Cameroon is ranked among the six countries where acts of torture persist according to a UN report published on November 24, 2024 in Geneva.
Summary executions, arbitrary arrests, and illegal detentions are among the human rights violations denounced by the Committee against Torture.
Although a signatory to the Convention against Torture, Cameroon is criticized for the impunity of perpetrators and the lack of implementation of international recommendations.
The Committee was alarmed by the numerous alleged acts of torture and ill-treatment, summary executions, murders and mass graves, forced displacements, enforced disappearances, abductions, arbitrary and prolonged detention without charge or judicial process, incommunicado detention in unofficial places, and sexual and gender-based violence, committed by defence and security forces, the Rapid Intervention Battalion, the police and gendarmerie forces in the context of counter-insurgency operations and by non-State armed groups in the Far-North, North-West and South-West regions. The Committee urged Cameroon to ensure that such allegations are investigated promptly, thoroughly, and impartially by an independent authority, those responsible are identified, prosecuted, and punished, and victims have access to effective remedies and full reparation.
The Committee was concerned about reports of intimidation, threats, harassment, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrests and detentions, prosecutions, including by military courts, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions of human rights defenders, civil society members, journalists, political opponents, and peaceful demonstrators. The Committee requested that Cameroon take necessary steps to guarantee that these individuals are adequately protected from human rights violations that may occur due to their activities, all such violations are thoroughly and impartially investigated, those responsible are tried and convicted, and victims or their families receive compensation.
UN Report: Cameroon Among Top Six Countries Where Torture Persists
