Human rights representatives, legal experts, and members of the Cameroon National Commission on Human Rights are gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, this week for a crucial United Nations review of torture allegations in Cameroon. As a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Cameroon is under scrutiny for its reported lapses in upholding the Convention’s standards.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Cameroonian officials will face questions from UN human rights authorities about their efforts to curb torture and prevent abuse by law enforcement. The review comes amid troubling allegations that forces of law and order—tasked with preventing abuse—are frequently implicated in cases of torture.
CHRDA Plays Key Role at the UN Review
The Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA) will share insights at the UN review, joining other invited organisations. CHRDA actively documents human rights abuses in Cameroon, especially in the conflict-ridden anglophone regions. Barrister Agbor Balla, the president of CHRDA, represents the organisation in Geneva and shares personal insights during the discussion. He faced detention without legal grounds in Yaoundé, where authorities held him for months. Since his release, Balla has remained a vocal critic of the Cameroonian government’s human rights practices, consistently urging adherence to international standards.
“Cameroon has also ratified a series of international treaties and conventions that prohibit arbitrary arrest or detention, guarantee the right to a presumption of innocence, and prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane/degrading treatment,” CHRDA reminded Cameroonian authorities after a recent video emerged online showing popular musician Longue Longue being tortured by security forces.
CHRDA cited specific international frameworks, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 5), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Articles 6, 10, & 14), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Articles 5 and 7), and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Article 2 of CAT explicitly mandates, “(1) Each state party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial, or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. (2) No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification for torture. (3) An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.”
CHRDA reiterated its stance in a recent statement, declaring, “CHRDA states that the treatment meted out on Mr. Longkana Agno Simon amounts to acts of torture, cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Defining Torture and Examining Cameroon’s Compliance
Under the Convention Against Torture, torture is defined as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”
The UN review will evaluate Cameroon’s compliance with these standards and its efforts to prevent such abuse.
Increasing Reports of Torture
The high-profile case of Longue Longue is only one example among many that the Cameroon National Commission on Human Rights, led by Joseph Kabila, must address before the UN Committee Against Torture. While the commission aims to demonstrate that Cameroon is adhering to the Convention, documented evidence from CHRDA and other NGOs will likely challenge the government’s claims, revealing persistent issues in enforcing protections against torture.
