By David Atangana
Three International non-governmental organizations championing the advocacy for the rights of journalists around the world have penned a submission calling for the protection of journalists in the country.
Submitted to the United Nations on July 17, 2023, by Freedom House, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and the American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights, with the support of Covington & Burling LLP, the report points out that Cameroonian journalists face tremendous challenges as they pursue reporting in the midst of the Anglophone conflict.
This development comes six months after the abduction and killing of prominent Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo, whose mutilated body was found five days later.
The submission highlights that “the killing, physical attacks, abduction, torture, and harassment of journalists by Cameroonian police, intelligence agencies, military, and non-state actors continue to have a severe chilling effect.”
This according to them, is more because of the large number of journalists who have been killed in Cameroon over the last decade:
“Several journalists have been forced into exile, two journalists have died in government custody under suspicious circumstances since 2010, and, most recently, prominent journalist Martinez Zogo was murdered in January 2023. In addition, two other journalist deaths are being investigated by CPJ.” the report stated.
The report highlights, however, that the Cameroon government of President Biya is living in constant denial of the level of press censorship in the country:
“President Paul Biya’s government routinely claims that the plethora of media outlets in the country proves that the right to media freedom is enjoyed in Cameroon, but the reality is the polar opposite as laid bare in this joint report,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator.
The arbitrary detention of journalists labeled terrorists, the killings with impunity she said amounts to “widespread censorship tactics fostered by the government”, which “must be reversed for democracy to overcome Cameroon’s protracted conflict.”
Tracing the country’s press freedom records, the submission noted that Cameroon remains on the list of the worst jailers and persecutors of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa, ranking second after Eritrea.
“The arbitrary imprisonment of journalists coupled with incommunicado and lengthy pre-trial detention has made Cameroon the second worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan Africa after Eritrea. Cameroon also detains journalists the longest after Eritrea.” the report said stating that, “Five journalists are currently being detained there, four of whom are being held on anti-state charges in connection with the ongoing Anglophone conflict that has pitted separatists in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon against the forces of the majority French-speaking government.”
The report also frowned at the use of anti-state, politically motivated charges and Military tribunals to persecute journalists.
The situation according to Margaux Ewen, Director of Freedom House’s Political Prisoners Initiative, “is of serious concern,”
“Through this submission, we remind Cameroon of its obligations under domestic and international law. We also show solidarity with the five journalists currently behind bars” he is quoted as saying
Stating that Cameroon is rated not free in Freedom House’s Freedom in the World 2023, the submission concludes that Cameroon’s judiciary “continues to fail to protect journalists”.
“The country has an overall score of 15/100, with a score of 0/4 for media freedom (since 2018). The country has consistently appeared on CPJ’s annual prison census since 2014, with press freedom and journalist safety in decline for more than a decade. The American Bar Association’s Center for Human Rights has documented multiple due process violations in trials of journalists reporting on the Anglophone crisis.” the submission stated in part.
The groups “urged President Paul Biya’s government to finally account for the death in custody of Samuel Wazizi, to free the journalists it has arbitrarily detained, including those falsely accused of terrorism, and to ensure that the murder of Martinez Zogo and the killing of Jean-Jacques Ola Bebe do not go unpunished. “
They also “called for Cameroon’s overly broad anti-terror law to be reviewed and to include a public interest defense.”
Cameroon it should be noted will undergo its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2023 during its 44th session Working Group in Geneva.
