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TITLE: CAMEROON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
CAMEROON
Despite democratic reforms begun in 1990, political power
remained in the hands of the President, Paul Biya, and a small
circle of advisers drawn primarily from his own ethnic group
and the former single party, the Cameroon People's Democratic
Movement (CPDM). Biya was reelected in October 1992 in
presidential elections marred by widespread irregularities,
ascribed largely to the Government by international observers.
In contrast, the March 1992 legislative elections were
generally considered free and fair by international observers,
and some opposition parties gained representation in the
National Assembly--while others boycotted the vote. The
elections have not significantly diminished the authority of
the President, since the present Constitution, which dates from
the one-party era, imposes few legislative or judicial checks
on executive power.
The flawed presidential vote cast a shadow over Cameroonian
politics throughout 1993. The President announced steps to
reform the Constitution. At the end of the year, however, the
Government still had not convened the promised constitutional
consultative committee, which had been envisioned to be broadly
representative of Cameroonian society; nor had it published the
text of the constitution as revised by the government-dominated
Technical Committee.
Internal security responsibilities are shared by the national
police, the National Intelligence Service (CENER), the
gendarmerie, the Ministry of Territorial Administration
(MINAT), military intelligence (SEMIL), the army, and to a
lesser extent, the Presidential Security Service. MINAT is in
charge of prisons, and its local officials (prefects or senior
divisional officers) are responsible for invoking security
forces to maintain order. The police, which includes a special
security force, the Mixed Mobile Brigade (BMM), and the
gendarmerie have the dominant role in enforcing internal
security laws. As in previous years, security forces,
including the BMM, committed numerous human rights abuses.
Cameroon has a strong, diversified agricultural base and a
small but important petroleum sector, which produces 50 percent
of export earnings. With a per capita gross domestic product
(GDP) of about $800 in 1992-93, the country ranked among the
lower middle-income developing countries. Per capita GDP has
fallen by about 50 percent since 1986, due to population growth
of nearly 3 percent per year, declining oil production, slow
adjustment to a drop in the world prices of Cameroon's major
exports, and the effects of corruption. Self-sufficiency in
food production helps mitigate the effects of shrinking export
earnings and a growing foreign debt burden. Private economic
activity is hindered by a bloated public corporation sector,
lack of fiscal integrity, and uneven judicial enforcement of
contracts and property rights.
There were serious human rights abuses, including political and
extrajudicial killings. Security forces fired on peaceful
opposition demonstrators in March, killing 2 persons and
wounding more than 20. Security forces continued to engage in
arbitrary detention--over 100 persons were detained on 1 day in
November--and physical mistreatment to intimidate opposition
leaders. They routinely beat persons detained in connection
with common crimes. Although Cameroon's independent newspapers
circulated widely and criticized the administration, the
authorities used a variety of techniques to intimidate the
press, e.g., arresting or bringing libel suits against some
prominent journalists. The former labor wing of the ruling
party continued to dominate the labor movement, and there were
no other independent unions authorized. Societal
discrimination against women also continued to be a serious
problem.
On May 26, a military tribunal convicted and sentenced one
military officer and five soldiers for their roles in the
January 1992 summary executions of Choa Arabs in Kousseri. The
officer and one of the soldiers were sentenced to death and the
remaining four soldiers were given prison sentences ranging
from 10 to 15 years; four others were found innocent of similar
charges. The six convictions are under appeal. The trial was
the first case in which members of the security forces were
publicly tried for human rights offenses. Generally, security
force personnel commit even the most egregious abuses with
impunity; persons reporting such abuses are more likely to be
punished than are the perpetrators (see Section 1.a.).
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were several incidents of political and extrajudicial
killing, some attributable to government security forces.
While in their custody March 16-20, gendarmes beat to death
Louis Abondo Langvoue, who was detained in connection with a
theft in Bertoua, East Province. An autopsy report,
corroborated by photographs and statements from the presiding
medical examiner, concluded that Abondo had died from "severe
continuous trauma, dehydration, and shock" due to "severe,
merciless, and indiscriminate beating." As of late December,
the Government had initiated no investigation or disciplinary
action in the case but had suspended the medical examiner from
his post.
Using excessive force, gendarmes fired into a crowd of
opposition demonstrators in Bamenda on March 25, killing 2 and
wounding 20. The incident occurred during the second in a
series of peaceful demonstrations held without legal
authorization by the opposition Union for Change. According to
eyewitness accounts, a cordon of 30 gendarmes initially fired
tear gas to disperse a crowd of some 500 seated demonstrators.
As the crowd began to scatter, at least two gendarmes fired
into the crowd. After issuing a public statement which blamed
the deaths and injuries on opposition supporters armed with
home-made weapons, the Prime Minister established a commission
of inquiry composed entirely of government security officials.
Its conclusion that gendarmes had fired in self-defense was
belied by eyewitness accounts of the incident and the lack of
any casualties among the gendarmes.
On January 17, outside Bafoussam, West Province, unknown
assailants abducted Cameroon Democratic Union (CDU) Vice
President Benjamin Menga from his car and beat, stabbed, and
shot him. He died 6 days later of his injuries. Since Menga
was not robbed, his death was widely thought to be politically
motivated. CDU officials charged that Menga was a victim of a
rival opposition party, the Social Democratic Front, whose
members had allegedly threatened him. However, the charges
that Menga's death was politically motivated have not been
substantiated. As of year's end, no suspects had been charged,
and the investigation appeared to have lost momentum.
In May members of the Palace Guard (Dogari) of the Lamido of
Rey Bouba, a progovernment traditional ruler in North Province,
killed 20 persons in countering a decision by villagers in
Mbanre to install a pro-opposition chief. In the skirmishes,
townspeople also killed three members of the Dogari with
poisoned arrows. The nearest gendarmerie detachment, located
in Belel, declined to intervene when informed of the fighting.
In June there were reports that gendarmerie and army units shot
and killed eight Choa Arabs who had been detained for alleged
banditry and illegal possession of weapons in Far North
Province. The Choas charged that they were ethnically targeted
by the gendarmerie forces, but in the highly emotional ethnic
rivalries of the northern region, it has not been possible to
confirm or disprove this. The charge was based on allegations
of personal vendettas by certain gendarmerie officers; on the
other hand, the Choa Arabs have politically voted with the
Government and have also been identified frequently among the
highway bandits that plague the north.
On November 25, 1993, Yaounde police reportedly shot and killed
Moise Fokou, a 23-year-old street vendor, in Yaounde's Mokolo
market area. Published photographs of the vendor's body and
eyewitness accounts suggested that the vendor was in handcuffs
at the time of his death.
In December there were credible reports that 23-year-old
Cyprain Tonwie Ndifor was beaten and later died while in
gendarmerie custody in Northwest Province. However, no
detailed investigation of the case had been completed at the
end of the year.
The Government seldom punishes abuses by security force
members. Officials argue that publicly disclosing such abuses
involving security forces would hurt military and police morale
and thereby undermine their effectiveness. In a notable
exception, a military tribunal tried 10 soldiers and gendarmes,
including 2 officers, for the January 1992 summary execution of
5 Choa Arabs in Far North Province. In a decision handed down
by a Yaounde military tribunal on May 26, five of the accused,
including one officer, were found guilty. Two of the guilty
were sentenced to death. As of December 31, an appeal was
pending in the case.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of long-term disappearance. However,
police and gendarmes frequently failed to inform detainees'
family members or attorneys of their whereabouts. For example,
when police detained nearly 100 members of the opposition Union
of Cameroonian Democratic Forces (UFDC) party on March 31, they
did not inform family members who had to visit numerous
detention facilities before finding them. Similarly, when
police detained journalist and Union for Change administrative
secretary Francois Borgia Marie Evembe on August 19, they
notified neither his family nor his attorney. After nearly 2
days of searching, family members located him in a Yaounde
police cell.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Although the Penal Code proscribes torture, renders
inadmissible in court evidence obtained thereby, and prohibits
public servants from using force against any person, there were
many credible reports of security forces inflicting severe
beatings, systematic torture, and other inhuman treatment (see
Section l.a.). Sanctions against those responsible are rare,
although the Government maintains that they face administrative
punishments which are not made public.
The security forces follow a pattern of degrading mistreatment
of detainees, including stripping, confinement in severely
overcrowded cells, and denial of access to toilets or other
sanitation facilities. Police and gendarmes routinely beat
detainees to extract confessions and the names and whereabouts
of other alleged criminals. In particular, they often beat
them on the soles of their feet with an iron bar or whip them
with a reinforced rubber tube.
For example, security forces beat Social Democratic Front (SDF)
economic adviser Joseph Kwi and other opposition supporters in
this manner; they had been detained for participation in the
March and April peaceful protest demonstrations. Similarly,
security forces beat Victorin Hameni Bieleu, President of the
opposition UFDC party, who was detained March 31 to April 8
with approximately 100 of his supporters, on the soles of his
feet; he also suffered blows to the eye. While in custody,
security forces awakened Francois Borgia Marie Evembe during
the night and subjected him to lengthy interrogation, sometimes
lasting 6 or 7 hours (see Section l.b.).
In May Secretary of State for Internal Security Jean Fochive
issued a directive to all police officers stating that numerous
abuses of detainees had come to his attention and that future
incidents would result in disciplinary action--including
demotion of those responsible. In the directive, which Fochive
publicly acknowledged, he specifically cited whippings,
beatings on the soles of feet, and beatings administered as
detainees hung suspended from the ceiling (the so-called
balancoire) as unacceptable practices.
Nevertheless, released members of the opposition Union for
Change reported in November that they had been beaten on the
soles of their feet and then forced to stand or walk. In some
cases, police demanded money from the detainees, threatening
more severe threatment if they refused.
Prison conditions are life threatening, especially outside
major urban areas. An 18-year-old convicted thief died in the
Buea prison in July after suffering from acute malnutrition.
An August 8 newscast on government-controlled television
revealed serious deficiencies in food, health care, and
sanitation even in New Bell prison located in Douala,
Cameroon's largest city. Overcrowding is severe throughout the
penitentiary system. For example, Bamenda's central prison
houses more than three times the number of inmates for which it
was built. Some traditional rulers in northern Cameroon
maintain private prisons which operate outside the authority of
the government penitentiary system. Prisoners are sometimes
chained in their cells.
Conditions are worst at isolated Tchollire II prison, where
inadequate food and medical attention reportedly caused at
least 40 deaths between 1990 and 1992 among the inmates. The
authorities have refused requests by foreign diplomats to visit
the prison. The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC), which reopened its office in Cameroon in 1992,
suspended visits to prisons and detention centers following the
Government's refusal to permit ICRC representatives access to
some detainees. Women held in custody do not appear to be
targeted for rape or abuse by security or prison personnel.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Arbitrary, prolonged detention remained a serious problem. In
particular, the security forces failed to implement fully the
Penal Code requirement that detainees be brought before a
magistrate within established time frames, and have held
detainees incommunicado.
By law, a person detained in connection with a common crime may
be held in custody up to 24 hours before being charged. That
period may be renewed three times. However, the law only
provides for habeas corpus in the few majority-Anglophone areas
of the country; elsewhere, the Francophone legal tradition
applies, precluding judicial authorities from acting on a case
until the administrative authority that ordered the detention
turns the case over to the prosecutor. After a magistrate has
issued a warrant to bring the case to trial, the detainee may
be held in "pretrial detention" indefinitely pending court
action. Furthermore, a 1990 law permits detention without
charge for renewable periods of 15 days "in order to combat
banditry." Persons taken into detention are frequently denied
access to both legal counsel and family members. The law
permits release on bail only in the Anglophone provinces, where
the legal system includes some features of British common law.
Even there, bail is granted infrequently.
The Government repeatedly detained opposition activists on
political grounds, as in the cases of Francois Borgia Marie
Evembe, Joseph Kwi, and Victor Hameni Bieleu (see Sections 2.b.
and 2.c.). Other politically motivated detentions occurred on
August 28, when SDF Northwest Province coordinator Joseph
Akonteh was held for 2 days on the eve of an opposition-led
general strike, and on September 8, when Littoral Province
coordinator Leolin Nja Kwa was taken into custody for 3 days.
Both men were released without charge after their detention.
Neither was physically harmed during these incidents. In
October the police detained the spouse and children of
opposition figure Jean Michel Nintcheu. The wife and three
children under 10 years of age were detained for approximately
10 days without charges.
The most serious instance of arbitrary detention was the arrest
in November of approximately 100 persons in connection with the
opposition coalition, the Union for Change. The detainees were
questioned about their affiliation with the Union for Change
and their intentions to attend a press conference given by John
Fru Ndi, the leader of the main opposition party, the SDF. All
detainees were released without charge within 48 hours of their
arrest. Nearly all rank and file Union for Change supporters
were beaten at the time of arrest, and most suffered beatings
and extortion of money at the hands of police during their
detention. Senior Union for Change officials were generally
not mistreated while in custody.
The Government does not practice political exile. However,
some opposition members who considered themselves threatened by
the Government have voluntarily left the country and declared
themselves to be in political exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Cameroonian court system is subordinate to the Ministry of
Justice; it is part of the executive, not a separate or
independent branch of government.
Magistrates in Cameroon are career civil servants responsible
to the Minister of Justice, and thus are subject, particularly
in political cases, to government direction. For example, one
widely publicized corporate control dispute between a European
investor and a Cameroonian with close ties to the ruling party
was decided on questionable grounds in favor of the ruling
party supporter. Some politically sensitive cases are never
heard. For example, it took nearly a year before the Chief
Justice informed SDF lawyers that he had declined to hear their
October 1992 appeal for an injunction against the presidential
swearing-in, pending Supreme Court review of electoral
irregularities.
Magistrates acknowledge that rendering a decision that
displeases the Government may result in transfer to a less
desirable position. However, decisions in nonpolitical cases
are usually not subject to government interference. Trials are
public. A 1990 law established a State Security Court to try
"crimes against the internal and external security of the
state." Persons detained during the 1992 state of emergency
were arraigned by State Security Court prosecutors but were not
formally charged with a crime.
If a defendant is indigent, the presiding judge in the case
will designate an attorney from among the members of the bar in
the court district. However, because appointed attorneys
receive little compensation, the quality of such legal
representation is often poor. The Bar Association and some
voluntary organizations, such as the Cameroonian Association of
Female Jurists, offer pro bono legal assistance in some cases.
Traditional courts continue to play an important role,
particularly in rural areas. Their authority varies by region
and ethnic group, but they are often the arbiters of property
and domestic disputes and may serve a probate function as
well. Most traditional courts permit appeal of decisions to
traditional authorities of higher rank.
There were no known political prisoners, as distinct from
political detainees, at year's end. However, political
prisoners released under the 1991 Amnesty Decree complained
that the Government had not implemented provisions mandating
that former military officers and public servants be reinstated
to positions they held prior to their incarceration.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
While both invasions of the home and tampering with
correspondence are violations of Cameroonian law, there were
reports of police and gendarmes harassing citizens and
conducting searches without warrants. This practice was
particularly widespread in Southwest Province, where security
forces entered private homes and businesses to enforce payment
of taxes and customs duties. Gendarmes destroyed goods,
alleged to have been smuggled, without permitting due process
of law for those accused of import violations. In one
instance, gendarmes participating in an anticontraband drive
set fire to a small cargo vessel belonging to a Nigerian trader
in Limbe, Southwest Province, when he refused to pay a bribe.
There were credible reports that the Government kept some
opposition activists and dissidents under surveillance.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Although the 1972 Constitution provides for freedom of
expression and press, Cameroonian law and practice have long
restricted these liberties. In late 1990, a new law
established more liberal regulations to begin publication of
newspapers and magazines. That same law, however, formally
enshrined prepublication censorship and granted the Ministry of
Territorial Administration the authority to suspend or revoke
the right to publish. The law also provided for licensing of
private radio and television stations, but, as of the end of
December, no licenses had been granted, and the Government
retained complete control of the electronic media. Public
servants employed by the official media face retribution for
openly criticizing the Government, as in the case of numerous
Cameroon radio-television journalists who have been transferred
to less desirable assignments for such remarks.
The Government publishes an official newspaper--the Cameroon
Tribune--and determines the content of radio and television
broadcasts. Nevertheless, government reporters sometimes run
stories which implicitly criticize the ruling party or portray
government programs in an unfavorable light. The government-
controlled broadcast media, although funded by all taxpayers,
provide disproportionately high levels of coverage to the CPDM
functions, while giving little air time to opposition events.
Parties represented in the National Assembly, however, were
given access to television and radio time during scheduled
"expression directe" political broadcasts.
Some 70 private newspapers are published, about one-quarter
weekly and the others at irregular intervals. These newspapers
circulate widely and are often outspoken in their criticism of
the Government and the President. Starting in mid-1993, there
were fewer cases of censorship of individual articles. Rather,
issues containing articles critical of the Government and its
supporters were subject to seizure or to restrictions on
distribution.
The Government used its licensing authority to suspend nine
private newspapers in November 1992. Although the papers
continued to circulate clandestinely until the suspension order
was lifted in May, the order imposed a severe economic hardship
on these nine newspapers and had a chilling effect on the
fledgling private press. After the suspension was lifted, the
police seized several newspapers for publishing stories that
embarrassed the Government. For example, police removed from
newstands the June 22 and July 20 editions of La Nouvelle
Expression, which reported a scandal involving construction of
a presidential golf course, and the September 27 issue of Le
Nouvel Independant, which implicated a confidant of the
President in a 1988 murder.
In other intimidating techniques, the Government stationed
security forces throughout the spring outside Rotoprint, the
Douala firm which prints most private papers. It detained
journalist Francois Borgia Marie Evembe for a total of nearly
10 days in connection with two articles he wrote for Le
Messager which criticized the President (see Sections l.b. and
1.c.). It tried Le Messager publisher Pius Njawe, Challenge
Nouveau publisher Benjamin Zebaze, and Challenge journalist
Martin Waffo for their April publication of a purported letter
from the Minister of Justice to the Prime Minister suggesting
charges against opposition leader John Fru Ndi and others for
"insurrection, murder, spreading of false information, and
incitement to revolt" in the aftermath of the 1992 presidential
election. The court gave Njawe a 6-month suspended sentence,
and Zebaze and Waffo received 5-month prison terms; however, at
year's end, all three men were free while their sentences
remain under appeal.
In a highly publicized libel case, the owner of a fish import
company sued La Nouvelle Expression editor Severin Tchounkeu
and staff writer David Nouwou in Douala court, alleging he had
been falsely accused of involvement in a customs fraud
scandal. Although the journalists offered documentary proof
for their story, the court found them guilty, and on April 4
the judge imposed an unusually stiff sentence of 6 months in
prison--the first time since independence that a journalist
served time for libel. The two journalists spent 6 weeks in
prison before the judge's ruling was overturned on appeal.
There is credible evidence to suggest that Government
displeasure at the journalists' implication of the Customs
Minister in the scandal contributed significantly to the harsh
sentences the court handed down.
There are no legal restrictions on academic freedom, though it
is generally believed that there are state security informants
on university campuses. Some university professors believe
that their political viewpoints and activism have had a
negative impact on professional opportunities and advancement.
Free political discussion at the university is dampened by the
presence of armed security forces, as well as sometimes
strident pro-opposition groups.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of assembly and association are provided for in law but
restricted in practice. The Penal Code prohibits public
meetings, demonstrations, or processions without prior
government approval. The 1990 Law on Freedom of Association
established that Cameroonians may freely form associations
simply by notifying the responsible administrative authority
according to a set procedure. Some 90 political parties
operated legally, along with a growing number of civic
associations.
While political parties and civic associations were generally
permitted to hold public assemblies, the Government at times
harassed opposition groups by denying them access to meeting
facilities or refusing their permits on technicalities. For
example, in April the All Anglophone Conference was at the last
minute denied permission to use the conference hall at the
University of Buea. In August the governor of Southwest
Province issued a communique forbidding the Cameroon Anglophone
Movement from holding a meeting. Some opposition leaders, such
as Ndeh Ntumazah and Garga Haman Adji, were unable to hold
scheduled press conferences when they were denied
authorization. In September security forces disrupted a
meeting of the newly formed Liberal Democratic Alliance (LDA)
in Buea, using tear gas to disperse supporters gathered outside
LDA chairman Njoh Litumbe's home.
In November, government security forces blocked two separate
Yaounde press conferences of opposition leaders John Fru Ndi
and Garga Haman Adji. On November 3, Fru Ndi was denied access
to the privately owned headquarters of the opposition UFDC,
where he had intended to hold a press conference. Minutes
later, the vehicle in which Fru Ndi was riding was rammed and
sprayed with high pressure water by a mobile government water
cannon. Fru Ndi suffered minor lacerations during the
confrontation and sought refuge in the residence of a
diplomat. In the case of Garga, on November 18, Yaounde police
first prohibited a conference in the Yaounde Hilton and then
prevented Garga from receiving journalists in his private
residence.
On December 1, security officials forcibly broke up and
dispersed a press conference of the Cameroonian National Trade
Union, which was calling for a general strike to protest public
sector salary cuts.
In some cases, opposition parties deliberately flouted the
requirement to obtain permission for public meetings or protest
marches. For example, in Northwest Province, the Social
Democratic Front refused to apply for permits to hold
demonstrations in March and April, despite pleas by the
provincial governor that they do so.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is provided for in the Constitution, and
there is no established state religion. There are no
restrictions on places of worship, the training of clergy,
religious education, religious travel--such as the hajj--or
participation in charitable activities.
A religious group must be approved and registered with the
Ministry of Territorial Administration in order to function
legally. A presidential decree in February granted legal
status to Jehovah's Witnesses, banned from 1970 until 1990.
There were no reports of government harassment of Jehovah's
Witnesses. Although properties confiscated in 1970 have not
been returned, the Witnesses are free to build new kingdom
halls.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Freedom of movement within the country is not restricted by
law. Police frequently stop travelers to check identification
documents, vehicle registrations, and tax receipts as a
security and immigration control measure. During a gendarmerie
and police campaign to stop contraband smuggled from Nigeria,
the checks became pervasive and occasionally oppresive in
Southwest Province. Personnel manning these roadblocks
frequently solicited bribes to speed passage.
During antigovernment protests, opposition supporters sometimes
erected roadblocks. For example, during the August Anglophone
"Solidarity Day" general strike some strike supporters in
Southwest Province used barricades to enforce the work
stoppage. Roadblocks were erected by Union for Change
supporters in Bamenda during demonstrations in March and April,
and again in August to protest the detention of Northwest
Province coordinator Joseph Akonteh. Opposition supporters
also inhibited movement in Douala during the general strike
called for August 30 and 31.
The Government has sometimes used its passport control function
against those it considers real or potential threats. For
example, the Government has refused for more than 2 years to
issue a passport to UFDC president Victor Hameni Bieleu.
Although government officials claim that the problem stems from
legal charges pending against Hameni Bieleu since the 1992
state of emergency, the denial of his passport predates these
charges.
Cameroon has long served as a safe haven for displaced persons
and refugees from the region. As of December 31, the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees in Cameroon was providing assistance
to more than 2,000 refugees, primarily from Chad, but also from
Liberia, Zaire, and Sudan. However, estimates of the total
number of refugees, mostly spontaneously settled Chadians,
range from 8,000 to 50,000. Although Cameroon occasionally
returns illegal Chadian immigrants, there were no reports of
forced repatriation of recognized refugees.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Cameroon continues to be governed by the President and a small
circle of advisers, many drawn from his own ethnic group, who
came to power during a period of single-party authoritarian
rule. His party controls the National Assembly, and he has the
power to dissolve the Assembly and call new elections at any
time; to return bills for a second reading, requiring that they
be passed by a majority of the full Assembly; and to govern by
decree during the 10 months each year when the Assembly is not
in session. With a working parliamentary majority, the ruling
party, the CPDM, and its coalition partners also set the
legislative agenda, preventing many opposition initiatives from
coming to a vote.
The governing parliamentary coalition consists of the CPDM, the
former single party; the MDR, a small, northern-based party
allied with the CPDM since April 1992; and the legalized wing
of the splintered leftist party, the UPC. The only
parliamentary party not formally allied with the CPDM is the
UNDP. The CPDM and several small parties campaigned in the
1992 presidential election under the banner of the
"Presidential Majority." While this entity is not known to
have had any official standing as such, it was given extensive
coverage in the official press as a coalition of parties which
had ralled to President Biya.
Opposed to the Presidential Majority was the Union for Change
coalition of parties supporting the chairman of the SDF Party,
Ni John Fru Ndi, and his call for a limited, 2-year
presidential mandate to implement democratic reforms and to
convene a national conference. The Union for Change does not
have any official status as a political organization, although
its constituent parties are legally recognized. The SDF is the
largest party within the Union for Change but has its own
structures and policies. The Union for Change has continued to
operate as an opposition political organization since the
October 1992 presidential election.
Based on the results of the October 1992 presidential
elections, the two largest parties not to be formally allied
with either the Union for Change or the CPDM-led coalition are
the UNDP, headed by Bello Bouba Maigari, and the CDU, headed by
Adamou Ndam Njoya.
Although multiparty elections were held in 1992, the flawed
presidential race represented a step backward in Cameroon's
democratization process. The widespread electoral
irregularities attributed principally by international
observers to the Government undermined public confidence in
President Biya's professed commitment to political reforms.
There were also irregularities during the annual voter
registration period, which resulted in a sharp decrease in
registered voters nationwide. According to estimates made
public by Minister of Territorial Administration Gilbert Andze
Tsoungui, the number of registered voters fell by 20 percent.
MINAT ascribed the decrease to the removal of fictitious or
underage persons from the rolls.
Political reform efforts focused on revising Cameroon's 1972
Constitution, which dates from the one-party era. However, the
constitutional reform process has been tightly controlled by
the Presidency and has permitted minimal public or opposition
participation. A multiparty commission established in 1991 to
draft a new basic law was adjourned in February 1992 prior to
completing its mission. In May, however, the Government
unilaterally released a draft which it claimed to be the work
of the multiparty commission. The May draft retains a
centralized presidential system, in which human rights
guarantees may be superseded by subsequent legislation. In the
next phase of the constitutional reform process, the President
promised to appoint a constitutional consultative committee,
including opposition delegates, to review the work of the
technical committee of lawyers and academics and prepare a
"quasi-final draft." The President will decide on the final
version to be submitted for ratification by either the National
Assembly or a popular referendum. As of year's end, the
Government had taken no further steps to advance the
constitutional reform process but maintained that there will be
a new Constitution in 1994, as well as municipal elections.
Members of the President's ethnic group, the Beti, wield a
disproportionate share of political power, particularly in key
economic and security portfolios.
Women serve in prominent positions in the executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of the Government, but are
underrepresented among the senior leadership. Only 2 women sit
in the 44-member Cabinet, and 1 woman sits on the 14-member
Supreme Court. There are 17 women in the 180-seat National
Assembly.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Domestic and international human rights monitoring groups were
permitted to operate in Cameroon, but their effectiveness was
impeded by the Government.
Numerous nongovernmental civic associations included the
National League for Human Rights, the Organization for Human
Rights and Freedoms, the Association of Women Against Violence,
the Cameroonian Association of Female Jurists, the Cameroonian
Association for Children's Rights, and the Human Rights Clinic
and Education Center. Financial hardships, inexperience, and
occasional fear of government reprisals discouraged these
nongovernmental civic associations from publicly criticizing
the Government's human rights record. For the most part,
therefore, these groups sought primarily to heighten awareness
of human rights issues rather than investigate specific alleged
violations. In order to accomplish this, they distributed
informational publications and held awareness clinics and
meetings. One group, the Cameroonian Association of Female
Jurists, made public announcements of its activities on radio
and television programs.
The presidentially appointed National Commission for Human
Rights and Freedoms, occasionally critical of the Government,
was refused access to political detainees and was unable to
conduct investigations due to lack of funding by the Prime
Minister's office. It also failed to report publicly on its
investigations into allegations of human rights abuses.
Members of the International Federation of Editors and
Journalists were unable to investigate reported harassment of
the independent press, when they were twice denied visas to
Cameroon and, as noted in Section 1.c., the ICRC suspended
visits to prisoners and detainees because of Government
restrictions.
While government officials often make public statements giving
their version of alleged human rights abuses, they generally do
not respond publicly to specific charges of wrongdoing made by
domestic or international monitors.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The preamble to the 1972 Constitution prohibits discrimination
based on sex, enshrines freedom of religion, and mandates that
"everyone has equal rights and obligations." However,
discrimination based on race, language, religion, or social
status is not explicitly forbidden. Both English and French
are official languages in Cameroon.
Women
Despite constitutional provisions, women remain subservient to
men. Polygyny is permitted by law and tradition, but polyandry
is not. The extent to which a woman may inherit from her
husband is normally governed by traditional law in the absence
of a will, and customs vary from group to group. In many
traditional societies, custom grants greater authority and
benefits to male than to female heirs. In cases of divorce,
the husband's wishes determine custody of children over the age
of 6. A married woman may not legally obtain contraceptives or
be sterilized without her husband's consent. While a man may
be convicted of adultery only if the sexual act takes place in
his home, a female may be convicted irrespective of venue.
Women's rights advocates report that violence against women has
surged in recent years, and that the law does not impose
effective penalties against violators. Wife beating is not a
legal ground for divorce. In cases of sexual assault, a
victim's family or village often imposes direct, summary
punishment upon the suspected perpetrator through means ranging
from destruction of property to lynching. While there are no
reliable statistics on violence against women, the number of
newspaper reports indicate the frequency is high. In September
a senior Ministry of Health official publicly estimated that a
high percentage of emergency room admissions nationwide were
cases of spousal abuse.
Children
The Constitution guarantees a child's right to education, and
schooling is mandatory through age 14. Babies and small
children are sometimes held in prison if their mothers are
incarcerated. Child marriages are not common, although young
girls often wed in their midteens, especially in rural areas.
The Cameroonian Association for Children's Rights is concerned
with a wide range of children's rights issues, including child
incarceration and child marriages.
Female genital mutilation (circumcision), which has been
condemned by international health experts as dangerous to both
physical and psychological health, is usually practiced on
girls at an early age. It includes the most severe form of the
abuse, infibulation, and continues to be practiced in some
areas of the Far North and Southwest Provinces.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
There are frequent and credible allegations of discrimination
among Cameroon's more than 200 ethnic groups. Ethnic
favoritism is a factor in both private and public sector
employment. The Bamileke, the country's largest single ethnic
group (with at least 20 percent of the population), believe
they have been systematically denied political power
commensurate with their numbers and economic importance.
Opposition newspapers frequently attacked the Beti, while those
close to the Government criticized the Bamileke and Anglophone
groups.
Outbreaks of ethnic violence occurred between the Kotoko and
Choa Arab communities in Far North Province, between Mbo and
Bamileke residents in West Province, and in Bui Division
Northwest Province.
An important ethnic, political division falls along linguistic
lines. The Anglophone minority (20 percent) often charges that
the Francophone majority does not share real power and that the
Government provides fewer economic benefits to English-speaking
regions. In April the All-Anglophone Conference enumerated a
long list of Anglophone grievances and called for a two-state
federal system, divided into French-speaking and
English-speaking states, to protect their minority language
rights. The heavy police and gendarmerie presence in
English-speaking Southwest Province, ostensibly to stop the
flow of Nigerian contraband (see Section l.f.), contributed to
Anglophone resentment.
People with Disabilities
The Constitution does not protect the disabled. Lack of
facilities and care is particularly acute for the mentally
handicapped. Although Cameroonian society is generally
tolerant of physical disabilities, which are commonplace, the
Government has not mandated accessibility for the disabled.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
A new Labor Code passed in 1992 allows workers to form and join
trade unions of their own choosing. Under the new rules,
groups of at least 20 workers may organize a union but must
then register with the Ministry of Labor. Provisions of the
Labor Code do not apply to civil servants, employees of the
penitentiary system, or workers responsible for national
security. At year's end, some but not all of the implementing
decrees had been issued for the new Code.
Ministry officials explained that they had received
applications to create national confederations but that these
could not be authorized before local unions and regional or
sectoral federations were formed. The Federation of National
Educators (SYNES) applied in 1991 for legal status as a public
service association, since government workers are not permitted
to form trade unions. The Ministry of Public Service had not
accorded legal status to SYNES by year's end. In response to a
complaint filed by SYNES, the ILO Committee on Freedom of
Association criticized the Government for delays in registering
the new union and for failure to respond to charges that its
members were subject to harassment.
The new Labor Code explicitly recognizes workers' right to
strike but only after mandatory arbitration. As the continuing
economic contraction caused the Government and state-owned
enterprise sector to fall behind in salary payments in 1993,
numerous wildcat strikes occurred. Workers at both the
Cameroonian Press Corporation (SOPECAM), which publishes the
government daily Cameroon Tribune, as well as the Cameroonian
Transport Corporation walked off the job on separate occasions
during the year, demanding payment of salary arrears. One
SOPECAM strike lasted more than 6 weeks; the others were of
shorter duration. Employees returned to work after management
agreed to make partial payment. Other workers staged sit-ins
or temporary work stoppages during the year at Yaounde's
Congress Hall (where arrears totaled 11 months) and the Bamenda
provincial hospital. The new Labor Code provides for the
protection of legal strikers and prohibits retribution against
them provided that they follow the labor arbitration procedures
outlined in the Code.
The only labor confederation in Cameroon is the Confederation
of Cameroonian Trade Unions (CSTC), formerly affiliated with
the ruling CPDM party under the name Organization of
Cameroonian Trade Unions. The CSTC formally declared its
political independence in 1992, and secretary general Louis
Sombes publicly criticized the Government during 1993.
However, since no other labor organizations have been
legalized, the CSTC is still widely regarded as a
quasi-official labor confederation, even by many of its own
members. There are no known individual unions entirely
independent of government and political party controls. The
only new union registered by the Ministry of Labor in 1993, the
Union of Contract Employees and State Agents (SYNCAE), is an
affiliate of the CSTC.
The CSTC is a member of the Organization of African Trade Union
Unity and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The 1992 Labor Code provides for collective bargaining between
workers and management in local work places, as well as between
labor federations and business associations in each sector of
the economy. As of December 31, sectoral collective bargaining
negotiations had not been undertaken, although the Government
instructed individual state-owned enterprises to negotiate
salary reductions with workers. Prior to passage of the new
Code, the Government collaborated with the CSTC and employers
to set wages through a complicated formula that took into
account the sector and region of employment and the worker's
education level.
The Labor Code prohibits antiunion discrimination, and
employers guilty of such discrimination are subject to fines
ranging up to the equivalent of $3,500 (1 million CFA).
However, employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination do
not have to reinstate the workers who have been discriminated
against. The Ministry of Labor reported no complaints of such
discrimination in 1993.
In November the CSTC disputed the legality of wage cuts in
public and public corporation sectors and called for a general
strike. Although there was no labor union organized to
represent civil servants as a whole, the first efforts to form
a public sector union were made in November.
Eight firms have obtained approval to operate under Cameroon's
industrial free zone regime, and four had begun operations by
the end of the year. Free zone employers are exempt from some
provisions of the Labor Code but must respect all
internationally recognized worker rights.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by the new Labor Code,
although it specifically excludes "any work or service
extracted from any person as a consequence of a conviction in a
court or law" and "work or service in the general interest,
forming part of the civic obligation of citizens." In 1993
Cameroonian prisons continued to allow inmates to be contracted
out to private employers or used as communal labor for
municipal public works. There are credible reports that
slavery continues to be practiced in the Lamidat of Rey Bouba,
an isolated traditional kingdom in North Province.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The Labor Code establishes that no child be employed before the
age of 14. Ministry of Labor inspectors are responsible for
enforcing the minimum age of employment but lack resources for
an effective inspection program. In rural areas many children
begin work at an early age on family farms. Some rural youths,
especially girls, are often employed by relatives as
domestics. Street vendors in the cities are sometimes under 14.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Under the 1992 Labor Code, the Ministry of Labor is responsible
for setting a single minimum wage applicable nationwide in all
sectors of the economy. As of the end of the year, the minimum
wage had not been set. A decree establishing the monthly
minimum wage at approximately $80 (25,000 CFA) had been
submitted to the Prime Minister for approval but had not been
signed by year's end. The Labor Code establishes a standard
workweek of 40 hours in public and private nonagricultural
firms, and 48 hours in agricultural and related activities.
The Code makes compulsory at least 24 consecutive hours of
weekly rest. The Government sets health and safety standards,
and the Ministry of Labor inspectors and occupational health
doctors are responsible for monitoring these standards.
However, they lack the resources for a comprehensive
inspection program. (###)
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