Africa is bleeding: The Anglophone crisis in Cameroon
Posted: 4 November, 2020 Filed under: Mary Izobo | Tags: #StopCameroonViolations, 24 October 2020, Anglophone crisis, autocratic, Cameroon, democracy, discrimination, economic resources, Francophones, human rights violations, inequality, Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba, President Paul Biya, rule of law, territorial integrity Leave a comment
Author: Mary Izobo
International Human Rights Lawyer and Gender Advocate
Introduction
The failure to promote the rule of law and democracy creates an environment for conflict, often exacerbated by marginalisation, discrimination, inequality and inequity. The bitterness of citizens roused by violence is usually entrenched in lack of basic services and public infrastructure, corruption, lack of personal and economic security and lack of transparency and accountability of government to its citizens. Thus, the greatest problem of African countries is their failure to protect the economic, political, social, and cultural concerns of its people. This year, 2020 has been marred by a series of human rights violations from Lagos to Kumba, Africa is bleeding.
On 24 October 2020, at least eight children were killed, and dozens wounded by a group of armed men at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy Kumba, in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. There has been a lot of attacks in Cameroon since 2016, however, these attacks have intensified dramatically.
The constitutional problems to protect the principle of linguistic equality in Cameroon
Posted: 28 August, 2018 Filed under: Frank Maxime Yankam Lemdjo | Tags: Anglophone Cameroonians, Anglophone crisis, bijural system, Cameroon, Common Law principles, constitutional marginalization, constitutional system, discrimination, dominant francophone, linguistic equality, official languages, OHADA treaty 3 Comments
Author: Frank Maxime Yankam Lemdjo
Researcher, Peace and Security Department, African Union.
Cameroon will soon elect its next President. Whilst preparation of this important event is underway, the country is facing one of its greatest social crisis known as the Anglophone crisis. This reflection aims to point out the fact that the Constitution adopted on 18 January 1996[1] and revised by law 2008/001 of 14 April 2008[2]cemented a constitutional system that has failed to achieve one of the principles that the same Constitution guarantees: the principle of equality between Francophone and Anglophone. Article 1(3) of the Constitution states that ‘the official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be English and French, both languages having the same status’. The Constitution sets out the principle of linguistic equality in Cameroon, without further explanation on how this principle would be guaranteed. The same article further states that ‘the State shall guarantee bilingualism throughout the country. It shall endeavor to promote and protect national languages’. In the meantime, the preamble of the Constitution states that: ‘the State shall ensure the rights of minorities […] in accordance with the law’. But the Constitution does not provide a definition for the term ‘minorities’.
AfricLaw 