Credit:  Gary Raynaldo / Diplomatic Times file / United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

By Gary Raynaldo   /  DIPLOMATIC TIMES

UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK –  Humanitarians have called the Anglophone situation in Cameroon one of the most neglected crises in the 21st century, with more than 2 000 people killed and hundreds of homes burnt. Some 500,000 people have been displaced by the conflict. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern  over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Cameroon.

“…I can express our concern about the reports of significant numbers of people leaving the south-west and north-west regions, also known as the Anglophone regions.  And these movements are in anticipation of the lockdown called for by non-State armed groups operating in the area. The humanitarian situation in the two regions continues to deteriorate with 1.3 million people – that is a third of the local population – now in need of humanitarian assistance.  The conflict there has displaced over 500,000 people. Armed fighting and insecurity continue to be the main impediments to the provision of assistance and a barrier for those in need to reach areas where they can receive aid.”

-Stephane Dujarric,  Spokesperson for the  Secretary-General, said at Wednesday’s press briefing at UN world headquarters in New York.

Eight out of Cameroon’s ten regions are being impacted by various humanitarian crises, with around 4.3 million people in need of emergency assistance.  That is a 30 per cent increase from last year, according to Dujarric.  “The Humanitarian Response Plan for Cameroon seeks $299 million to assist 2.3 million people this year but is only 22 per cent funded so far, making it one of the most underfunded humanitarian appeals globally.”

Violence Erupts After Cameroon Military Court Sentences Anglophone separatist leader To Life In Prison 

Source: youtube.com /    Cameroon Anglophone separatist leader Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe 

A military court in Cameroon last week slapped Anglophone separatist leader Julius Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and 9 of his followers to life sentences in jail.  They  were convicted of charges including “terrorism and secession”.  There were also reports that at least 40 people were killed this in renewed fighting between the military and separatist fighters in the English-speaking towns of Ndop, Bafut, Kumbo, Bamenda, Mamfe and Kumba.  Separatist factions demanding the release of their leaders have begun locking down the north-west and south-west regions and urging a boycott of a ‘back to school’ campaign supported by the Francophone-led state and civil society groups. 

In May 2019,  the UN  Commissioner for Human Rights visited Cameroon and called for an investigation into the violation of human rights.  The US and Germany have withdrawn their military cooperation with Cameroon in protest at the human rights violations.

Cameroon Human Rights Violations Amount To Crimes Against Humanity:  LRWC 

Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada (LRWC), supported by the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR), has submitted a statement to the 42nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council seeking an end to catastrophic atrocities taking place in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.

Since October 2016, Anglophones in Cameroon have been the target of extreme violence and persecution by the Cameroon government,  LRWC said in its statement.  “There is evidence of human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity.  A separatist movement has responded with violent acts against the State’s defence forces. Government officials and armed insurgency groups have reportedly perpetrated sexual assault, torture, and public humiliation of women and girls throughout Anglophone regions.”