ABSTRACT

The study investigates the Protection of the rights of internally displaced persons: Evaluation within the context of the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. We adopted the qualitative research methodology with the use of doctrinal method wherein information was collected via primary and secondary sources. The findings revealed that the crisis have a psychological effect on IDPs and also endangering the stability of the two regions, the study also found that the protection IDPs in the North-West and South-West regions remains characterised by regular armed clashes between State Actors and Non state actors, with the civilian population sometimes caught in the crossfire. Lack of political will, Educational challenges, Accommodation challenges, Persistent Human right violations, Poverty and Economic vulnerability, Lack of sufficient funds, Persistent Security Challenges in the Regions are some challenges faced by the IDPs. The study also found that the government took a number of steps with the intention of protecting the rights of these vulnerable groups (IDPs). These steps include the implementation of a reconstruction process, the distribution of resettlement and reintegration kits to internally displaced persons, as well as the provision of health facilities and food supplies to these individuals, among others. This study is significant to scholarship as it helps exposes the divide between international law and social practice.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Internally displaced persons are often born out of conflicts or natural disasters. They are present in most conflict-ridden societies not least in Cameroon, the product of the ongoing conflict in the English-speaking regions and also perhaps in the north of the country due to the fight against the Boko Haram terrorist sect. internally displaced persons are often subjected to various forms of abuses including torture, rape, homelessness among others. In view of the human rights violations that these persons are subjected to, a number of regulatory provisions could be invoke to protect the rights of these vulnerable group of persons.

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Human rights[1] are the basic freedoms, liberties and protections to which all persons are entitled. Human rights are not specific to one government or religion. They do not differ in terms of war or peace. Human rights are constant and inalienable rights passed by all people. Ideally, government should promote and protect human rights through systems of law. Today human rights includes life, liberty and security of persons; the freedom of religion through political expression, Movement, assembly, speech and organization; due process of law, education, employment, health property, ownership, cultural preservation; the right to marry and found a family; and freedom from discrimination, unjust punishment persecution, tyranny and oppression

Human right[2] are moral principles or norms that describes certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected as natural as legal rights in municipal and institutional law. They are commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because he or she is a human being   and which are inherent of their age   either, origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity or any other state. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are regarded as being empathy and the rule of law and imposing an obligation on persons to respect the human rights of others and it is generally considered that they should not be taken away except as a result of due process base on specific circumstances for example; human rights may include freedom from unlawful imprisonment, torture and execution.

Although all human beings are now defined as being equal, their equality is relative since some are more equal than others. The non-existent human right of the American slave area salient example of this women exclusion from voting is also indicative of the room of improvement in the first generation.

Second generation human right is born out of the principles of the first generation but are influence largely by wider societal progress with migration from rural to urban areas. The need asses for a welfare safety net in the event of sickness and unemployment. In this struggle, the emigrant labour movement take the load. The movement campaigns for states to take responsibility for safeguarding the people’s basic economic and social rights. The struggle is won and the rights are gradually erected in the status of the majority of European countries in the late 1800.

The first and second world war demonstrates only too clearly that human rights are not inalienable.in  1945, a number of countries come together  to create the united nations. The objective of the UN is to ensure lasting peace between foreign states. But the UN also campaign to safeguard the fundamental human rights of the individual and to protect individual against abuses. Apart of this movement, in 1948 the UN general assembly adopt the universal declaration of human rights. The declaration blazes a trial for further resolutions, declarations and laws.

In 1950, the council of Europe adopts the European convention on human rights (ECHR). This comes into force in 1953 and is incorporated into Danish law in 1992. In 1987, Denmoth establishes the Danish centres of human rights which in 2002 is renamed the Danish institute for human rights. Today the institute is one of the many national human rights institutions worldwide. The UN general assembly establishes the UN human rights council by the adoption of a resolution on 15 MARCH 2006 thereby according formal states to human rights within the UN. The most recent UN treaty is from 2008 when the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (disability convention) came into force.

Civil and political rights[3] are a class of rights that protects individual’s freedom from infringement by government, social organization and private individual. They ensure ones entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of the society and state without discrimination or repression. . civil rights include the ensuring of peoples  physical and mental integrity, life, and safety; protection from discrimination on grounds such as race, gender, sexual orientation, , gender identity, national origin, colour, age , political affiliation, ethnicity, religion and disability; and individuals rights such as privacy and the freedom of thought speech, religion, press, assembly and movement.

Political rights includes natural justice (considerable fairness) in law such as the right of the accused including the right to a fair trial; due process the right to seek redresser legal remedy: the right of participation on civil society and politics such as freedom to association, the right to assemble, the right to petition, the right of self defends and the right to vote.

Civil and political right form the original and main part of international human rights. They comprise the first portion of the 1948 universal declaration of human rights (with economic, social, and cultural rights comprising the second portion). The theory of three generations of human rights considers this group of rights to be the first generation right and the theory of negative and positive considers them to be generally negative rights, economic, social and cultural rights are socio-economic rights such as the right to education, right to housing, right to an adequate standard of living, right to   health, victim’s right and the right to science and culture. Economic, social and cultural rights are recognized and protected in international and regional human rights instruments. Member state have a legal obligation to respect, protects and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights and are expected to take progressive actions towards their fulfilments

A group right is a right held by a group as a group rather than by its members severally.[4] The group in group right describes the nature of the right- holder; it does not describes the mere fact that the right is confined to the members of the group rather than possessed by all members of the society or by society at large .  much of the controversy that surround groups can held rights and if they can on the condition that a group must satisfy it is to be a right holder some proponents of group right conceive rightful holding groups as moral entities in their own right so that as a right holder a group has a being and a status analogous to those of an individual person Others gave groups no such independent standing but conceive group rights that are shared in and held jointly by the group members.

Some opponents of group right challenge the very proposition that groups can bear rights. Others do not but worry about the threats that such rights pose for individuals and their rights. They in turn are met by claims that individuals’ rights and group right. Suitably formulated are complimentary rather that conflicting and that some group rights might even be human rights.

 Internally displaced people are those who have been forced or obliged to leave their homes behind notably for reasons related to armed conflicts or other violence and who remain  within the borders of their country.[5] There is no universal, legally binding instrument equivalent to this 1851 refugee’s convention that specifically addressed their plight. Nonetheless internally displaced people are protected by international human right law and domestic law and in situation of armed conflict by international humanitarian law (IHL)

Additionally, the UN guarding principles on internal displacement provide useful guidance on displacement. Specific aspects. They have broad support from the international community and many states have incorporated them into domestic law. Many of the rules contained in the guiding principles are part and parcel of international human right laws and international humanitarian law for example the principles make clear that state have a duty to provide displaced persons with lasting returns resettlement and reintegration solutions and that displaced persons must be involved in planning and managing measures that concern them.

Under IHL people are protected from and during displacement as civilians provided they do not take a direct part in hostilities. IHL plays an important part in preventing displacement in the first place. It prohibits the displacement of people except if it is necessary for imperative military reasons or the protection of the civilians themselves. a wide spread or systematic policy of displacement of civilians  without such justification constitute a crime against humanity. There are many other rules of the notably. Those governing the conduct of hostilities that are crucial to protect the civilian population and whose violation often triggers displacement.

Like all human being, internally displaced persons enjoy human rights that are affiliated by human rights instruments and customary law. Institutions of armed conflict moreover they enjoy the same rights as others civilians to the various protection provided by international humanitarian law. The guiding principles  on internal displacement created in 1998 restate and compile  existing international human rights and humanitarian law in the internally displace and also attempts  to clarify grey areas and gaps in the various instruments with regards to situations of particular interest to the internally displaced.

The guiding principles note that the arbitrary[6]  displacement in the first instance is prohibited  once persons have been displaced they retain  a broad range of economic, social, cultural  civil and political rights including the rights  to basic humanitarian assistance such as food, medicine, shelter, the right to be protected  from physical violence, the right to education, freedom of movement and residence political rights such as the right to participate in public affairs and the right to participate  in economic activities. Displaced persons also have the right to assistance from competent authorities in voluntary dignify and safe return resettlement or local integration including help in recovering lost property and possession. When restitution is not possible the guiding principles call for compensation or just reparation.

We are all verse with the word internal displacement which is the movement of persons within a country or a nation. On normal basis people, move every day for various purposes on their voluntary initiative. It can be for businesses transfers, relocating elsewhere etc. but it becomes really a problem when people are forced to disperse themselves for situations which might be unexcitable. Many reasons can cause people to displace themselves due to poorness. There are usually economic Han cokes, like closing down of a business maybe because of irregularities; we also have natural disasters like drought, earthquakes which might cause people to displace themselves against their will.

Now one of the most predominant factors of internal displacement is on the political domain where there may be a conflict between the government and its people or the government of one country against another.[7] And in such cases, it is the population/citizens who are victims especially when it leads to outbreak of wars. That is one base unit which can cause most and rampant displacement of persons to safer areas. Political crisis has had more of negative than positive aspects because it puts a country on drawbacks.

Many activities are distorted, lives are lost every day and citizens’ rights are violated on several counts. The displacement can be internal as well as external. With external displacement, we often talk of refugees as well as asylum seekers, this is not always good for one’s country because of so many ill-images if portraits to the outside world. With internal displacement, people will always move to other regions which are more save to pick up the pieces of their lives. It is very clear that although other factors do motivate displacement, the very common one is political factor. Many countries are on the move because of political crisis. We have countries like Sudan, which has not still regain its status, we also have Congo, Uganda etc. which has caused a great impact to the world at large.[8]

The situation of internally displaced persons in  Cameroon  is as a result of the Boko- Haram conflicts in the far north region of Cameroon and the Anglophone crisis in the English Speaking Regions of Cameroon. The Anglophone crisis is the most significant and most recent conflict causing internal displacement of persons in Cameroon. This crisis has seen a considerable degree of armed violence in the North -West and South- West regions of Cameroon.[9] The socio-political crisis that began in October 2016 in the two English Regions of Cameroon mutated into armed conflict at the end of 2017. This crisis has witnessed a considerable degree of armed violence in the North West and South -West regions of Cameroon.[10]

The Anglophone Crisis which can be traced back to nearly 60 years ago resulted from the dual trusteeship and mandate rule[11]. On January 1^st 1960, French Cameroon gained independence and became Cameroun Republic. Later that year, Nigeria gained its independence from Britain and became a Federal Republic. After independence Southern Cameroon was then separated from Nigeria and was due to achieve full independence on October 1^st 1961. Since then, Anglophones have pushed for autonomy.[12]

 In October 2016, lawyers went on strike in an effort to make the government translate the OHADA Uniform Act in English and to make certain reforms in the justice system as far as common law is concerned in which the lawyers were roughly manhandled by the security forces. The Anglophone crisis resulted to a lot of destruction of property, loss of lives thereby forcing people and children in particular in the affected localities to move. [13] Many persons found themselves moving to run away in order to find a place to continue the story of their lives where it ended. Some statistics have showed that there are 444.213 IDPs in the North- West and South West Regions   237.349 returnees in the North -West and South- West regions.[14]

In relation to the aforementioned crisis, there has been the promulgation of texts of the Kampala convention of 2009 which will serve as a base for the future laws of Cameroon concerning the internally displaced. Internally displaced persons shall enjoy in full equality the same rights and freedoms under international and domestic law as do other persons in their country. They shall not be discriminated against in the enjoyment of any rights and freedoms on the ground that they are internally displaced. [15] These principles shall be observed by all authorities, groups and persons irrespective of their legal status and applied without any adverse distinction. The observance of these principles shall not affect the legal status of any authorities, groups or persons involved. [16] Internally displaced  persons  have  the  right to seek safety in another part of the country , the right to leave their country, the right to seek asylum in another country and the right to be protected   against  forcible return to or  resettlement  in any place where their life , safety , liberty and / or  health would be at risk. Hence, internally displaced persons are vested with rights which must be respected in Cameroon.

The ongoing crisis in the Anglophone has brought a lot of rampage and changes to which one of them is the internal displacement of people mostly from the two affected regions of Cameroon (northwest and southwest). It has not only cause displacement but violation of human rights causing some to leave the country and seeking asylum in other countries. The question goes thus how can those in charge of protecting the rights of its citizens be the ones violating them and not providing adequate protection. This has drawn the attention of many scholars neo human right activists and the population at large.

It has also drawn the attention of many researchers and this research is one of its concern. The research aims to bring out possible ways through which the plight of internally displaced persons can be ameliorate. The consent basic needs of the internally displaced persons are based on food, shelter, education, medical care etc.

My research question is divided into main and specific research questions.

1.3.1 Main Research Question

1. What are the rights of internally displaced persons under international law and how effective are they protected in the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions  

1. Who are internally displaced persons within the context of the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon and their regulatory framework?
2. How are internally displaced persons protected in the armed conflict in the English speaking regions of Cameroon?
3. How effective is the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons in the armed conflict in the English speaking regions of Cameroon?
4. What policy recommendations may be advanced to protect the rights of internally displaced persons in the armed conflict English-speaking regions of Cameroon?

1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY  

1.4.1        General Objective

1. To examine the rights of internally displaced persons under international law and how effective are they protected in the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

1.4.2        Specific Objectives

2. To analyse internally displaced persons within the context of the armed conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon and the regulatory framework
3. To examine the protection afforded to internally displaced persons in the English speaking regions of Cameroon
4. To critically evaluate the effectiveness of the protection of rights of internally displaced persons in conflict in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.
5. To propose policy recommendations aimed at improving on the protection of the rights of internally displaced persons in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.