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REPORT OF PROMOTIONAL VISIT TO BY PROF. E.V.O. DANKWA - SEPTEMBER 13-19, 1998

Introduction And Acknowledgement My visit to Cameroon was originally planned to take place shortly after my promotional visits to Uganda and Kenya in July. Cancellation of the departure flight from Ghana by the airline I was scheduled to travel with led me to reschedule it for early August. However, at the request of the , it was postponed to September, and it eventually took place from 13 to 19 September, 1998.

The Secretariat of the Commission transmitted to the government of Cameroon my desire to meet the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Interior as well as the Chief Justice, the Heads of the Police Force and the Prison Service. I was also looking forward to meeting as many non-governmental organizations working in human rights as were prepared to meet me.

Shortly before my departure for Cameroon, the above Secretariat passed on to me allegations of extra-judicial executions at Maroua and its environs in the northern part of the country. It had wanted me to visit the area and ascertain the facts as best as I could during such a brief stay, but since this, if at all possible, was unlikely to be accomplished, and my ticket could not accommodate such an addition to my itinerary, I advised the Secretariat about not expecting me ta comply with its request.

Noting that Cameroon is a bilingual country, the Commission had assigned it to both Prof. Isaac Nguema from French-speaking Gabon and myself for promotional activities. But even for an English-speaking Comdssioner, Douala could not be avoided because it was the port of entry and departure; indeed, two nights were spent there for connecting flights. Equally, as the seat of government, Yaounde was inescapable. I was, therefore, determined to include a predominantly English-speaking city, Bamenda in my itinerary, in spite of the fact that it was going ta involve travel by road on two days. Sad to relate however, events recounted below confined me to Douala and Yaounde.

I exchanged countless communications with Mr. Rolf Ring of Raoul Wallengberg Institute in Lund, Sweden in preparation of my visit. I appreciate the time and effort he spent towards making this mission possible. the Swedish government through his Institute provided the funds for the visit, and I am grateful to all three. Apart from liaising with the government about the visit, the Secretariat informed all Cameroonian NGOs having observer status with the Commission about the visit with all its change of dates. In response

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The Human Rights Defence Group in Bamenda exchanged correspondence with me, and ais() agreed to arrange meetings with NGOs with me as far as was practicable having regard to the vast expanse of the country and financial constraints. Useful background material on Cameroon was supplied to me by the Secretariat, and I am much obliged to it as I am to the Bamenda NGO mentioned above.

I must also record my relief and gratitude at being met at Douala airport by representatives of NGOs.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honourable Professor Augustin Kontchou Kouomegni made time out of his busy schedule to grant me audience on two occasions: first, to warmiy welcome me to Cameroon, and secondly to enable me to express my appreciation through him to the government and people of Cameroon for facilitating my mission. Many officiais in his ministry worked very hard towards this end. Save for the solitary experience with the Minister of Justice, when what I had expected to be a friendly encounter with exchange of information and ideas as had been my experience with ail the many officiais I had met in Cameroon as well as on similar visits to Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Namibie, Uganda and Kenya, turned out unnecessarily to be a very hostile attitude to me despite ail my entreaties to the contrary. I have warned myself against the danger of letting this single unpleasant experience becloud my judgement and appreciation of the picture so kindly and patiently presented to me by Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs and ail the other officiais I met.

It was my first visit to Cameroon, and I eagerly looked forward to seeing the land, with its people, of Roger Millar and the Indomitable Lions, a football enthusiast that I am, and in that I was not disappointed. I found a land of friendly people to ail of whom I am extremely grateful, and my wish for them is nothing but the very best which they also desire and deserve.

Dictatorship, Democracy and Human Rights

As recounted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cameroon was a state of dictatorship when His Excellency assumed office as Head of State in 1982. He decided to transform the country into a democracy, and asked Cameroonians to work together in a New Deal that would achieve that noble goal. The political dimension of the New Deal had three essential aspects: human rights, participation of Cameroonians in government and dialogue.

With regard to human rights under the earlier dispensation, there were thousands of political prisoners imprisoned in a number of prisons ail over Cameroon. President Biya closed down ail of those prisons.

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Under the new dispensation political parties have mushrodmed to 140, 7 of which are represented in Parliament without any of their leaders being imprisoned. There used to be Lens of thousands of exiles, but now there is hardly a Cameroonian who will claim to be living abroad as an exile. Indeed, many of the present political leaders returned to Cameroon from exile.

Freedom of expression is respected and guaranteed. To illustrate, before President Biya's accession to power "Cameroon Tribune" was the only newspaper in the country. Censorship made it impossible for it to be otherwise. The high increase in the number of newspapers attest to the positive development in this area. No authorization is required for the publication of a newspaper. The only prerequisite is a declaration that an individuel or group of individuels will publish a newspaper. Even the police are prohibited by law from entering premises where newspapers are published. At this juncture I asked the Foreign Minister about the aftermath of the reported arrest, unlawful detention and conversion of the car of Ansong Ndifor a journalist with the "Herald" newspaper. An action by this gentleman in 1991 against the Commissioner of Public Security Limbe and Chief of Sector Customs, Limbe for the above claims led to the award of 1,150,000 Frs but it is yet to be satisfied. My information was that "the Legal Department" is "scared to issue a writ of fifa." The Minister seemed genuinely unaware of this case.

Other individuel and collective freedoms were made meaningful with the enactment of new laws in 1989/1990.

During the same period a National Commission of Liberty was established by the President with the objective of reco•mending for repeal legislation which impeded the realisetion and enjoyment of individuel liberty. It was also empowered ta make proposais for legislation. promulgated as laws. 38 of such proposais were adopted and

This glowing picture of human rights in Cameroon contrasts markedly with Amnesty International's "Cameroon: Blatant disregard for human rights" of 16 September 1997, which deals with, inter alia, "harsh prison conditions." and " and ill-treatment."

But to return to the Minister of Foreign Affairs' presentation, participation in government of Cameroonians was further addressed. There is a simple and transparent electoral process: at the local, district, provincial and national levels representatives of political parties observe the elections and the counting of votes. It is, therefore, not necessary to have an independent electoral body, the Minister responded to my inquiry about setting up such a body. None of the established democracies of the United States of America, Germany, France and the United Kingdom has such a body, he added.

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As regards dialogue, the Minister explained that a tripartite conference of government, political parties and civil society took place. in 1990 and 1996 and it was organized for the purpose of constitutional drafting.

Asked about marginilisation of the Anglophones and their absorption by the Francophone sector, as is perceived by some of the former, the response was that nothing could be further form the truth. For instance, Mr. John Fru Ndi, leader of the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Front (SDF) nearly won the presidential election of October 1992; and without the support of the Francophones he could not have achieved this feat. Furthermore the change from a Federation to a unitary state under President Ahidjo was determined by a referendum. The other change under President Biya was by a decision of the National Assembly presided over by an Anglophone.

A minority of the Anglophones with foreign backers are known to be working towards secession, he concluded.

I reiterated an appeal I had made to Mr. Ambroise Behalal, Secretary General and other officiais of the Ministry: the submission of the overdue report of Cameroon to the Commission. In unison ail promised that it would be forthcoming, having dealt with reports to bodies.

In a very welcome and promising remark, the Honourable Minister stated that Cameroon had done a lot in respect and protection of human rights, but was also aware that a lot more is expected of her.

Allegations of Extra-judicial executions

As narrated above, the Secretariat brought to my attention communication it had received concerning extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions by "the law and order forces fighting" highway robbers" "in the Northern provinces." I was expected ta visit the areas of the alleged executions and also take up the matter with the authorities.

I pondered over the matter with mixed feelings. A promotional visit is not a fact-finding mission. The former generally aims at making the work of the CommiSsion known in States Parties to the Charter, encouraging officiais with responsibility for protection of human rights to persevere in their work, learning of the difficulties of host countries in their efforts to protect human rights, meeting NGOs for similar reasons, and related matters. The latter aims at some in-depth inquiry into the human rights situation. My

4 feelings above partly stenmied from the fact that the Commission has a Special Rapporteur on the instant subject. However, while on-site-visit was impossible for the reasons aiready stated, 1 resolved to take up the issue with the appropriate state officiais on the grounds that the distinction between promotion and protection of human rights is arguably thin; and that even if it were otherwise a Commissioner on a promotional visit could not ignore allegations of violations of human rights of the nature described in the complaint to the Secretariat.

Because the use of arms was involved, the situation in Maroua was within the province of the Ministry of Justice. Mr. Emmanuel Edou, Secretary of State for Defence responded to my questions on the events in Maroua. Many gendarmes had lost their lives at the hand of highway robbers. Gendarmes are entitled to shoot at robbers in self-defence. As a matter of policy, however, extrajudicial execution by gendarmes is forbidden; and no such case has been reported to him. There was an occasion when two groups of gendarmes exchanged fire each believing that the other were robbers. A gendarme could commit homicide as an individual citizen, but not in pursuit of state policy. There have been gendarmes, who arrested robbers but later robbed the latter with fatal consequences. Such law enforcement delinquents are dealt with in accordance with law. The Minister of Justice at a separate meeting with me noted that some gendarmes were in prison for their crimes.

The Secretary of State for Defence indicated that a court order could be executed in any part of the country. There was, therefore, no truth in the allegation that gendarmes escaped court orders or sentences by their transfer from one trial court's jurisdiction to another. A record of the operations of the security forces in the northern part of Cameroon, which was kindly supplied to me by the Secretary is attached herewith and marked Appendix "A".

The Police And Human Rights

The officiais who dealt with this aspect of my mission were M. Jean Emile, Secretary General of the General Delegation for National Security (DGSN) and another high-ranking official of the Delegation, M. Seudie Leon Pascal. Human Rights education bas since 1994 been part of training provided to police officers in the 2 Police High Schools in Cameroon it was stated.

The Police may detain a person for 24 hours initially, but it may be renewed by a State Counsel for up to 72 hours.

With the authorization of the Legal Department the period of detention may be extended to 10 days.

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The Police have jurisdiction in towns while the gendarmerie operate in rural areas, but the two cooperate to ensure law and order whenever appropriate. From the Secretary of State, I gathered that a Gendarme can arrest a member of the Police Service. Generally, however, the police arrest offending members of the Service while the Gendarmes do the same to those of their fold.

Gendarmes can detain an arrested person for a day. Upon authorization by an administrative officer, the detention can be extended/for a further period of 14 days.

A list of laws for the enforcement of human rights given to me by the 2 officiais is marked Appendix "B" and is attached to the report.

Since 1990, 500 cases of violations of human rights by police officers have been recorded. The officers involved were disciplined internally. But 1 Senior Superintendent, an Inspector of Police and a third officer have been tried and sentenced to terms of imprisonment by courts. Also the enactment of new législation on torture in 1997 to reinforce international norms in Cameroonian has led the imprisonment of some policemen. Detainees from North-West Province in Yaounde Prisons

As in the case of the allegations of extra-judicial executions in the northern provinces, my attention was drawn ta a number of suspects who were arrested in or about March 1997 from the North-West Province, and are being held in prisons in Yaounde.

Their arrest and subsequent detention followed violent attacks on the police, military as well as a number of civilian institutions in many tocans in North-West Province around March 1997. It must be made clear that the Commission does not encourage disrespect of the law; and it abhors violence in settling grievances. It is also in favour of a situation where there are no victims of crimes, and when this is not realized it sympathizes exceedingly with such victims. That appropriate punishment should be meted out to offenders is a position the Commission endorses. But the Commission is also mindful of the fair trial provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights. Witness for instance, Article 7 (1) (d): Every individuel shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises: the right to be tried within a reasonable time by an impartial court or tribunal.

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The Commission underscored the importance of fair trial in a Resolution at its 11th Ordinary Session held in Tunis form 2-9 March 1992. Paragraph 2(c) of this instrument provided as follows:

Persans arrested or detained shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or be released.

Some of the detainees were alleged ta have died while in custody. Against this background, I raised the case of the detainees with a number of officiais.

The Secretary of State for Defence, Mn Emmanuel Edou explained that the matter was being handled under the military justice system whose procedure is long. He was hopeful that the problem would be solved soon. As far as he was aware the detainees were treated well. The Minister of Justice provided further explanation. There are different types of custody in Cameroon: police custody (already described aboya); administrative detention, which can be effected without any judicial process, and may be renewed for periods of 15 days; and awaiting trial, which is preceded by a remand warrant. Those in custody from the North-West province are awaiting trial. Preliminary investigations into their case is being conducted before a military court.

The Minister of Justice observed that recently, in France, it took 2 years to investigate and bring ta trial persans accused of terrorist offences. He conceded though that that was no justification of long detention. Nevertheless careful investigations was needed. Human Rights institutions, he noted, have to protect the interest of the state.

The Judiciary

At the Supreme Court in Yaounde, M. Leonard Assira Engoute (Magistrat, Conseiller A La Cour Supreme) described the judicial system of Cameroon. The Supreme Court comprises 10 judges including its President. Every court is composed of 2 officiais, a Judge and a Prosecutor. There are 10 magistrates in the Supreme Court, but 8 years ago there were 15. Appointment to the bench is made by the Executive.

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Cases before the Supreme Court Appeals to the Supreme Court corne from the Court of Appeal, High Court and Courts of first instance, but most of the time the Supreme Court deal with appeals botte criminal and civil from the Court of Appeal. There are 10 Courts of Appeal, one each in the 10 administrative provinces of Cameroon.

Executions of Judgements and Procurers Procurers are responsible for the execution of decisions of the Courts. Procurer is the lowest authority in the Legal Department. Procurer General is the head of Procureurs. The Procurer General is,responsible for criminel prosecution, but also takes part in civil cases.

Military Tribunal A military tribunal in Yaounde has jurisdiction all over the country. Highway robbery, offences involving guns and aggravated theft fall within the jurisdiction of the military tribunal. This explains why the suspects froc Bamenda (North-West Province) are being investigated by the military tribunal.

The Police And Court Orders

A state official noted that orders of the Court against the Police are not obeyed by the latter, and that the judiciary have problems with policemen. A substituts State Counsel was said to have been seriously beaten by 6 policemen. Only two of these stibmitted to arrest. Ail of them were however tried and convicted, but the sentences were never carried out. They are still at post. It is the police who have to execute the court order.

From the observation of this official; gendarmes are not complicated; they are sent to court by their superiors without problem. The Ministry of Defence and the General Delegation for National Security maintain that the Police cannot be arrested by the Gendarme. Preliminary inquiry into offences are carried out by the police and the police protect themselves. From the point of view of this official the solution to the problem probably lies in the Ministry of Justice having its own enforcement force.

Unaccomplished Part of The Mission I was unable to meet the Minister of the Interior for the reasons which follow. A meeting with the Minister had been scheduled for 3 p.m. 17 September. I arrived at the appointed time et the office of the Minister to learn that on the previous day, knowing that he had to meet the Prime Minister at our agreed time, he had changed my meeting with him to 2.30 p.m. The change in time, I was told, had been communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of 8 32

Interior had been informed that I had agreed to the change, but I was unaware of it. Attempts to meet the Minister on 18 September were not successful.

A request from me through e-mail to the President of the Bar Association for a meeting with members of the Bar in Yaounde received no response.

My meeting with NGOs was limited to Doula because those in Yaounde, I had been made to understand at Douala would contact me, did not establish contact with me.

It was a matter of deed regret that I could not go to Bamenda. This was mainly because although I arrived in Yaounde on 14th September, my scheduie of meetings completed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started on 16 September. I had indicated to officiais of the Ministry that I would like to be in Bamenda on 17 September and return from there to Yaounde on 18 September in transit for Douala but important meetings in Yaounde were scheduled for me on 17 September.

I was informed that some administrative difficulties accounted for the late finalization of my programme. For two reasons I was eager to visit Kondegui and Mfou prisons in Yaounde. I am the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Detention Centres in Africa. Secondly, the Detainees from. the North-West Province were said to be held in those prisons, and a visit to them could be nothing but beneficial for ail parties concerned. I took it that the administrative difficulties mentioned above accounted for the visit not having taken place. "The Herald" and My Visit On a short walk from my hotel, a captiOn on the front page of the above newspaper attracted my attention: "OAU team in Cameroon to investigate human rights abuse." A copy of this news item is attached to this report and marked Appendix "C".

On the one hand, I was delighted that the existence and work of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights were being popularized through the print media. But on the other hand I was surprised at the distortion of facts contained in that item. One, I was alone on the visit: there was no "team of human rights officiais from the OAU African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights." Two, I was on a Promotional Visit.

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Cameroon was the third country, Uganda and Kenya being the other two countries, I was visiting for promotional purposes within 2 months. Long after the visit had been agreed upon by the government of Cameroon, the Secretariat of the Commission brought to my attention the alleged executions in Maroua and its environs which I was duty-bound to ask questions about. I do not know where The Herald "gathered that the main purpose of the visit was to appraise the situation of the North West terrorist attack suspects detained since March 1997."

I must also state that there is no truth in the belief expressed openly by a high official that I was on a mission for the Secretary-General of the United Nations. My visit had nothing whatsoever to do with the United Nations saxe for its general interest in human rights.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Believing very much in dialogue with governments, and not confrontation as the Commission does, it is gratifying to note that my visit has contributed ta this relationship between the Commission and the government. The belief is that this dialogue will be strengthened so that together we can work towards strengthening protection of generally and particularly in Cameroon.

The suggestions and recommendations which follow, therefore, are not meant in any sense to question either the authority or integrity of anyone, group of persons or institution in Cameroon. They are made in good faith stated. eindfor the good just

While noting and commending the Government of Cameroon for all the important steps which it has taken since His Excellency President Biya assumed office towards protection of the rights of the people of Cameroon, the government is encouraged to continue on this path. 2. The promised State Report of Cameroon to the Commission is eagerly awaited, and the government is encouraged to maintain close contact with the Commission. It should not hesitate to make the Commission avare of any difficulty it may encounter in its effort at promoting and protecting human rights.

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While expressing gratitude for the in-depth paper, of law enforcement operations in the far north of the country presented to me at the Ministry of Interior, allegations of extra-judicial executions are worthy of investigation. A list of alleged victims transmitted from the Secretariat of the Commission to me, and handed over by me ta the Minister of Justice could be a starting point in such an inquiry. 4. I was gladdened by the control over the police presented to me at certain official circles. However, this perception is not shared by all sectors of society in Cameroon. The worrying perception that some members of the Police Service are a law unto themselves is worthy of being confronted and dealt with.

5. Cameroon offers a shining example of how there can be unity in Africa. Francophones and Anglophones are living in harmony and unity, and this is as it should be. Indeed, an Anglophone, Mt. John Fru Ndi nearly became the Head of State in a predominantly Francophone state. The Commission does not and cannot as a matter of policy support the destabilisation of any State Party. All those intent on this course should know that there can, therefore, be no succour from the Commission. Consequently, peaceful and lawful means for redressing grievances of marginalisation heard from certain quarters particularly the North-Western province should be resorted to. The dialogue between goverument, political parties and civil society which the Minister of Foreign Affairs mentioned in his presentation of the human rights situation in Cameroon should be kept alive and employed to deal with any smouldering discontent that may exist in the North-West province or anywhere else in the country.

6. The freedom of expression that the print-media enjoys should be preserved and enhanced. On their part, newspapers should endeavour to present items and facts as accurately as possible. 7. Pressures on the time of investigative officers are no doubt real and the need for painstaking inquiry is admitted, but efforts should be intensified to complete the investigations of those detained from the time of the violent disturbances in March 1997 so that they can be given an early trial and the innocent set free. 0e. The gap between the law and the practice is generally present so attention should constantly be addressed to bridging it especially in the area of human rights.

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