ABSTRACT

This study examines minority rights protection in Africa under international law, case study of Cameroon. It explores the intricate challenges faced by minority communities, with a specific focus on indigenous populations like the Pygmies, and Mbororos. The methodology adopted is qualitative and doctrinal method. The study begins by delving into the fundamental question of “Who are minorities in Cameroon?” and identifies the various criteria used to define them. It highlights the persistent issues of discrimination and power imbalances that affect these groups, hindering their access to resources and opportunities. Furthermore, the research evaluates the legal and institutional frameworks in place to protect minority rights in Cameroon. It recognizes Cameroon’s commitment to international human rights treaties, such as the ICCPR and the United Nations Minorities Declaration, as well as the constitutional recognition of minority protection. The study also explores the historical evolution of international legal regimes for minority rights, emphasizing key instruments such as the UDHR, ICCPR, and regional agreements like the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It highlights the role played by international and regional bodies, such as the UN’s high commissioner for human rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, in enforcing these rights. In addressing the effectiveness of minority rights protection, the research identifies several challenges, including the elusive task of defining minorities, the lack of political will among states, and flaws in reporting procedures. It underscores the need for more robust enforcement mechanisms and a broader commitment to minority rights. This study calls for a more concerted effort to bridge the gap between legal provisions and practical realities, ensuring that minority communities can fully enjoy their rights and participate equitably in Cameroon’s diverse society.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This chapter of the study focuses on the general introduction of the research and also covers the preliminary chapter of the study. The General introduction of the chapter comprises of the background to the study, the statement problem, the research questions, the research objectives, research methodology, literature review, theoretical and conceptual framework, and justification for the study, significance of the study, scope/delimitation of the study, the conceptual definition of key terms and synopsis of the chapters.

1.1 Background to the Study

After the Second World War came to an end, cities in Europe and Asia were in ruins. Millions of people were dead and homeless or starving. In April 1945 delegates from fifty countries met in San Francisco with optimism and hope. The goal of the UN conference on international body was to promote peace and prevent future wars. The ideal organization were stated in its preamble to its proposed charter,

  ̎we the people of the united nation are determined to save succeeding generation from the scourge of war, which twice in our life time has brought untold sorrow to mankind ̎. 

The UN charter went in to effect in 24 October 1945 and it is today celebrated every year.[1]

By 1948 the UN new human rights commission had captured the world’s attention. Under the dynamic chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt president Franklin Roosevelt’s widow, a human right champion in her own right and the United States Delegate to the UN, the commission set of to draft the document that became the universal declaration of human rights, it was adopted by the UN on10 December 1948.

Human rights are universal, civil, economic, political and cultural rights that belong to all human beings with no discrimination including members of minority groups. It is very common that human beings everywhere demand the realization diverse value their individual and collective well-being. However these rights are denied through exploitation, oppression and persecution in many countries in the world today[2].  Members of minorities are entitled to the realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms on equal terms with others in the society, without discrimination of any kind. Minorities both the individuals belonging to minorities and the minorities as a group also enjoy certain human rights specifically linked to their minority status, including their right to maintain and enjoy their culture, religion and language free from discrimination[3].

Most international legal-political concerns during the nineteenth century, however, were
directed towards justifying the unification of linguistic “nations” based on the principle of self-determination, rather than the protection of minority groups. As the lure of nationalism grew, people who did not share the ethnic, linguistic or religious identity of the majority within their country were increasingly under threat. By the time of the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, national or minority concerns were at the forefront of international politics, at least in Europe. Following the end of the First World War, minority issues became a central concern for the League of Nations. The league of nation was created in 1919 to promote international peace. A series of treaties on minority rights were adopted to protect certain specific groups, addressing many of their key concerns.[4]

Among the protections commonly included were the rights to equality and nondiscrimination; the right to citizenship if a person commonly resident in a new State (or a State with new borders)so wished; the right to use one’s own language in public and private; the right of minorities to establish their own religious, cultural, charitable and educational institutions; an obligation on the State to provide an “equitable” level of financial support to minority schools, in which instruction at the primary level would be in the minority’s mother tongue; and entrenchment of laws protecting minorities so that they could not be changed by subsequent statutes.

The Charter of the United Nations makes no mention of minority rights per se, but it does
include several provisions on human rights, including Article 1 (3), which identifies as one of the purposes of the United Nations the achievement of international cooperation “in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction to race, sex, language, or religion”.[5]In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which articulated the content of human rights in much greater detail and remains one of the most important international human rights documents: its anti-discrimination provisions and other articles are of central importance also for persons belonging to a minority group.[6] While the General Assembly was unable to agree on any formulation in the Declaration concerning minority rights per se, it did note that the United Nations “cannot remain indifferent to the fate of minorities”. It added, in the same resolution that proclaimed the Universal Declaration, that it was “difficult to adopt a uniform solution for this complex and delicate question [of minorities], which has special aspects in each State in which it arises.”

 In 1966, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights included
in article 27 a specific provision concerned with minorities, a principal legal tool to advance
minority rights. While these developments were important, advancing the protection of minority rights received more attention as the cold war ended. The importance of minority rights and their contribution to the stability of States was increasingly recognized in the work of international institutions, including in Central and Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Union.

In Europe, an important breakthrough came in 1990, when a review meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (now the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), adopted a Declaration on Human Rights, Democracy, the
Rule of Law and Minority Rights. This Copenhagen Document commits the (now) 56
participating States of OSCE to a wide range of minority rights. Although the Copenhagen
Document is a political declaration, its impact has been significant and it helped to pave the way for the legally binding Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1994.[7]At the United Nations, a declaration on minority rights was under discussion for over decade before the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Minorities Declaration) in 1992. The Minorities Declaration contains progressive language, including minority participation in the political and economic life of the State. In addition, the preamble recognizes that protecting minority rights will “contribute to the political and social stability of the state in which they live” and, in turn, “contribute to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation among peoples and States”.

Many African states are of the view that the minority problem is essentially European and are reluctant to admit that Africa is not immune to the ethnic concerns[8]. At the same time, many indigenous minorities, ethnic groups, communities, Peoples and ethnic minorities living in Africa are suffering from lack of attention certain African states give to their rights and their concerns. In Africa there are many people described as minority groups or ethnic groups than there are states.

The ethnic composition of African states is complex and the question of minority status, especially in terms of the non-dominance of particular groups is complicated by the way in which political elites have exploited ethnic or religious differences for political ends. In practice, some numerical smaller groups, through alliances with other groups may exert political dominance. This is the case for example in Nigeria where historically dominant minorities such as the Efik or Ijaw find themselves now marginalized politically. However, changes in the political fortunes of these alliances may change the situation of an ethnic group from a position in which they have access to power to that of non-dominance status[9] . There are also examples in Africa where numerically large groups, the Hutu in Rwanda or the Oromo in Ethiopia have been largely excluded from power. Denial of citizenship to particular groups despite the fact that right to nationality is a well-established tenet for international law the question of citizenship continues to be a big concern in Africa and its linked to participation in public life or access to land as is the case in the democratic republic of Congo , Kenya, Zimbabwe and Cote D’ ́́Ivoire.

Minorities in Africa in line with international Norms include the following:

• Any ethnic, linguistic of religious group within a state.
• In a non-dominant position in the state in which they live.
• Consisting of individuals who possesses a sense of belonging to that group
• Determined to preserve and develop their distinct ethnic identity
• Discriminated against or marginalized on the grounds of their ethnicity, language or religion[10].

Cameroon was annexed by the Germans in1884. After the First World War, the Germans were defeated by the allied forces and German Cameroon was partitioned between Britain and France. France had four fifth of the country and Britain had one fifth of the country[11]. After the reunification of the two territories, the task was to implement a policy of national integration to accommodate the differences existing between former British and French Cameroon. The major challenge faced at that time was the question of national integration. For national integration to succeed, it must accept the differences inherited by the two Cameroon’s from their colonial masters. To the francophone Cameroonians, integration was synonymous to assimilation.

In Cameroon, minority groups include; linguistic minority, religious minority, the pygmy community, the Mbororo pastoralist and the montagnards community[12].This study is based on the protection of the indigenous mbororo minority group in Cameroon and their right to equality and nondiscrimination. Mbororo pastoralist communities are estimated to number more than 1 million people, which would account for some 12 per cent of the total population[13]. Some described a problem of general discrimination against the indigenous Mbororo minority group owing to a perception that they are a foreign presence or strangers who do not fully belong, and are consequently treated as second-class citizens. While in certain regions, such as the North-West region of Cameroon, the Mbororo are now largely settled communities, in other regions, such as the Far North, the Mbororo continue their nomadic, pastoralist lifestyle.

The Cameroon constitution in its preamble states that, the state shall ensure the protection of minorities and preserve the rights of indigenous population in accordance with the law. This is backed by article 65 of the Cameroon constitution which states clearly that the preamble shall be part and parcel of the Cameroon constitution. Article 45 states that duely approved or ratified treaties and international agreement, shall following their publication, override national laws, provided the other party implements the said treaty or agreement. Article 7 prohibits discrimination, stating that, all are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Cameroon has no laws that explicitly forbid discrimination based on race, religion, language, or social status; to date, the prohibition of racial discrimination has therefore not been fully incorporated into legislation, including the criminal code and the criminal procedure code.[14]