Civil Liberties

Freedom of Expression and Belief

Independent and investigative journalists continue to face serious pressure including risk of attack or detention. In March 2022, journalist Paul Chouta, known as a strong critic of the government, was kidnapped by unidentified assailants who assaulted him and left him with severe injuries to his face and ear.

The National Communication Council (CNC), a media regulatory body, has a history of harassing journalists. Throughout 2022, several journalists received sanctions including temporary suspensions ordered by the president of the CNC. State-run Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) has been criticized for favoring the CPDM in its coverage. The government continued to suppress media coverage of the Anglophone crisis in 2022.

Religious freedom is somewhat restricted in northern areas affected by the presence of the Boko Haram extremist group, which has carried out violent attacks against places of worship. In addition, random attacks against believers and religious facilities in connection with the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are common.

Academic freedom continues to be severely impacted by the crisis in the Anglophone regions, with separatists enforcing a boycott of schools and carrying out acts of violence against teachers and students.

Public criticism of the government and membership in opposition parties can have negative consequences on professional and career advancement. In general, Cameroonians avoid discussing sensitive political issues for fear of reprisals.

Associational and Organizational Rights

Freedom of assembly is subject to significant restrictions. Authorities continued to ban and violently disperse events perceived as antigovernment in 2022, especially those initiated by the opposition CRM.

Anglophone activists have faced harassment, violence, and arrest for their activities. LGBT+ organizations have also been targeted by law enforcement.

The government has restricted the work of international NGOs, denying them access to the country. This includes even medical operations such as Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which was forced to withdraw from the Northwest Region in August 2021. In 2022, the Ministry of Defense issued a press release on “false allegations” of a report published by Human Rights Watch that August. The report provided evidence of the execution of civilians, looting, arbitrary detention, and other severe abuses committed by security forces between April and June 2022 in the Northwest Region.

Trade unions and collective bargaining are legally permitted, although unions are still subject to numerous restrictions when exercising their rights.

In March 2022, a general strike of high school teachers to call for improved working conditions was heavily restricted by the police.

Rule of Law

The judiciary is subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, and corruption and political influence weakens the courts. The president appoints judges and can dismiss them at will. Prosecutors have been pressured to stop pursuing corruption cases against certain high-profile officials.

Due process rights are poorly upheld. Lengthy pretrial detentions are commonplace. Civilians accused of terrorism are frequently not afforded the right to a fair trial. French legal norms are regularly imposed upon Cameroonians in Anglophone regions. Acts of violence against lawyers continue to be reported. The government has also invoked charges of terrorism and insurrection against opposition leaders and separatist supporters, and they are often detained in the absence of due process and without realistic avenues for challenging their detention.

In 2022, active conflicts involving both Boko Haram and Anglophone separatists continued to threaten the security of millions of people and have forced large numbers of people to flee their homes. As of December 2022, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that there were over 600,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Northwest and Southwest Regions. Likewise, the Far North Region crisis has internally displaced some 385,000 people as of December 2022.

Prison conditions are harsh, marked by extreme overcrowding and poor sanitation. Inmates often face a lack of access to food, water, and medical care. Police brutality remains a problem, including the abuse and torture of detainees.

Discrimination against LGBT+ individuals is rife, and violence against them is common. The penal code forbids same-sex relations; those convicted face prison sentences as long as five years. A cybercrime law punishes those who solicit same-sex relations online with two-year prison sentences. People are frequently prosecuted under draconian anti-LGBT+ laws on suspicion that they are gay.

Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 

Free movement is severely limited in parts of the Far North Region due to Boko Haram activity, and in the two Anglophone regions due to the ongoing crisis. The latter has exacted a heavy toll on children, many of whom have been deprived of their right to education. Thousands of schools have closed, and attacks and kidnappings of students and teachers were frequent throughout 2022. In April, separatists launched an attack at the University of Bamenda’s campus in Bambili, in the Northwest Region, injuring at least five people.

Harassment of small business owners by state agents is common. Agribusinesses and logging operations are often carried out without consulting local inhabitants. In many regions, women are still dispossessed of their inheritance rights.

Powerful individuals have effectively evicted people from their homes as part of large land purchases. These properties typically have dubious land titles, often granted with the complicity of administrative authorities.

The Boko Haram conflict has exacerbated the already prevalent practice of child marriage and the sexual abuse of minors in the Far North Region.

Cameroon remains a source, transit, and destination country for forced labor and sex trafficking of children, as well as a source country for women who are subject to forced labor and prostitution in Europe. Child labor remains common, and child workers are frequently exposed to hazardous working conditions.

Women and children, who make up 60 percent of IDPs, have been the most affected by internal displacement driven by the Anglophone crisis and have been exposed to sexual violence and lack access to job opportunities and education.