a-4874 (ACC-CMR-4874)
In response to your above request we may provide you with the following information:
The living situation of young single women and the danger of prostitution in Cameroon and Ivory Coast:
Cameroon:
In its annual report Freedom in the World, published on 22. September 2004 Freedom House describes the living situation of women in Cameroon as follows:
“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. Cameroon is a transit center and market for child labor and traffickers.” (Freedom House, 22 September 2004)
Also the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) mentions the high level of violence and discrimination against women in its July 2004 report:
“An analysis of the legal and socio-economic and political status of women in Cameroon shows the link between the high levels of violence against women in Cameroon and their low status in all aspects of life. Besides the fact that laws relating to women’s legal status reflect social attitudes that affect the human rights of women, such laws often have a direct impact on women’s ability to exercise those rights. The legal context of family life, laws affecting women’s socio-economic status, women’s access to education, the labour market and politics contribute to violence against women and their access to redress and reparation.” (OMCT, 7 July 2004 , p. 123)
“Women in Cameroon experience high levels of discrimination, which despite Constitutional provisions recognising the human rights of women, is also enshrined in the law. No legal definition of discrimination exists.” (OMTC, 7 July 2004, p. 124)
“Women in Cameroon are also discriminated from a de facto point of view. 51% of the population in Cameroon live below the poverty line and poverty has an increasingly feminine face, affecting women in particular. As a result more and more women and girls enter prostitution and are thereby exposed to exploitation.” (OMTC, 7 July 2004, p. 127)
In its annual human rights report for 2005, published on 8 March 2006, the US Department of State (USDOS) states that discrimination based on gender was forbidden in Cameroon but law enforcement in this area was poor:
“The law does not explicitly forbid discrimination based on race, language, or social status, but the law prohibits discrimination based on gender and mandates that ‘everyone has equal rights and obligations’; however, the government did not enforce these provisions effectively. Violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, discrimination against ethnic minorities, and discrimination against homosexuals were problems.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
The USDOS also points out that violence, including rape, and discrimination against women were problems in Cameroon (USDOS, 8 March 2006, introduction). The USDOS further refers to a study on sexual exploitation by the International Circle for the Promotion of Creation and the Cameroon Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect:
“According to a study by the International Circle for the Promotion of Creation and the Cameroon Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, of 722 young girls between 9 and 20 years old interviewed in the cities of Yaounde, Douala, Bamenda, and Bafoussam, 291 were the victims of sexual exploitation.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
Concerning recruitment methods for forced labour and prostitution the UDSOS states:
“Unlike in the previous year, there were no reports of radio advertisements offering to take adolescent girls between the ages of 10 and 17 to Yaounde and Douala for domestic labor; however, there continued to be flyer advertisements.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
The Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) points out the connection between early marriage and the danger of prostitution in its report about Violence Against Children in West and Central Africa published in 2005:
“Girls who get married very young are also more vulnerable to physical violence and exploitation throughout their life. Indeed, marriage often causes their early removal from school and results in the impossibility for them to acquire skills that would make them more independent. All this amounts to making them totally dependent upon their husband. When girls flee marriage, they more often than not find themselves without education, with no means of earning a living and separated from their family background, placing them in a highly vulnerable situation where one of the means of survival can be prostitution.” (CIRIN, 2005, p. 20)
On 15 February 2006 the Cameroonian newspaper The Post publishes an Article concerning the connection between the bad economic situation and the growing danger of prostitution. In various interviews endangered persons describe their living situation:
“Julius Ngu, Buea: Some Of Us Will Prostitute: Now, I am bound to operate two businesses; selling plantains and onions. I go to Douala and buy onions. With the current increases, if I do not operate like that, I would not be able to cater for my children and extended family members. Transport fares have also witnessed hikes in prices. It is really difficult for us. We pray to the powers that be to make things better for us. Some of us risk getting into prostitution, where we will instead be infected with deadly diseases. The government should reduce the prices of fuel. The hike in fuel prices is rather a speed brake to our progress.” (The Post, 15 February 2006)
In another article (14 February 2006) The Post points out the growing prostitution in the context of big youth events:
“Most hotels in Kumba were full a few days before this year's February 11 Youth Day celebrations. In the rooms, men invited girls fit to be their children. The consequences of these illicit relationships would be unwanted pregnancies, sometimes with several parties contracting the dreaded AIDS. So, whilst the Head of State was focusing on the youth's plight of poor education and unemployment, Pastor Aaron Ayuk Okang of Full Gospel Mission, Kumba Central District, warned the youths of his church to shun pre-mature sex. Pastor Ayuk observed that most youths would contract AIDS through sexual intercourse in the name of celebrating Youth Day. He pleaded with the youths who had been booked into a hotel to turn down the invitation. […] He disclosed that most female students have abandoned their parents in the villages and taken to prostitution in towns and cities, having sex with old men. The Pastor expressed his fear that most youths would probably catch the HIV virus during the Youth Day celebrations, on the eve of the Day at a prayer service in his Fiango church.” (The Post, 14 February 2006)
The US Department of State (USDOS) also reports on the legal status of prostitution in Cameroon in its country report dated 8 March 2006:
“While the law prohibits prostitution, it was tolerated. Prostitution was practiced predominately in urban areas by locals, and trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation occurred.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
In its report on a fact-finding mission to Cameroon published in January 2004 the UK Home Office provides further information on prostitution and commercial sex workers in Cameroon:
“Roger Bracke, head of the regional office of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRCRC) informed the delegation that the extent of commercial sex workers is one of their biggest concerns. There is an incredible problem of prostitution and Roger Bracke indicated that approximately 50 percent of secondary school aged girls would occasionally or regularly use prostitution to supplement their schooling. Over 50 percent of college aged girls would practice prostitution to get by. It is illegal, however there is an attitude of acceptance and tolerance. Females are arrested but then immediately released. There are a lot of incidents of occasional prostitution to make ends meet, and Roger Bracke suggested that if you ask ten males if they are faithful to their partners, one is likely to be so; four out of ten females would give the same answer.
Roger Bracke stated that prostitution is not organised and there are no pimps. It is more likely that the family will impose it on the girls. Roger Bracke stated that the average Cameroonian male would refuse to use a condom, and will pay more to do so. He stated that a good price would be 5000CFA (£5) but it is more likely that a payment of 1000CFA/2000CFA (£1-2) would be paid. In the rural areas even as little as 200CFA (20p), or on credit.
Roger Bracke added that most females would want to be out of prostitution but there is no financial alternative. Females are willing to protect themselves through the use of condoms however due to competition from other girls will be willing to have unprotected sex in order to secure the money. Sex is rarely discussed within the family, it is silently accepted that females have no choice but to turn to prostitution in order to support themselves.” (UK Home Office, 25 January 2004, paragraph 9.13-9.15)
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMTC) articulates its concern about the increasing number of child victims of prostitution:
“The Committee is concerned about the increasing number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution and pornography, especially among those engaged in child labour and street children. Concern is also expressed at the insufficient programmes for the physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of children victims of such abuse and exploitation.” (OMTC, 26 June 2003, p. 64)
Concerning the danger of being trafficked to another country for prostitution the US Department of State (USDOS) provides the following information in March 2006:
“Women and children traditionally have faced the greatest risk of trafficking and have been trafficked most often for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most trafficking in children occurred within the country's borders, while most trafficked women were transported out of the country. According to anecdotal evidence by the NCHRF, women often were ‘hired’ into hubs of prostitution, often in Europe. The method for trafficking women usually involved a marriage proposition by a foreign businessman. The woman was inducted into servitude upon arrival at a foreign destination. Girls were internally trafficked from the Adamawa, North, Far North, and Northwest provinces to Douala and Yaounde to work as domestic servants, street vendors, or prostitutes. Children were also internally trafficked to work on cocoa bean plantations. There have been credible reports of slavery, especially in some chiefdoms in the North Province (see section 6.c.).” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
Ivory Coast:
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) ascertains an increase of gender-based violence and prostitution particularly amongst displaced women and girls in its report dated November 2005:
“There are continuing reports of violations by all parties to the conflict – including killings, disappearances, torture and destruction (UNOCI-HRD, August 2005). Extortion and racketeering are rampant throughout the country. Sexual and gender-based violence, particularly against displaced women and girls, is of major concern. Repeated displacement and lack of access to education has resulted in rising levels of prostitution and domestic slavery. Sexual exploitation of displaced girls by the “impartial forces” (covering both UNOCI and French peacekeepers) has also been reported by humanitarian agencies in Côte d’Ivoire. More than one reliable source has given detailed information about the ‘procurement’ of displaced girls for sex by peacekeeping troops, including inside IDP centres (Confidential interviews, Abidjan/Duékoué, September 2005).” (IDMC, 7 November 2005, p. 46)
Concerning the legal situation of prostitutes in Ivory Coast the US Department of State (USDOS) writes in its March 2006 report:
“Prostitution is not illegal as long as it occurs between consenting adults in private, and there appeared to be an increase in the practice. Soliciting and pandering are illegal, and the police sometimes enforced the law. Women from nearby countries sometimes were trafficked into the country, including for prostitution.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
According to the UN Security Council (March 2005) the number of young women engaging in prostitution was increasing in Ivory Coast:
“The number of young women engaging in prostitution, especially among internally displaced persons, is rising because of the high level of unemployment and poverty.” (UN Security Council, 18 March 2005, p. 13)
Concerning the problem of trafficking in persons in Ivory Coast the USDOS reports in March 2006:
“The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, and although the government continued its antitrafficking efforts, trafficking in persons remained a problem. With the continuing crisis, the government, UN agencies, and international humanitarian agencies concentrated on child soldiers and children displaced because of the war, and it was difficult to distinguish trafficked children. Traffickers can be prosecuted under laws prohibiting kidnapping, forced labor, and mistreatment; however, there was minimal law enforcement in government-held territories, and the government did not prosecute traffickers during the year. The National Committee for the Fight Against Trafficking and Child Exploitation coordinated the government's antitrafficking efforts. It included representatives from several ministries, including the Ministries of Family, Women, and Children, Foreign Affairs, Economy and Finance, and Health.
The government cooperated with international investigations of trafficking, and on July 27, the government signed a multilateral anti-trafficking-in-children and repatriation accord with nine neighboring countries. The ministries of employment and of family, women, and children's affairs continued working with Malian authorities to prevent cross-border child trafficking and to repatriate Malian children from the country.
The country was a source and destination country for trafficking in women and children from Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, and Benin for the purpose of forced commercial agriculture and domestic servitude. The full extent and nature of the problem was unknown despite efforts to document and trafficking of persons in the country. There was no reliable estimate of the number of children intercepted or repatriated during the year. Trafficking in persons decreased during the year due to increased checkpoints and fewer economic opportunities in the country. However, officials at the country's border with Ghana near Aboisso turned back more busloads of children traveling without adults than in the previous year.
The country's cities and farms provided ample opportunities for traffickers, especially of children and women. The informal labor sectors were not regulated under existing labor laws, so domestics, most nonindustrial farm laborers, and those who worked in the country's wide network of street shops and restaurants remained outside government protection. Internal trafficking of girls ages 9 to 15 to work as household domestics in Abidjan, and elsewhere in the more prosperous south, remained a problem. Traffickers of local children were often relatives or friends of the victim's parents. Traffickers sometimes promised parents that the children would learn a trade, but they often ended up on the streets as vendors or working as domestic servants. Due to the economic crisis, many parents allowed their children to be exploited.
Women principally were trafficked to the country from Nigeria, Ghana, and Liberia. A local NGO estimated that 58 percent of the female prostitutes in Abidjan were not citizens. Organized trafficking rings promised Nigerian women and girls that they would have jobs in restaurants and beauty salons in Abidjan; however, many ended up in brothels.
Women and children were trafficked from the country to African, European, and Middle Eastern countries, sometimes for prostitution.
The regular trafficking of children into the country from neighboring countries to work in the informal sector in exchange for finder's fees generally was accepted. Children were trafficked into the country from Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Mauritania for indentured or domestic servitude, farm labor, and sexual exploitation.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports in December 2005 about rising levels of prostitution in Ivory Coast due to the closure of schools:
“In addition to widespread looting and destruction of schools in the north and west, UNICEF reported the closure of numerous schools. As a result, an estimated 700,000 children were out of school in 2005. Girls without access to schooling in particular were extremely vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. An example was reported by a community leader in rebel-controlled Man, where 2,000 girls between the ages of twelve and fifteen engaged in prostitution following the closing of local schools in this part of western Côte d’Ivoire.125” (HRW, 21 December 2005, p. 30)
State protection for women running the risk of being forced into prostitution and prostitutes
Cameroon:
In its annual report, published on 8 March 2006, the US Department of State (USDOS) points out, that security forces subjected women, children, and elderly persons to abuse (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 1c).
Concerning the protection against rape the USDOS states in March 2006:
“The law prohibits rape, and although rape occurred, police and the courts investigated and prosecuted cases of rape, which resulted in some convictions during the year.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
Concerning trafficking in persons the USDOS (March 2006) reports:
„The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, but the law does prohibit slavery, prostitution, forced labor, and other crimes related to trafficking in persons and establishes minimum age requirements for workers. Trafficking remained a problem. Courts prosecuted traffickers using various provisions of the Penal Code that address related crimes. The country was a source, transit, and destination point for internationally trafficked persons; trafficking also occurred within the country. The Anti-Child Trafficking law, drafted by the government in cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO), went in effect in late December.” (USDOS, 8 March 2005, section 5)
„The law provides that any person who engages in crimes often associated with trafficking in persons shall be punished by prison terms of between 6 months and 20 years. The Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Social Insurance was primarily responsible for fighting trafficking; however, the ministry was severely underfunded. It was believed that authorities prosecuted several trafficking cases during the year, but actual rates were difficult to determine since traffickers could be prosecuted under various sections of the penal code, and there was no system for tracking outcomes.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
“The government continued to fight trafficking through the use of an interagency committee and a program to find and return trafficked children. In addition the government cooperated with Gabon, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin in fighting trafficking through the exchange of information and preparation of common legislation on trafficking. During the year the ILO and some local NGOs briefed parliamentarians on the problem of trafficking in persons.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
The USDOS further lists specific prostitution and trafficking cases and their consequences:
“In February a Yaounde court sentenced an individual with the name of Nkodo to 3 years in jail and ordered her to pay damages of $2 thousand (1 million CFA francs) to her victim, a 19-year- old girl who worked for her as a prostitute.
In May gendarmes in Yaounde dismantled a prostitution ring which used young boys. The boys were lured into the ring by the prospect of being hired by prestigious soccer clubs in a foreign country. Police arrested three of the organization's five members, who were in detention and awaiting trial at year's end; the other two were still in hiding.
On June 20, police arrested three individuals, including a Cameroonian woman and two Gabonese men, in the South Province, close to the Gabonese border. The three individuals were arrested while trying to smuggle two 13-year-old girls, who were kidnapped in the Boyo Division of the North West Province, into Gabon. The three were put under detention, pending trial. During the investigation, South Province police officials said it was the third time that they had arrested traffickers at the country's borders with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 5)
The UK Home Office reports about women from Cameroon being trafficked to Europe for sexual exploitation in its report on a fact finding mission to Cameroon, dated January 2004. Trafficking was theoretically illegal but there was no legislation to protect women against it:
“A diplomatic source within Cameroon informed the delegation that women are trafficked from Cameroon to Europe. They are usually duped into believing they will have a better life but are often trafficked to an abusive husband, or into prostitution. Trafficking is technically illegal but there is no legislation protecting people against it. Women being trafficked for prostitution is a sensitive subject as often the answer is that it is their choice for a better life. 11.2 A diplomatic source within Cameroon informed the delegation that Cameroon is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked people.” (UK Home Office, 25 January 2004, paragraph 11.1)
In its Trafficking in Persons Report (June 2005) the US Department of State (USDOS) gives an account of responses of the Cameroonian government to trafficking:
“The Government of Cameroon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cameroon is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to fight trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement. The government lacks an approved national strategy for combating trafficking and has no system for collecting data on trafficking-related or any other type of crime. Without case information, it is difficult to gauge national efforts to combat trafficking and prosecute traffickers. Cameroon should coordinate national efforts, develop a system to collect case data, and educate officials and communities about the signs and dangers of trafficking.
Prosecution: The government was unable to provide information regarding investigations, prosecutions, and convictions specifically related to trafficking during the reporting period. Law enforcement operations lacked central monitoring or coordination. Cameroon had no comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation but penal code provisions prohibit slavery, sexual assault, pimping, and use of persons to secure loans, with sentences ranging from six months to 20 years in prison. The government provided no specialized anti-trafficking training to officials, due in large part to a lack of resources. Corruption is a problem throughout Cameroon but the government made efforts to combat this through anti-corruption agencies in most ministries.
Protection: Over the last year, government assistance was available to identified trafficking victims, both citizens and foreign nationals, and included temporary residency status, shelter, and medical care. […] The government lacked the resources to fund NGO assistance to trafficking victims; […] Officials did not treat victims as criminals and families of victims could file civil suits against traffickers.
Prevention: The government’s prevention efforts during the reporting period were inadequate, though it worked well with NGOs and international organizations that funded and implemented some prevention programs. The Ministry of Social Affairs, with UNICEF funding, completed a study in April 2004 on child trafficking in the Adamaoua, Far North, North, and South Provinces. The study pointed to the urgent need for anti-trafficking measures to prevent the development of organized trafficking in the regions surveyed. The Government of Cameroon signed a partnership agreement with ILO in October 2004 to further build trafficking awareness among the public and coordinated with ILO on a program focused on street children vulnerable to trafficking. The Ministry of Education continued to collaborate with the ILO to work with high school students on trafficking prevention.” (USDOS, 3 June 2005)
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) refers to the question of legal protection of children against trafficking in its report published in June 2003:
“The Penal Code, which is derived from the law of 12 November 1965 and 12 June 1967 with its subsequent modifications, offers different articles that mention applicable sanctions, respectively for the authors of violence on children (article 350), of kidnapping of children (article 352), of slavery and assignment (article 342) or of prostitution (article 343). However, no reference is made to acts of torture. (OMTC, 26 June 2006, p. 19)
“The Preamble of the Cameroonian Constitution stipulates ‘every person has a right to life, to physical and moral integrity and to humane treatment in all circumstances.’ Moreover, the Penal Code forbids procuring (art 294), indecent exposure (art 295), rape (art 296), the prostitution of children (art 343), the corruption of youth (art 344), forced marriages (art 356), and incest (art 360). If these offences are perpetrated by the parents or the guardians of the child, the sentences are doubled.” (OMTC, 26 June 2006, p. 23 – 24)
Ivory Coast:
The US Department of State (USDOS) reports in its annual human rights report of March 2006 that rape was prohibited by law in Ivory Coast:
“The law prohibits rape and provides for prison terms of 5 to 10 years, and the government enforced this law. Claims were most frequently brought against child rapists. A life sentence can be imposed in cases of gang rape if the rapist is a relative or holds a position of authority over the victim, or if the victim is under 15 years of age. The law does not specifically penalize spousal rape. Rape was a problem, although its extent was unknown because the government did not collect statistics on rape or other physical abuse of women. Women's advocacy groups continued to protest the indifference of authorities to female victims of violence; however, women who reported rape or domestic violence to the police were often ignored. The Ministry of Human Rights, the Association of Women Lawyers, MIDH, and the Ivoirian Movement of Human Rights continued to seek justice on behalf of rape victims but had not made much progress by year's end.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 4)
Nevertheless the USDOS mentions in the same report that security forces had raped women and girls in Ivory Coast:
“Security forces also raped women and girls. On June 21, a lance corporal was charged with raping a secondary school girl.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 1c)
USDOS further highlights the increasing harassment of noncitizen Africans by security forces:
“Noncitizen Africans, mostly from neighboring countries, complained that they were subject to increased harassment by security forces, including repeated document checks, increased security force extortion and racketeering, violence, and frequent neighborhood searches (see sections 1.f. and 2.d.).” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 1c)
Concerning the general effectiveness and reliability of security forces in Ivory Coast the USDOS states in March 2006:
“Poor training and supervision of security forces, corruption, the public's fear of pressing charges, and investigations conducted by security forces who themselves were abusers contributed to widespread impunity and lawlessness in the country. […] Police received sexual favors from prostitutes in exchange for not being arrested. There also were credible reports that police kidnapped private citizens and either killed them or released them, sometimes requiring a bribe be paid for their release. Security forces were often accused of being the cause of rising crime in Abidjan, and there were credible reports that security forces rented their uniforms and weapons to persons wanting to engage in criminal activity. Security forces on occasion also failed to prevent violence. Security forces faced no sanctions for confiscating or destroying noncitizens' identification papers.” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 1d)
“The government in general did not investigate or punish effectively those who committed abuses, nor did it prosecute persons responsible in previous years for unlawful killings and disappearances. […] There were credible reports of a few disciplinary or legal actions against police officers for misconduct, mistreating suspects and arrestees, and killing persons during the year (see section 1.a.).” (USDOS, 8 March 2006, section 1d)
In its Trafficking in Persons Report (June 2005) the US Department of State (USDOS) describes the legal provisions in Ivory Coast against trafficking in persons:
“Prosecution: Despite ongoing conflict, the government made progress in bringing traffickers to justice over the last year. A much-needed comprehensive law against trafficking in persons remained in draft form, though under consideration by the National Assembly. The existing penal code prohibits abduction, receiving a person as a financial security, and forced labor. Many courts in the north have ceased to function as most judges and administrative officials have fled the conflict. In the south, the public prosecutor received eight trafficking cases during the year; five people were convicted. The police also presented five pimps to a judge for prosecution in 2004. In March 2004, the Ministry of Family Affairs and the National Committee Against Trafficking (NCFTCE) trained 22 trainers (security forces, judges, and social workers) to identify and handle cases of trafficking. The Ministry of Security instructed border officials to arrest those bringing others' children into the country. Buses carrying Ghanaian children suspected of being trafficked were routinely denied entry in the south.
Protection: Though it relied on NGO-run centers for primary care of most trafficking victims, the government, at all levels, was actively engaged in victim protection activities during the year. In 2004, police repatriated 30 female Nigerian trafficking victims with the help of the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan. The Governor of Abidjan provided $10,200 to an NGO to further its shelter, medical, and psychological assistance to 37 foreign trafficking victims, eight of whom were repatriated. The government also assigned a civil servant to help the Abel Community of Grand Bassam establish ten neighborhood watch groups in villages between Abidjan and Ghana. In Bonoua, the mayor and his deputy assigned their assistants to work with these groups; they also provided offices and temporary shelter for 85 child trafficking victims. The government also assisted an NGO in creating ten similar watch groups in the southwest of the country. In 2004, 65 children were rescued and 60,000 people were sensitized to this program.
Prevention: During the year, the government took limited steps to prevent trafficking. The Ministry of Family employed 20 staff dedicated to working on child trafficking issueS. In March 2004, the government finalized its national action plan against trafficking in persons and submitted it to UNICEF and ILO; the major activities have been approved for funding. The NCFTCE adopted a national training plan in October 2004 that addresses the training of judges, defense forces, NGOs, bus drivers, journalists, and radio personalities in the southern part of the country. However, implementation was put on hold due to increased instability. […]” (USDOS, 3 June 2005)
Return to Cameroon and potential consequences for neglected asylum seekers
In its report about the fact finding mission to Cameroon (January 2004) the UK Home office describes the question of return to Cameroon as follows:
“Jacques Franquin, a representative of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) based in Cameroon informed the delegation that although many Cameroonian asylum seekers have been returned to Cameroon, he is not aware that any have been arrested or harassed on return. There is no international organisation in the country that deal with the return of failed asylum seekers. Allegations have been made that some failed asylum seekers that have been forced to return to Cameroon have since disappeared, but there is no confirmation of this. It is possible that they may have been trying to seek asylum in another country.” (UK Home Office, 25 January 2004, paragraph 17.1)
Among the sources consulted by ACCORD no further information could be found on the subject of potential consequences of rejected asylum seekers on the return to Cameroon.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the ACCORD within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References:
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UN Security Council: Fourth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire [S/2005/186], 18 March 2005
http://www.ecoi.net/pub/ds843_03042ic.pdf (Accessed on 12 May 2006)
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