Human Rights Day: CHRDA report on Cameroon Anglophone Crisis alleges crimes against humanity committed !

CHRDA  celebrated this year's HR day with the launch of a report on the  Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon

By Christopher Ambe

A report, which alleges  crimes against humanity have been committed in Cameroon since the eruption of the Anglophone crisis in 2016 ,has been made public and copies shared to lawyers,CSO’s ,diplomats,journalists among others who turned up , Tuesday  December 10,at the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa(CHRDA) Buea,to witness celebrations marking  this year’s International  Human Rights Day.

The report, titled “ Cameroon’s Unfolding Catastrophe :Evidence of Human Rights Violations and Crimes against humanity” was launched by Barrister Felix Agbor Nkongho,CEO of CHRDA,in the presence of prominent Cameroonian  Human rights lawyers such as Ndoki Michelle and Enow Benjamin, president of Fako Lawyers(FAKLA),who is also representative of the Bar Council in the Southwest region.

Over 2000 people have reportedly died since the Anglophone crisis started three years ago, with property destroyed amounting to billions of Fcfa;over half a million are internally displaced and over 30 thousand people are seeking asylum in neighbouring Nigeria.

The report,co-authored by CHRDA and Raoul Wallenberng  Centre for Human rights(RWHRC)  focuses on events from October 2016 to May 2019.

The report was first launched in Montreo,Canada on June 4,2019 and is available at www.chrda.org.

The reprinting of the report for local launching was done with funds from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).

The CEO of CHRDA told reporters at the launch that,from the legal perspective and based on investigation “everybody agrees that crimes against humanity have been committed during the Anglophone crisis;we identified these crimes against humanity. We looked at torture, murder,extra-judicial killings, terrorizing civilian population, the burning down of  206 villages as at May 2019;we analyzed the law and the conclusion was that crimes against humanity have been committed !”

He said the report focuses more on crimes committed by state actors and less on crimes committed by non-state actors, noting that the state has a duty to protect human rights of citizens and prevent crimes. He said CHRDA felt that great need to document the atrocities for posterity.

“The whole issue of accountability and impunity thrives in an environment where people fail to document”, Barrister Nkongho said, noting that “we cannot be at the center of the crisis and fail to document it”. 

The rights campaigner strongly urged local CSO’s to consider documenting important events, and not only rely on foreign NGOs reporting on the crisis situation in Cameroon. 

Barrister Nkongho equally implored international rights watchdog groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and International Crisis Group to consider supporting, variously, local CSO’s for them to better be at the service of society.

The launch of the report was preceded by a panel discussion on human rights issues, moderated by the CEO of CHRDA himself, with Barristers Enow Benjamin and Ndoki Michelle, as well Edith Nguedia and Tonga Benjamin, both human rights defenders as panelists.

The panelists discussed on themes such as: “Human Rights of Women in conflict with the law” ( Barrister Ndoki Michelle); “Youths Standing up for Human Rights” ( Tonga Benjamin); “The role of the courts in the promotion of the rights of the vulnerable groups in conflict with the law”( Barrister Enow Benjamin) .Edith Nguedia talked on “The challenges in promoting Human Rights” 

While speaking on the role of the courts in the dispensation of justice, Barrister Enow Benjamin said it was mandatory for the courts to ensure that due process is always followed.

But the President of Fako lawyers  regretted that “ our judiciary is really not independent”, noting that the manner of recruitment of judges rather makes it  almost impossible for some judges   to apply the law guided by their conscience, as publicly expected. “It is unfortunate that some judges [seem] to take instructions from hierarchy on how to pass their judgments, he alleged.

Barrister Enow said lawyers would continue   advocating for the total application of the law (as it is) and the respect of Human Rights of all citizens.

Barrister Ndoki Michelle narrated how she was illegally arrested and detained in Douala and later Yaoundé, noting that the major challenge lawyers face in Cameroon is the non-application of the law by some judges and prosecutors. “Cameroon needs people who can rightly and timely apply the law”, she emphasized.

The event was also an opportunity for many to know more about CHRDA, which is based in Boduma-Buea.

CHRDA goals includes: enhancing the promotion and respect for Human rights and the rule of law; promoting democracy and good governance; working with stakeholders to improve human rights situation, and  providing legal assistance to victims of human rights violations at national and international forums.