April 2020 - Southern Cameroon Updates
By: EDITIMFON IKPAT, JUNIOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATE, PILPG-NL
THIS POST COLLECTS UPDATES FROM THE PAST MONTH CONCERNING RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTHERN CAMEROON. THE INFORMATION IS DRAWN FROM LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ONLINE SOURCES.
Ngarbuh Massacre Investigation Commission: Report Released
Following the massacre that took place in Ngarbuh village, Donga Mantung in the North West region of Cameroon on February 14, 2020, a Commission was created to “investigate the killings and provide a report within ”. On April 21, 2020, the report by the investigation commission was published in which the Cameroonian government acknowledged the responsibility of the Cameroonian army in the massacre of civilians. According to the report, victims “will be compensated” while soldiers who committed the act “will be prosecuted”.
The Human Rights Watch has recognized the publication of the report and the established responsibility of the Cameroonian army as “an important step towards justice”. Likewise, Herman J. Cohen, former US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, has pegged this step as a sign of “elements of peace starting to come together in Cameroon”. While also recognizing the positive step undertaken by the Cameroonian government, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights – Michelle Bachelet – has called for a fair and transparent judicial process in establishing the accountability of the alleged perpetrators.
Election: Ruling party wins thirteen seats in the Anglophone region
The ruling party – Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People – won the thirteen available deputy seats of the partial elections held on March 22, 2020, in the eleven electoral districts of the English-speaking regions of North – West and the South-West. The victory follows the rejected petition for a partial cancellation of the elections, brought before the Constitutional Council by the opposition party – Social Democratic Front – on March 26, 2020. The petition was based on the grounds that some of the polling stations were moved by the elections management body without the knowledge of the voters.
COVID-19: Humanitarian Intervention
With the closing of the borders by the Cameroonian government as a measure to curtail the spreads of coronavirus within its territory, Human Rights Watch (HRW) is concerned about the crisis in the English-speaking regions and Far North province of the state HRW considers that a more general humanitarian response is essential to save lives within these conflict regions. Consequently, HRW has appealed to the Cameroonian government to aid in facilitating access to these conflict regions for humanitarian organizations by re-authorizing them. The Médecins Sans Frontières has called on the Cameroonian government to aid in the humanitarian situations in the Far North, North West, and South West regions in the light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As these regions are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.