Amnesty Annual Report 2015/2016: Cameroon
The armed group Boko Haram disrupted the lives of thousands of people in northern Cameroon, committing crimes under international law including unlawful killings, attacks against civilian objects, misappropriation of property and assets, looting and abductions.
In an attempt to prevent Boko Haram from capturing territory, security forces carried out arbitrary arrests, detentions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of suspected members of the group.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic continued to live in precarious conditions.
Freedoms of expression, association and assembly continued to be restricted.
Human rights defenders were intimidated and harassed, including by government agents.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people continued to face discrimination, intimidation and harassment, although arrests and prosecutions declined from previous years.
An anti-terrorism law promulgated on 23 December 2014 infringed basic rights and freedoms, and extended the scope of the death penalty to a broader set of crimes.
New report published July 14, 2016
More than 1,000 people, many arrested arbitrarily, are being held in horrific conditions and dozens are dying from disease and malnutrition or have been tortured to death, as part of the Cameroonian government and security forces crackdown on Boko Haram.
The report “Right cause, wrong means: Human rights violated and justice denied in Cameroon’s fight against Boko Haram” details how the military offensive against Boko Haram has resulted in widespread human rights violations against civilians in the Far North region of the country.
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/cameroon/