2001 Scores

Status: Not Free
Freedom Rating: 6.5
Civil Liberties: 6
Political Rights: 7

Overview

President Paul Biya and his ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM) took some steps toward prison reform and tackling corruption in 2000, but it is not clear whether the measures are anything more than lip service from one of Africa's most enduring and repressive regimes. A United Nations human rights expert in March warned of widespread and systematic torture, but said the administration appeared to be trying to address the problem.

The country was seized during World War I, in 1916, and divided between Britain and France after having been a German colony from 1884. Distinct Anglophone and Francophone areas were reunited as an independent country in 1961. Approximately one-fourth of Cameroonians are Anglophone. For more than three decades after independence, Cameroon was ruled under a repressive one-party system. In 1992 and 1997 President Biya held fraudulent multiparty elections, which he won after a boycott by the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), led by John Fru Ndi.

Cameroon's population comprises nearly 200 ethnic groups. Members of Biya's Beti ethnic group continue to occupy a disproportionate number of positions in the ruling party and military, although the cabinet has a more diverse ethnic mix. The administration remains largely Francophone, and the country's main opposition is from Anglophone Cameroonians. The linguistic distinction constitutes the country's most potent political division. Security forces in April 2000 arrested about 100 alleged Anglophone secessionists. The Roman Catholic bishop of Douala complained in June of hundreds of extrajudicial executions carried out by a paramilitary group formed in 1999 to fight crime.

Privatization has progressed, but graft and the absence of independent courts inhibit business development. The government in May 2000 set up an anticorruption body, including representatives from business, the judiciary, human rights groups, government ministries, and the security forces. It is unlikely that any serious reform will take place until changes are made in the government and judiciary. Under pressure from international lenders, the administration changed its procurement system, allowing for international consultants to conduct audits of major government contracts and annual spot audits for smaller ones.

There are hopes that construction of a pipeline running from Chad through Cameroon will help bring in jobs, and civil society has been active in trying to assure that the needs of the local population are met.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Although Cameroon's constitution provides for a multiparty republic, citizens have not been allowed to choose their government and local leaders democratically. Presidential elections have been devalued by rampant intimidation, manipulation, and fraud. President Biya's reelection in 1997 with 93 percent of the vote was marred by serious procedural flaws, as well as by a boycott by the three major opposition parties, because the government dismissed demands for an independent election commission.

Legislative elections have also been fraudulent. The ruling CPDM won 116 seats and the SDF won 43 in polling in 1997 overseen by regime loyalists in the ministry of territorial administration. Municipal elections are scheduled for 2001 and legislative polls in 2002. During the last municipal elections, in 1996, the opposition won a number of large mayoral seats. But the government changed the constitution and appointed its own officials as city mayors, effectively nullifying the election results through an administrative maneuver.

The constitution provides for freedom of the press, but serious restrictions inhibit open political exchange. Criminal libel law is regularly used to silence regime critics. There was an easing of press repression in 2000, but abuses still occurred. A criminal court in April convicted journalist Michel Eclador Pekoua, of the private weekly Ouest Echos, on defamation charges and sentenced him to six months in prison. Three journalists with the biweekly publication Dikalo received similar sentences on charges of criminal defamation. Two were condemned in absentia.

Constitutional amendments in 1995 gave even more power to the presidency and only nominally strengthened a pliant judiciary. Cameroon's courts remain highly subject to political influence and corruption. The executive controls the judiciary and appoints provincial and local administrators. Military tribunals may exercise jurisdiction over civilians in cases involving civil unrest or organized armed violence. A group of alleged Anglophone secessionists, known as "the forgotten five," have been waiting for trial since 1995.

In the north, powerful traditional chiefs known as lamibée run their own private militias, courts, and prisons, which are used against the regime's political opponents. Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees are routine in Cameroon, despite legislation passed in January 1997 that prohibits torture. Indefinite pretrial detention under extremely harsh conditions is permitted after a warrant is issued or to "combat banditry." Prison conditions are harsh, and inmates routinely die. The International Committee of the Red Cross was granted access to Cameroon's detention facilities in 1999.

Various intelligence agencies operate with impunity, and opposition activists are often held without charges. Security forces routinely impede domestic travel. The cardinal of Douala wrote a letter in June to the local governor complaining of the "Operational Command" that was set up in 1999 to deal with crime. Reported violations were declining toward the end of 2000, but the cardinal said that up to 500 summary executions had been carried out. Independent sources could not verify the number but said it was plausible that at least 200 people had been summarily executed over the past year.

Numerous nongovernmental organizations operate in the country. Freedom of religion is generally respected, but there have been some reports of discrimination. Slavery reportedly persists in parts of the north, and discrimination exists against indigenous Pygmies.

In 1990 the national assembly passed a potentially significant bill calling for liberalizing the audio and visual media, but Biya has yet to sign the decree that would bring the bill into force. A handful of private radio stations broadcast religious or music programs. International radio stations can be heard on shortwave radios

Trade union formation is permitted under the 1992 labor code, but some of the code's provisions have not been implemented and many government workers are not covered. Workers have the right to strike but only after arbitration, the decisions of which the government can overturn. The Confederation of Cameroonian Trade Unions is technically independent, but is still influenced or intimidated by the ruling party. In 1996, the regime launched the Union of Free Trade Unions of Cameroon to further undermine union autonomy.

Violence against women is reportedly widespread. Women are often denied inheritance and landownership rights even when these are codified, and many other laws contain unequal gender-based provisions and penalties. Female genital mutilation is practiced in some parts of the country.

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