March 2020 - Southern Cameroon Updates
By: Editimfon Ikpat, Junior Research Associate, PILPG-NL
THIS POST COLLECTS UPDATES FROM THE PAST MONTH CONCERNING RELEVANT DEVELOPMENTS IN SOUTHERN CAMEROON. THE INFORMATION IS DRAWN FROM LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL ONLINE SOURCES.
COVID-19
Covid-19: UN Secretary General calls for ceasefire
On March 23, 2020, the United Nations (UN) Secretary General – Antonio Guterres – called for a global ceasefire. In response to this call, the Southern Cameroons Defence Forces (SOCADEF) declared on March 26, 2020 that it was temporarily halting hostilities from March 29 to April 12, 2020, “in order to permit international humanitarian preparation for the COVID-19 prevention”. So far, SOCADEF is the only armed group that has observed this call by the UN for a ceasefire.
Covid-19: Ceasefire rejected by Ambazonia Coalition Team and Ambazonia Governing Council
The Ambazonia Coalition Team (ACT) and the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGC) have refused to heed to this call. This refute is based on the position that the UN should order the Cameroonian President – Paul Biya – to immediately withdraw its army from the territory of Ambazonia, end its genocidal war and, thereby allow humanitarian assistance into the region. Likewise, the Acting Interim Government President of Ambazonia – Samuel Sako, although expressing the desire of the Interim Government to drop its arms, said that this will only be achievable where the ceasefire is internationally monitored within the framework of a negotiated settlement. The Cameroonian government is yet to respond to the global call for a ceasefire.
Covid-19: National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms calls for a reduction in prison population
The National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms has issued a report calling for the reduction of the prison population. In the Report published on March 26, 2020, the “veritable enclosed and confined spaces” of the prisons made combating the Covid-19 pandemic an impossible task. As a result, it was suggested by the Commission that in order to stop the prisons from becoming a breeding ground for coronavirus, measures should be taken to immediately reduce prison congestion. The government is yet react to these recommendations
MAJOR NATIONAL DIALOGUE: COMMISSION FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The Cameroonian President – Paul Biya – has created a Committee, presided by the Prime Minister, Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, to follow up the implementation of the recommendations of the Major National Dialogue. The Dialogue, convened between September 30 and October 4, 2019, between the Cameroonian government and various opposition parties aimed to resolve the Anglophone crisis. The Commission is to “mobilise Cameroonians to actively take part in the process of peace building and development”.