Theme.- For a World where Refugees are Welcomed
The Commission is pleased that Olivier Guillaume Beer,
UNHCR Resident Representative in Cameroon, has expressed his satisfaction as
follows: “Cameroon is a model in Central Africa [in terms of respect for
refugee rights] because it respects the international conventions that enshrine
the principle of non-refoulement of refugees [and because] the regulations in
force in Cameroon [are] favourable to the development of refugees, [which] is
not always the case in other countries”.
The Commission commends the adoption, on 20 October
2023 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, of the Guidelines
on the Human Rights of all Migrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers.
The Commission also commends the support of the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID/BHA) with $26 million in
funding for 2023 financial year, or 15,882,071,400 CFAF, as part of life-saving
emergency food and nutrition assistance to more than 563,000 people, including
internally displaced persons, refugees, and host communities in the Adamawa,
East, Far North, North-West, and South-West Regions.
Noting that according to Cameroon Situation Report as
of 31 December 2023, only 33 per cent of the refugee population received
healthcare in 2023. In light of acute malnutrition cases among refugee children
under five, pregnant women and lactating mothers, it is estimated that the
financing essential to address the health difficulties of refugee people in
2024 amounts to 2,398,819 dollars, or 1,468,324,066 CFA francs.
The Commission, however is still concerned about
substantiated cases of violations of the rights of refugees that have been
brought to its attention. For instance, the case of the arbitrary arrest of Mr
Orji Emmanuel Ghigozie, a Nigerian refugee, and his unlawful detention from 2
to 4 October 2023 by members of the Ékounou Gendarmerie Brigade, followed by
his transfer to the Legal Department of the Ékounou Court of First Instance
(CFI), on 4 October 2024. The situation was brought to the attention of the CHRC
by the person concerned. He reported his ill-treatment during his arrest and
police detention, orchestrated by his landlord, who accused him of renting
fraud. The CHRC carried out two fact-finding missions to the Gendarmerie Post
at the Central Post Office in Yaoundé, where it drew the attention of the
gendarmerie officers who had lodged the complaint against the victim for
failure to comply with the rule of law, in this case, Section 322-1 of the
Criminal Code on renting fraud. The CHRC then referred the matter to the State
Counsel at the Ékounou Court of First Instance, who, after a thorough
examination of the case, released the victim from custody.
The Commission
regrets to note the lack of operationalisation of refugee status management
bodies in Cameroon, particularly the Refugee Status Eligibility Commission and
the Refugee Appeals Commission.
The Commission recommends to the Ministry of External
Relations, to finalise the two tripartite agreements signed on 2 March 2017
between Cameroon, Nigeria and the UNHCR, on the one hand and between Cameroon,
Chad and the UNHCR, on the other, to ensure the effective return of Cameroonian
refugees in these two countries as well as the voluntary return of Nigerian and
Chadian refugees to their home countries.
The Commission urges key donor countries as well as
the United Nations system bodies responsible for issues related to refugees and
other forcibly displaced persons, to significantly strengthen the assistance
provided to the States receiving large numbers of asylum seekers or refugees such
as Cameroon.
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Toll-Free Number 1523 Numéro Vert
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