Cameroonian authorities have to investigate the excessive use of force during peaceful protests in Yaounde and other cities in Cameroon on 22 September 2020. They must immediately release all protesters who were arrested solely for expressing their opinion and investigate attacks against journalists ill-treated and arrested for collecting information on the protest. The protests were organised by the Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) to demand the departure of the President of the Republic.

“It is unacceptable that the security forces used lethal force against peaceful protesters, arrested and humiliated people only because they were exercising their right to protest. The authorities must investigate these human rights violations and explain why one of the protesters died and others were injured and illtreated. The authorities must ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice”, said Fatou Jagne Senghore, Regional Director of ARTICLE 19 West Africa.

“One person was reportedly killed, at least ten wounded and 60 arrested including five media professionals. Some of them were victims of ill-treatments”

The Mouvement pour la Renaissance du Cameroun (MRC) called for a series of peaceful protests across the country to demand the departure of the President of the Republic. On 21 September 2020, Communication Minister and Government spokesman Rene Emmanuel Sadi announced during a press conference the ban on the demonstration, describing it as calls for popular uprising and overthrow of institutions by leaders of a political party, such decision undermines the right to free expression and peaceful protest.

On 22 September, activists responding to the call of the MRC, stormed the streets in different cities of Cameroon to peacefully protest. But the security forces used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse the protesters. According to media reports, one person was reportedly killed, at least ten were wounded and 60 people arrested, including five media professionals. Some of the protesters were ill- treated, and security forces reportedly ordered those arrested to sit on the ground and forced them to sing a chant to glorify the President of Republic.

No one should lose their life, or fear torture or ill-treatment because of exercising their right to protest. The police should have facilitated this peaceful protest, but instead, they used force to disperse the protesters. ARTICLE 19 has reviewed three videos of the protests and all appeared to be peaceful. When attending a protest, the police should be guided by the presumption of peacefulness, rather than assuming there will be violence and resort to using force.

“Five media professionals were arrested. Although Rodrigue Ngassi identified himself to Security forces as Media cameraman, they arrested him and twisted his arm.”

ARTICLE 19 urges the authorities to ensure the protection and safety of journalists, to tolerate media reports on dissident opinions, especially during protests and to unconditionally release all those arrested only for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association.

The police arrested five media professionals: Tah Jarvis, Tebong Christian Lindovi Ndjio, Rodrigue Ngassi Polycarpe Essomba. The Equinoxe tv channel has in their news broadcast condemned how the security forces treated Rodrigue Ngassi. He identified himself as a cameraman to the security forces, but they arrested him, and twisted his arm and put a foot on his neck. Rodrigue Ngassi was later released and urged the Cameroonian police to respect journalist doing their job.

Polycarpe Essomba, a Radio France International reporter was beaten, while he was covering the demonstration. The police hit him with a truncheon and took him to a police station, released him after two hours. Lindovi Ndjio, Journalist of “Nouvelle Expression”, Tah Jarvis and Tebong Christian respectively Journalist and Cameraman of “ My Media prime” were finally released on the evening of 23 September 2020 in the second day of their arrest.             

“The arrest of the journalists, who were just doing their work, is a violation of media freedom. The role of the media is to report and inform the public about anything relevant to them. The authorities shouldn’t intimidate journalists and restrict the right to access to information.”

“Journalism is not a crime. It is not enough to release the arrested journalists. Any charges should be dropped. The Government must shed light on the ill-treatments and the motivation of their arrests against these journalists. Cameroon must end the cycle of impunity for attacks against journalists and brutal repression of protesters” urged Fatou Jagne Senghore.

It is very risky to work as a journalist in Cameroon, and the protection of the media continues to deteriorate. Following attacks on the press, ARTICLE 19 has interviewed the data journalist Paul Joël Kamtchang, Executive Secretary of ADISI Cameroon, who stated: “The protection of journalists in the exercise of their profession is deplorable in Cameroon.  The authorities seem to believe they are above the law; they think they can muzzle journalist on duty.”

We call on the African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to information to urge the government of Cameroon to respect their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and guarantee media freedom.

“We are asking the African Commission Special Rapporteur to monitor the situation and urge the government to investigate these violations and make sure that Cameroon will not continue to prevent, hinder or restrict unduly the right to protest and to attack media.”

The right to protest enables citizens to participate actively in the socio-political life of their country. Cameroon’s 1996 Law on the revision of the Constitution guarantees the freedoms of expression, assembly and association, press freedom and the right to protest. Also, the Constitution prohibits the use of the torture, and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

ARTICLE 19 has underlined in its principles of the right to protest that States should not prevent, hinder or restrict the right to protest except to the extent allowed by international human rights law and standards.

By banning and using excessive force to disperse a peaceful protest, Cameroon has violated its international obligations. For example, Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Article 9 of African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter) guarantee that everyone should be able to express their opinions without interference. The  Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa underline that protest is a right, for which organisers don’t need prior authorisation.

By using excessive force, the authorities failed to ensure the safety of the public and to safeguard the human rights of all persons during the protest as stated in the African Commission Guidelines for the Policing of Assemblies by Law Enforcement Officials in Africa. Moreover, the excessive use of force doesn’t comply with the requirements of the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms and the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa.  

At the UN Human Rights Council, during its last UPR review in 2018, Cameroon received recommendations to ensure that any restrictions on freedom of assembly and demonstration should be in line with international obligations. Unfortunately, the country only noted these, and in practice, Cameroon continues to restrict the freedom to protest. For example, in January 2019 when the authorities banned “marches blanches” following the announcement of the Presidential election results which were contested by the MRC. The security forces used excessive force to disperse the protesters with tear gas and bullets and arrested several demonstrators including the prominent opposition leader Maurice Kamto.  

Culled from Sierra Leone Telegraph

As Cameroonians began to fall sick from the novel coronavirus, President Paul Biya made a plea for public solidarity to help the government support a healthcare system already collapsing under the weight of multiple security crises affecting the country.

Dozens of people and companies immediately poured money into a fund hastily created by the president. This fund should have augmented the millions of dollars in a separate Health Solidarity Fund, an emergency reserve established by the government in 1993, into which healthcare facilities pay 10 percent of their revenues each month. These revenues largely come from patient fees, raising the cost of health care, already unaffordable for many.

However, the government has managed both these funds in secrecy, obstructing the public’s ability to track public resources.

It is not clear if and how the government has spent these funds, nor the $226 million from the International Monetary Fund it received to support its Covid-19 response, among other international assistance. As the virus swept across the country, medical staff and others told us in June that their hospitals had received no extra financial assistance, hampering their ability to treat patients or provide healthcare workers with adequate  protective equipment.

Only after enormous public pressure, citing the “urgency of transparency,” did the government publish, on July 29, some basic information in a two-page statement about how it spent about 22 billion FCA ($40 million), which it said was its  total expenditure to respond  to Covid-19 in the preceding five months.

Funding from the ADB and the IMF

The information provided is too general to allow for meaningful public oversight – saying only that, for example, 1.75 billion FCA ($3 million)  went toward “rehabilitating, renovating, and extending” isolation areas in three hospitals in Yaoundé, the capital. The statement similarly provides a generic list of equipment to account for another 3.92 billion CFA (nearly $8 million) attributed to “procurement of medical equipment distributed to facilities.”

And what little is included may not be entirely accurate. Observers who visited the three Yaoundé hospitals and spoke to staff there two weeks after the Health Ministry published the statement were unable to identify any new construction work  to prepare for Covid-19 patients, although two had set up tents outside as testing sites. A sign at the General Hospital of Yaoundé dated July 16 announced that the hospital would no longer accept Covid-19 patients.

Watchdog groups such as the Association for the integrated development and Interactive solidarity (ADISI), with its digital platform Data Cameroon, have also pointed out that the $40 million does not account for all the funds the government received to support its Covid-19 response. The Health Ministry statement included a list of about 65 individuals and companies who donated around 1 billion FCA ($1.8 million) to the president’s solidarity fund. But it hasn’t made public any information specific to the fund’s revenues and disbursements, which appear not to be governed by any legislation. And the total sum the Ministry says it spent is far smaller than the amount it received in international assistance for more than 43 Covid-19 projects, including $100 million from the African Development Bank.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative tracks funds for these projects, but does not include comprehensive details on expenditures. Nor does the tracker account for the $226 million in emergency assistance the government received from the IMF in June.

More than 20,000 cases and 416 deaths

In a letter requesting the loan, the finance minister cited the importance of the funds “to cover urgent needs to upgrade the health system.” The letter committed to publishing all procurement documents related to Covid-19 expenditures, including the names of the real owners of companies awarded contracts, but we were unable to find any such contracts.

In his letter, the minister also promised to publish the results of an independent audit by the end of 2020 fiscal year, which passed on June 30 without any news that an audit is even in progress.

Tracking this money is about more than the government reciprocating public solidarity with accountable governance; it is key to ensuring funds crucial for fighting a pandemic are fully and fairly distributed across the country. Cameroon reported more cases and deaths than most countries in Central Africa – nearly 20,000 cases and 415 deaths as of September 10, according to the World Health Organization. Yet many hospitals remain woefully unprepared six months into the pandemic.

We spoke to a doctor who works in a hospital in the North-West region, which has been hard- hit by violence since late 2016 and whose medical facilities have been repeatedly attacked by both government forces and armed separatists. He said that the 10 health facilities in his district received a combined 10 million FCA (around $17,000) in early August. Prior to that, his hospital, had only received 12 masks, 20 boxes of gloves, and four full body gowns for almost 50 employees, he said.

The money enabled his hospital to buy personal protective equipment for some staff, medicine, and two oxygen machines, he said, but it didn’t come close to meeting the needs of the hospital needs, which still lacks sufficient protective equipment for most staff, as well as adequate access to electricity and an ambulance. And the money arrived tragically late: a nurse at a nearby hospital died from Covid-19 in June.

Cameroonians have demonstrated their solidarity. It’s well past time for the government to do the same and publish a full accounting of the Covid-19-related spending, including from the Health Solidarity Fund.

Culled from Human Rights Watch