Cameroon: CAT flags abusive use of military courts to try civilians and persistent gender-based violence

The country rapporteurs were Ms. Ana Racu and Mr. Jorge Contesse.

The country delegation was led by H.E. Mr. Salomon Eheth, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Main issues discussed:

The experts were concerned that the penalties for acts of torture were not proportionate to the gravity of such acts and that a statute of limitations still applied to them.

The Committee Against Torture’s review of Cameroon highlighted human rights violations in the context of counterterrorism, inadequate sentences for criminalizing torture, the use of military courts to try civilians and persistent sexual and gender-based violence.

The Committee expressed grave concerns about abusive use of arrests without warrants, secret detentions and acts of torture targeting communities, journalists, and human rights defenders in the context of counterterrorism and the anglophone crisis. It urged Cameroon to take immediate steps to uphold legal safeguards and ensure accountability for these violations.

The Committee also shared concerns about Cameroon’s military courts’ jurisdiction over civilians, in violation of international human rights standards. It has clearly stressed that it is contrary to international human rights law and jurisprudence. The CAT also requested information on the number of executions of death sentences, as Cameroon still has not formally abolished death penalty.

Other key concerns raised were prison overcrowding, dire detention conditions in places of deprivation of liberty and the lack of access to these places by human rights organizations. The Committee highlighted Cameroon’s failure to guarantee legal safeguards for detainees, such as access to legal counsel, appropriate medical care, and communication with relatives, as well as lack of investigation into deaths in custody. The Committee stressed that measures to address these issues are essential to preventing torture and ensuring fair and human treatment.

On gender-based violence, the Committee commended Cameroon to speed up the process of criminalizing domestic violence and to address harmful practices including female genital mutilation, forced child marriages and trafficking for sexual exploitation. It identified these as severe impediments to protecting women and children, particularly girls.

Finally, the Committee questioned the delay in ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), and the Head of Delegation pledged to speed up the process of deposit of instruments of ratification.

The CAT’s recommendations are available here.

Follow-up Recommendations:

The CAT outlined specific recommendations for Cameroon, requesting the State party to provide information by 22 November 2025 on the implementation of recommendations regarding:

• The improvement of conditions of detention and the increase in the number of trained and qualified prison staff.

• The monitoring of places of detention, the ratification of the OPCAT and the functioning of the national preventive mechanism (NPM).

• The investigations into allegations of torture and the fight against impunity

Watch here (part one and part two) of the dialogue with the CAT.

Read our alternative report to the CAT (in French).