National human rights commission warns against neglect of international norms under pretext of Covid-19 pandemic

The National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, NCHRF has lauded government action in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus across the national territory.

In a statement, the NCHRF said government had done its best to ensure prevention of the spread including quarantining immigrants from heavily affected countries and tracing suspicious cases, the temporal closure of air, sea and land borders, public and private schools and leisure areas from 6 p.m. onwards compulsory wearing of masks … “

However, it added, “Cameroon continues to record the highest number of COVID-19 positive cases in the central African sub-region, with 24,752 confirmed cases and 443 deaths as of 8 December 2020.”

Despite all these, the commission stated, human rights protection remains primordial.

“The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic does not in any way detract from the relevance of the commitments made by UN Member States to respect, protect and fulfil human rights,” its statement read.

The recent statement from the commission comes on the 72nd edition of the International Human Rights Day commemorated the world over.

This year’s edition comes at a time the Cameroon government is facing criticism for its handling of the Boko Haram war in the country’s Far North and the fight against separatist fighters in the North West and South West regions.

The conflicts have been marked by a series of rights violations including massacres, illegal arrests, detention and incarceration, as well as exploitation of civilians.