Cameroun Assessment

1.    FAIR JUSTICE

1.1 Judicial system capability. The judicial system of Cameroon is very competent and impartial, but the judicial process is very slow. Many defendants are victims of this slowness. The case data, for many of those waiting to be tried are missing or lost because the treatment of the case is manual; the necessary tools are not yet a reality. We also note the low parental cooperation in judicial proceedings. Because of the lack of funds, the intervention of NGOs are appreciated to help when there are blockages.[1]

The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary; however, the judiciary remained subject to executive influence, and corruption and inefficiency remained serious problems. The constitution specifies that the president is the guarantor of the legal system's independence. He also appoints all judges with the advice of the Higher Judicial Council. However, the judiciary showed modest signs of growing independence.[2]

Customary law, used in rural areas, is based upon the traditions of the ethnic group predominant in the region and is adjudicated by traditional authorities of that group. However, many citizens in rural areas remained unaware of their rights under civil law and were taught that they must abide by customary laws. Customary law ostensibly provides for equal rights and status; however, men may limit women's rights regarding inheritance and employment, and some traditional legal systems treat wives as the legal property of their husbands.²

Police were ineffective, poorly trained, underpaid, and corrupt. Impunity was a problem. Individuals reportedly paid bribes to police and the judiciary to secure their freedom. Police demanded bribes at checkpoints, and influential citizens reportedly paid police to make arrests or abuse individuals involved in personal disputes.  During the year investigations resulted in sanctions against more than 50 police officers including corruption, falsification of official documents, abuse of authority, use of excessive force, extortion of money, arbitrary arrest, blackmailing, and aggravated theft.²

1.2 Legal assistance to persons living in poverty. There are no structures to provide counsel to the indigent accused. Lawyers are not automatically committed to help the needy; that is the responsibility of parents. Due to the lack of financial means to pay high fines, some detainees are given additional months in prison. Legal services to help better understand the law and procedures applicable to their cases are nonexistent. Generally prisoners know nothing of the judicial system or the human rights until they live the realities in prison.¹

Because appointed attorneys received little compensation, the quality of legal representation for indigent clients often was poor. The bar association and some voluntary organizations, such as the Cameroonian Association of Female Jurists, offered free assistance in some cases. Defendants could appeal their cases.²

1.3 Justice for women and juveniles. In Cameroon, there's a prison for minors in Betamba where delinquent children are cared for until age 13. They are educated and taught trades so that they can exit their incarceration into society. Battered women are not protected because even in the case of a complaint, the police lead women to reconcile with an abusive spouse. There are no counseling or therapy services to help in cases of marital violence. There are social services to provide advice to abusive parents, but their small numbers and lack of financial resources do not allow them to handle cases. Then children are condemned to remain and face the parents. This situation leads to frustration which would later lead to crime. ¹

The law prohibits rape, although police and the courts rarely investigated and prosecuted rape cases. The media reported at least seven rape cases during the year, although no one was arrested. Due to social taboos associated with sexual violence, many rapes likely went unreported. A 2005 survey cited by the Cameroon Tribune indicated that 39 percent of women living with a man (married or unmarried) were victims of physical violence, and 28 percent were victims of psychological violence. The law does not specifically prohibit domestic violence, although assault is prohibited and is punishable by prison terms and fines. Women's rights advocates asserted that penalties for domestic violence were insufficient. Spousal abuse is not a legal ground for divorce.²

Women and children traditionally have faced the greatest risk of trafficking generally for 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 from the NCHRF, women often were "hired" into hubs of prostitution, often in Europe. Girls were internally trafficked from the Adamaoua, North, Far North, and Northwest regions to Douala and Yaounde to work as domestic servants, street vendors, or prostitutes.²

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 the governments of Gabon, Nigeria, Togo, and Benin to fight trafficking through the exchange of information and preparation of common legislation on trafficking. The Interpol office in the country also played a significant role in the government's antitrafficking actions.  The government continued to work with local and international NGOs to provide temporary shelter and assistance to victims of trafficking. Catholic Relief Services worked to combat corruption in local schools that led to child prostitution. UNICEF was also actively engaged in combating girls' prostitution throughout the year.²

1.4 Unfair treatment by discrimination. Court procedures are not discriminatory in Cameroon, but the sentences to prison are related to social status or political opinions.¹

1.5 Arbitrary or severe penalties. Cameroon has ratified the UN Convention against Torture in December 1986, but there still are systematic practices of torture and bullying, numerous cases of disappearances, and extra judicial executions, in addition to poor conditions of detention. The sentence to life imprisonment exists. Because of manual processing of information and the large number of prisons in Cameroon (+ 60 prisons), it is difficult to give you the number condemned to death.¹

2. PRISON SYSTEMS BASICS. Prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening. Prisons were seriously overcrowded and unsanitary. The government did not provide funds to improve serious deficiencies in food, health care, and sanitation, which were common in all prisons. However, following significant press coverage of prison conditions and subsequent riots and escape attempts, the government financed the construction of new prisons across the country including one in Yaounde and one in Moulvoudaye, Far North Region, both of which were operational by year's end.²

2.1 Structures and alternatives. There are no security levels of incarceration in Cameroon.
There are suspension, fines and other penalties. For minor crimes, reconciliation meetings are arranged between the protagonists in the police station. There are also penalties that require financial reimbursement prior to incarceration in the police station. Alcoholics and drug addicts serve sentences in the same way as other prisoners. The mentally ill are cared for at a psychiatric hospital. ¹

2.2 Physical space and separations. Cameroon's prisons are cramped, dilapidated, lacking of hygiene, unsanitary and overcrowded. The prison in Yaounde, designed for 800 prisoners, has more than 4403. Douala, left by the Germans since 1930 for 700 inmates, now holds 3800. Conditions of detention are extremely difficult if not inhuman. Prisoners are divided by group. For example the prison Duala cellules are distributed as follows:
     -a special unit for juvenile from 15 to 17 yrs.
     -a special unit for women
     -a special unit for men
     -a special unit for patients
     -a special cell for the aged
     -a special cell for the condemned to death
     -a special cell for the disciplinary.¹

Groups of prisoners are separated in Cameroon, but the spaces are so small and cramped that the separation between different groups is reduced to a door or wall. ¹

There were two separate prisons for women. There were also a few pretrial detention centers for women; however, women routinely were held in police and gendarmerie complexes with men, occasionally in the same cells. Mothers sometimes chose to be incarcerated with their children while their children were very young or if they had no other child care option. Juvenile prisoners were often incarcerated with adults, occasionally in the same cells or wards. There were credible reports that adult inmates sexually abused juvenile prisoners.  Pretrial detainees routinely were held in cells with convicted criminals.²

2.3 Pretrial services and process.  There are no pre-trial services to assess the needs of the accused so as to recommend various sanctions prescribed by law. Pre-trial decisions are in the police district under the responsibility of police and commissioner. At this level, there are negotiations between the accused and the complainants in cases of minor offenses. If the negotiation ends in reconciliation and compensation paid, the defendant is released outright. After a court verdict, the negotiation time for prevention is deducted from the total time of incarceration.¹

2.4 Standards. The conditions of prison life in Cameroon are regulated by formal written documents, but these are not always followed. That is why the detainees organized themselves so that order reigns, and if there are still problems, they resort to authority. There is no independent body to monitor prisons. Charities and NGOs, which includes Cameroon CURE, visit prisons regularly. These visits have a positive impact on inmates, but actions of NGOs are isolated and difficult to quantify.¹
 

2.    PROTECTION OF INCARCERATED PERSONS
                                                                                                                                                                                                         
3.1 Grievances. Protection of detainees in general is provided by prison staff and through a system of surveillance by the inmates themselves to face abuses of other detainees. Prisoners do not have the opportunity to complain, and if the problems persist and are multiple, many riots and clashes with the guards could result. In case of indiscipline (brawl, mutiny, etc.) each group chooses a leader who is responsible to supervise, discipline them and bring contentious cases to the prison guards. ¹

3.2 Abuse of incarcerated persons. Cameroon ratified the UN Convention against Torture in December 1986 but these degrading practices, such as trampling dignity, physical punishment and even the hole, are often practiced. There are still detainees who have influence on others and who mistreat and threaten. There is also a system of protection for the weakest, but this protection is limited, - for example, lacking beds, the weakest are forced to sleep on the floor, which is often wet and sometimes flooded in the rainy season. ¹

The constitution and law prohibit Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; however, there were credible reports that security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused prisoners and detainees, including demonstrators and a human rights worker arrested during the February riots. The government rarely investigated or punished any of the officials involved.²

Prisoners also died as a result of inmate abuse. For example, on January 13, prisoners in the New Bell Prison tried to lynch Ahmend Aliou, who subsequently died in his cell because prison wardens did not provide medical assistance. No action had been taken against prison officials by year's end. On January 14, following the lynching of a prisoner, the superintendent of the Douala New Bell Prison told the press that overcrowding, a lack of segregation within the prison populations, and inhuman detention conditions were the major reasons behind the frequent prison violence. Local NGOs added abysmal food, rampant corruption, and sexual abuse as contributing factors. In early August the Action of Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), an NGO that regularly visits prisoners, characterized New Bell Prison as "hell on earth."

3.3 Sexual security. Inmates are monitored by supervisors, but such supervision is not 24hrs. Women may be attacked if they go out without protection or forget to close the door that serves as their separation from men. Rape and homosexuality exist. Homosexuality is growing in prisons despite the sanctions by authorities; the practice was publicly denounced and combated at all levels by the government.¹

3.4 Correctional Officers. Officers receive training for their work, but continuing education and training to control their work are nonexistent.¹

3.5 Research and statistics. Deaths are registered with the causes of death in the prison records, but statistics are not computerized, so it is difficult to know the number.¹

4. HEALTH SERVICES FOR INCARCERATED PERSONS

4.1 Health Care. Prisons in large cities have an infirmary with a senior doctor. Prisoners are treated at an infirmary, but given the shortage of drugs, prisoners may need money to procure some. In some specific or serious cases inmates may be evacuated to hospitals after the diagnosis of the prison doctor. In this case the doctor is obliged to involve the family for support.¹

Mentally ill inmates are evacuated to hospitals. Unfortunately there is no recorded medical examination to tell what was happening to them in prison or at their departure. The overcrowding, outdated poor hygiene, poor sanitation etc. are the daily lot in all prisons in Cameroon. There even is flooding in the dormitories during the minor rainy season in the prison of Douala. ¹

The food rations are insignificant in these prisons: _The men are entitled to one meal a day prepared in barrels. _The women receive the ration of one cup of white rice per day.  _Minors have 2 meals daily ration that are poor in nutrients for growing children. Such adverse conditions of detention and poor food weakens the body and expose the detainees to all kinds of diseases.¹

Health and medical care were almost nonexistent in prisons and detention cells located in gendarmeries and police stations. There were reports that prisoners died due to a lack of medical care.²

Prisoners' families were expected to provide food for their relatives in prison. New Bell Prison contained seven water taps for approximately 3,500 prisoners, contributing to poor hygiene, illness, and death.²

4.2 Women-Care. The gynecological care is not systematic for women or for children of prisoners. We saw a woman with 3 months of pregnancy who had not yet consulted a gynecologist. Except in cases of serious illness, women are not entitled to care. Pregnant women are taken to a hospital for childbirth, but after they return to prison with the baby, the woman is not routinely monitored unless she suffers from an illness. ¹

5. RESTORATIVE PRACTICES

5.1 Rehabilitation Programs. Since the 2008-2009 school year, with the support of the European Union and the project PACDET 2, which has equipped the school with educational materials, children in prison can attend a regular school curriculum. The school, however, lacks desks, and an infrastructure for better monitoring. Lessons in prisons by NGOs, that are designed to help inmates improve their personalities, have not yet had any real impact. There are curricula in primary and secondary subjects, as well as a library for inmates who want to hone their skills. There is a lack of qualified teachers and those who are willing to teach.
The workshops tailored to pre-professional training exist but are not equipped. This compromises the development of small businesses and proper reintegration.  Inmates receive no compensation but for those who are clever, they can sell their goods; their meager income barely allows them to improve their living conditions in prison. ¹

5.2 Reentry Programs. Plans for obtaining Rehabilitation programs are made at the time of arrival in prison, through education talks and family mediation, so as to allow a return to the family smoothly. The only means for early release is a presidential pardon. The months before their release, prisoners are committed to chores in the administrative offices outside of prison, but they return every night. ¹

 

6. SOCIAL RIGHTS OF INCARCERATED PERSONS

6.1 Voting. Detainees have no right to vote until they leave prison. Inmates are not provided with television or radio, let alone newspapers, but the inmates themselves may procure newspapers.¹

6.2 Visitation. The prisons are open to anyone who wants to ask if the prison authorities will permit them to visit. Photos are prohibited inside the prisons. Visitors travel to prisons by their own means. Visiting rooms are outdoors, with no intimacy between the prisoner and his visitor. There are no phones for inmates. Volunteers of all faiths can serve in jails, and there are services of chaplaincy. ¹

The government permitted international humanitarian organizations access to prisoners. Both the local Red Cross and the NCHRF made infrequent, unannounced prison visits during the year. The government continued to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to visit prisons.²