A consortium of civil society organizations, the NGOs Mandela Center and “New Human Rights” have drawn up a report on Cameroon’s appearance before the United Nations committee against torture. For these NGOs, the government of Cameroon is doing “ negationism », by holding a speech which is the antithesis of what is experienced on the ground.
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With our correspondent in Yaoundé, Richard Onanena
Civil society organizations did not hesitate to criticize Cameroon’s defense elements before the United Nations committee against torture.
Mr. Salomon Eheth, permanent representative of the Cameroon at the United Nations in Geneva, indicated that the government had undertaken reforms, at the regulatory and institutional level, with a view to preventing acts of torture and punishing the perpetrators.
But for Doctor Hilaire Kamga, one of the editors of the civil society report, the government has, on the contrary, institutionalized torture.
“ People are tortured on a daily basis. Torturers who are responsible, including for the death of their victims, are often promoted. This is therefore one of the indicators which show that the State, in its governing structure, validates torture, perhaps as an instrument of governance “, he emphasizes.
According to the UN, Cameroon’s 2016 Penal Code does not provide appropriate penalties for the crime of torture. Most sentences handed down for acts of torture are very lenient and the crime of torture is subject to statute of limitations.
Among the other points discussed by the UN in Geneva, and which have attracted criticism in Cameroon, are the trials of civilians before military courts which increase the risk of torture, as well as the absence of prisons reserved for women or even the lack of basic services for prisoners.
Also readCameroon: Redhac calls for investigations into the practice of torture in the country