Cameroon: Bad and good news in latest human rights report
In a report on human rights violations last year in Cameroon, LGBT rights activists reported a decline in arbitrary arrests, but an overall increase in human rights abuses.
By Courtney Stans
Transgender people were the most frequently targeted victims of abuses, accounting for nearly 57 percent of the total.
The overall tally of human rights violations was 1,380 cases in 2019 up from 1,134 the previous year.
Activists said that the decrease in arbitrary arrests could have been the result of a moratorium imposed by President Paul Biya last year on the scope of activities of Cameroon’s law enforcement forces.
An overview of the report was presented Oct. 23 in Yaoundé by Alternatives-Cameroon with the collaboration of Humanity First Cameroon. The final report has not yet been published.
The reason for the delay in preparing the 2019 report was explained by activist Jean Jacques Dissoke: “This belatedly organized day is due to the Covid-19 pandemic preventing any mobilization of large numbers of people.”
Among those at the meeting were law enforcement officers who belong to RAIL KPv, a network of citizens who make themselves available to intervene in cases of human rights violations. They agreed to proofread the annual report. of violations before publication and to contribute their viewpoints.
The meeting was attended by about 30 people representing human rights advocacy groups such as Sourires De Femmes, Défenseurs Sans Frontières and Horizons Femmes.
Representatives of the report’s technical and financial supporters also attended, including CAMNAFAW, GIZ and the Cooperation and Cultural Action Service (SCAC).
Courtney Stans, the author of this article, is a Cameroonian journalist who writes under a pseudonym. Contact her at info@76crimes.com.
