CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of happiness, freedom and peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. This idea of world nonviolence is one motivation for people and nations to willingly cooperate, either voluntarily or by virtue of a system of governance that has this objective. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about.

 .^[2]

After World War II, the United Nations was established to save successive generations from the scourge of war which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.^[3]. All treaties on international human rights law make reference to or consider “the principles proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and “peace in the world”.^[4]

In Africa, there have been issues of wars and conflict which has affected the peace, security and livelihood of the citizens of these countries. With the start of the uprising against authoritarian regimes in North Africa and the Arab, the government of Muammar Gaddafi of Libya responded violently and did brutal crackdown.^[5] The severity of violence committed by the Gaddafi regime in the face of protesters and civilians had attracted international attention and finally by the rapid intervention of the Security Council in relation to the same crises, led to the collapse of Gaddafi’s 42-year rule.^[6] The importance of this issue is that Libya case is the first critical that the Security Council based on the doctrine of responsibility to protect every government is responsible to protect their populations against war crimes, genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

In Cameroon like any other country, there are many factors which hinder the peace and stability which may include; civil war likes the Anglophone crises. Violation of human rights like arbitrary arrest and detention of innocent citizens, weapons of mass destruction, international terrorism such as the Boko Haran insurgence, lack of democracy for instance the president of Cameroon has been in power for 37years failing to give another a chance to rule. This is not in line with true democratic principles. Poverty and underdevelopment are included in the challenges and threats that have strong potential for growth and negatively affecting peace and national security. However, the UN has contributed in ensuring peace and security in countries which are victim of wars or conflict for instance, in Libya 2011 where the UN Security Council intervened and ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule.

Since 1945, at least 18 million people have died as a direct result of civil wars, for example the situation in Sudan with has claimed the lives of thousands of people and this happens almost entirely outside the economically most developed countries. This figure does not include the many millions killed in one-sided massacres orchestrated by governments, such as in Argentina, Cambodia, and Uganda under Amin and Obote. By comparison, about 3.3 million people were killed in interstate wars in this period. These three problems (internal war, mass killing by governments, and interstate war) represent the major security risks for much of the developing world.

In Cameroon, there has been the problem of the Anglophone crisis which has led to the burning of houses, deaths, migration of citizens from one place to another for safety. This has affected the socio-economic development of the country from 2016 to 2020 wherein children have not been able to go to school and this has caused business men and women to run away from this area of the country to invest in other areas which has affected the economic status of the country. The government of Cameroon and NGOs has tried to provide a lasting solution to this crisis but yet this crisis is still ongoing. Therefore it is imperative for this study to assess the role of UN in maintaining peace and security in Cameroon as well as other countries as provided for in its charter that “The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security”^[7],And also in chapter 7 of the same UN charter.

Peacekeeping by the United Nations is a role held by the Department of Peace Operations as “a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace”.^[1] It is distinguished from peace building, peacemaking, and peace enforcement although the United Nations does acknowledge that all activities are “mutually reinforcing” and that overlap between them is frequent in practice.^[2]

Peacekeepers monitor and observe peace processes in post-conflict areas and assist ex-combatants in implementing the peace agreements they may have signed. Such assistance comes in many forms, including confidence-building measures, power-sharing arrangements, electoral support, strengthening the rule of law, and economic and social development. Accordingly, UN peacekeepers (often referred to as Blue Berets or Blue Helmets because of their light blue berets or helmets) can include soldiers, police officers, and civilian personnel.

The Anglophone Crisis (French: Crise anglophone), also known as the Ambazonia War,^[3] or the Cameroonian Civil War,^[4] is a conflict in the Southern Cameroons region of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. In September 2017, separatists in the Anglophone territories of Northwest Region and Southwest Region (collectively known as Southern Cameroons) declared the independence of Ambazonia and began fighting against the Government of Cameroon.^[5] Starting as a low-scale insurgency, the conflict spread to most parts of the Anglophone regions within a year.^[6] By the summer of 2019, the government controlled the major cities and parts of the countryside, while the separatists held parts of the countryside and regularly appeared in the major cities.

The war has killed approximately 3,000 people and forced more than half a million people to flee their homes. Although 2019 has seen the first known instance of dialogue between Cameroon and the separatists,^[7] as well as a state-organized national dialogue and the granting of a special status to the Anglophone regions,^[8] the war continued to intensify in late 2019.^[9] The 2020 Cameroonian parliamentary election brought further escalation, as the separatists became more assertive while Cameroon deployed additional forces. While the COVID-19 pandemic saw one armed group declare a unilateral ceasefire to combat the spread of the virus, other groups and the Cameroonian government ignored calls to follow suit and kept on fighting.^[10]