senate on 09/08/2020 is “A resolution calling on the Government of Cameroon and separatist armed groups from the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to end all violence, respect the human rights of all Cameroonians, and pursue a genuinely inclusive dialogue toward resolving the ongoing civil conflict in Anglophone Cameroon.116th Congress (2019-2020)”
While acknowledging that the population of the North West and South West regions has been marginalized, illegal arrest and detention, torturing of civilians by the BIR, kidnapping, attack on freedom of expression, the excessive use of force during the lawyers, teachers, and students protest, the delay in the implementation of the 1996 decentralization, etc. The resolution acknowledges the efforts by the Cameroon government authorities but reiterated for an end to human rights violations, violence and that they should seek a genuine dialogue to resolve the conflict.
After acknowledging the escalation of the conflict since 2016, and the efforts to resolve the conflict so far, the United States Senate concluded the following resolutions
1) strongly condemns abuses committed by state security forces and armed groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, including extrajudicial killings and detentions, the use of force against civilians and nonviolent protestors, torture, rape, kidnappings, and other forms of violence against women, and violations of the freedoms of press, expression, and assembly;
(2) urges all parties to the Anglophone conflict in Cameroon, including political opposition groups, to—
(A) conclude and uphold an immediate ceasefire;
(B) guarantee unfettered humanitarian access and assistance to the Northwest and Southwest regions;
(C) exercise restraint and ensure that political protests are peaceful; and
(D) establish a credible process for an inclusive dialogue that includes all relevant stakeholders, including from civil society, to achieve a sustainable political solution that respects the rights and freedoms of all of the people of Cameroon;
(3) affirms that the United States Government continues to hold the Government of Cameroon responsible for safeguarding the safety, security, and constitutional rights of all citizens, regardless of their region of origin or the regions in which they reside, or their religious beliefs or political views;
(4) urges the Government of Cameroon to—
(A) initiate a credible, inclusive, good-faith effort to end the armed conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon by addressing the root causes of the crisis and grievances and seeking nonviolent solutions to resolve the conflict, including possibly involving an independent mediator in negotiations;
(B) follow through on initiatives developed to address the grievances that sparked the conflict, including the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, the Ministry of Decentralization and Local Development, and the National Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Committee;
(C) fully implement recommendations of the Major National Dialogue held in late 2019;
(D) respect the rule of law and the constitutional rights of all Cameroonians, including members of the political opposition, civil society activists, and journalists;
(E) allow for credible, independent, and transparent investigations of all allegations of human rights abuses committed in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
(F) release all political prisoners and journalists currently detained and immediately stop all arbitrary detention, torture, forced disappearances, deaths in custody, and inhumane prison conditions; and
(G) work with United States law enforcement to thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible for the murder of Charles Wesco;
(5) urges the Anglophone armed separatist groups to—
(A) engage peacefully with government officials to express grievances and engage in nonviolent efforts to resolve the conflict, including participation in a credible and inclusive dialogue, possibly involving an independent mediator;
(B) immediately cease human rights abuses, including killings of civilians, torture, kidnapping, and extortion;
(C) immediately end the school boycott in the Northwest and Southwest regions and attacks on schools, teachers, and education officials, and allow for the safe return of all students to class; and
(D) immediately release all kidnapped and detained civilians;
(6) urges the Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and United States Agency for International Development, in coordination with other relevant Federal departments and agencies, to—
(A) consider imposing targeted sanctions on individual government and separatist leaders “responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights”;
(B) press the Government of Cameroon to provide unfettered humanitarian access to vulnerable populations in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon;
(C) support credible efforts to address the root causes of the conflict and to achieve sustainable peace and reconciliation and efforts to aid the economic recovery of and fight coronavirus in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
(D) support humanitarian and development programming, including to meet immediate needs, advance nonviolent conflict resolution and reconciliation, promote economic recovery and development, support primary and secondary education, and strengthen democratic processes, including political decentralization, enshrined as a fundamental principle of state governance in the Constitution of Cameroon;
(E) continue to limit security assistance to Cameroon and ensure that United States training and equipment is not being used to facilitate human rights abuses in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
(F) prioritize efforts to help develop and sustain effective, professional civilian oversight of law enforcement and security services in Cameroon to ensure they are held accountable for abuses; and
(G) engage in an ongoing effort to ensure that the crisis in the Anglophone regions is discussed in international fora, including the United Nations Security Council, that focus on urgent international diplomatic engagement and response; and
(7) urges members of the international community to—
(A) join in a strategic collective effort to pressure the Government of Cameroon and separatist armed groups, including through the use of available diplomatic and punitive tools, to immediately conclude and uphold a ceasefire, participate in an inclusive and meaningful dialogue to address the root causes of the conflict and pending grievances, and seek nonviolent solutions to the conflict, including by possibly involving an independent and credible mediator;
(B) mobilize and coordinate funding for local and international organizations to provide humanitarian and development assistance, including to fight coronavirus, to communities affected by the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon;
(C) leverage bilateral relationships to encourage key partners of Cameroon, particularly France, to help foster a peaceful resolution to the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon and implement a mutually agreed-upon program to address longstanding grievances and marginalization; and
(D) use regional and international fora, including the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the United Nations Security Council to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon and push for a cessation of violence, an expedient resolution, the implementation of a mutually agreed-upon program for addressing the root causes and pending grievances, and the investigation and prosecution of human rights abuses and crimes committed against civilians.
Read and or download the full resolution from the following link: Text – S.Res.684 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): A resolution calling on the Government of Cameroon and separatist armed groups from the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to end all violence, respect the human rights of all Cameroonians, and pursue a genuinely inclusive dialogue toward resolving the ongoing civil conflict in Anglophone Cameroon. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
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.
