Resolution on Cameroon

The Forum on the participation of NGO at the 39th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,

Considering the worsening security and the upsurge in illegal violence extrajudicial killings perpetrated by law enforcement officers, policemen and gendarmes;

Considering that torture is still practiced in detention centers- police stations, gendarme squad and prisons;

Considering that the practice of detaining people in police custody and in remand and arbitrary arrests are gaining ground;

Considering that the prisons are overpopulated, the prevailing conditions of detention in prisons are poor and that men, women and juvenile prisoners are incarcerated in the same area;

Considering that the perpetrators of such acts of torture, violence and extrajudicial killings do so with impunity;

Hereby urges the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to adopt a resolution:

1. Condemning the grave violations of human rights perpetrated by law enforcement officers namely, acts of torture and extra-judicial killings;
2. Urging the Cameroonian authorities to abide by articles 4. 5, 6, 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the provisions of the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishments:
3. Calling on the competent authorities to embark forthwith on impartial investigations on all cases of suspicious death of prisoners and allegations of torture, institute legal proceedings against the perpetrators irrespective of their status and to adequately compensate victims and their families;
4. Calling for the enforcement of the new criminal law procedure as of August 2006, in line with the commitments of the Cameroonian authorities.
5. Recommending that more prisons be built;
6. Calling for the immediate implementation of the necessary reforms to improve the living conditions of detainees and ensure their right to health, physical and moral well-being;
7. Providing for a mission of the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights comprising a Special Rapporteur on Prisons and conditions of detention in Africa to be dispatched to Cameroon.

Done in Banjul, 8 May 2006