A critical humanitarian concern in Cameroon is its growing population of internally displaced people (IDPs), which according to UNHCR has increased substantially in recent months because of violence in northern parts of the country. As of mid-2020 there were nearly one million IDPs in the country, in addition to the more than 400,000 refugees. But […]
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DETENTION CAPACITY
ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION
ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA
PRISON DATA
POPULATION DATA
MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION
MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS
PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS
DETENTION MONITORS
> National human rights monitoring bodies
> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)
> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
> Governmental monitoring bodies
> International detention monitoring
TRANSPARENCY
READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS
COVID-19
HEALTH CARE
COVID-19 DATA
INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
1986
2017
CTOCTP, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
2006
2017
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 10/19
Individual Complaints Procedures
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
§18 The Committee requests the State party to take all necessary steps to enable refugees and asylum seekers to fully enjoy their economic and social rights, particularly their right to work.
The Committee requests the State party to ensure that, when an inquiry is opened under article 8, paragraph 1, of the Act on the Status of Refugees, the detention of asylum seekers is used only as a last resort and, where it is used, for as short a period as possible, that asylum seekers are not put in the same detention cells as suspects, and that feasible alternatives to detention are explored.
The Committee requests that the State party devote particular attention to the situation of refugee women and girls, who could experience double discrimination.
2014
2014
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 68. "The Committee recommends that the State party strengthen the protection and assistance of refugee children and:
(a) Adopt as a matter of priority the implementing Decree of the five year old Status of Refugees Act;
(b) Take the necessary measures, including allocation of adequate resources, to prevent and combat malnutrition among refugee children and ensure that they have adequate access to essential health services, education, sanitation and safe drinking water;
(c) Adopt concrete measures to protect children residing in refugee camps, particularly girls, from any form of violence, including early marriage and sexual exploitation;
(d) Implement effectively the UNHCR programme on sexual violence, prosecute and punish those responsible for violence against refugee children, and provide the victims with adequate psychological and recovery assistance;
(e) Set up, in close cooperation with UNHCR and UNICEF, a consolidated data collection system for refugee children, disaggregated by age, sex and nationality, and provide adequate resources to this end."
2010
2010
Committee on the Rights of the Child
§ 40. "While noting that conflict and instability in neighbouring countries have resulted in, collectively, over a half a million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons arriving in Cameroon, mostly residing in the East, North, Far North and Adamaoua regions, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendation (see CRC/C/CMR/CO/2, para. 68) and further recommends that the State party:
(a) Operationalize and adequately resource the Commission for Eligibility to the Status of Refugees, ensuring it implements child-friendly screening and registration procedures;
(b) Ensure that the best interests of the child are a primary consideration in all decisions and agreements in relation to the transfer of any asylum-seeking or refugee children, that all returns are voluntary and that the principle of non- refoulement is upheld;
(c) Develop comprehensive referral and case management frameworks for services to refugee and asylum-seeking children, particularly in the fields of physical and mental health services, education and the police and justice sectors, including the provision of free legal aid, particularly for unaccompanied and separated children;
(d) Prevent the arbitrary detention of refugee and internally displaced children;
(e) Consider acceding to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness."
2017
2017
NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
Regional Legal Instruments
Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
Observation Date
