[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 684 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 684

Calling on the Government of Cameroon and separatist armed groups from 
    the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to end all 
 violence, respect the human rights of all Cameroonians, and pursue a 
    genuinely inclusive dialogue toward resolving the ongoing civil 
                    conflict in Anglophone Cameroon.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 8, 2020

Mr. Risch (for himself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Young, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Rubio, 
  Mr. Markey, Mr. Coons, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Durbin, Mr. 
Warner, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Kaine) submitted the following resolution; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Calling on the Government of Cameroon and separatist armed groups from 
    the English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions to end all 
 violence, respect the human rights of all Cameroonians, and pursue a 
    genuinely inclusive dialogue toward resolving the ongoing civil 
                    conflict in Anglophone Cameroon.

Whereas Cameroon is beset with multiple security challenges, including a Boko 
        Haram insurgency in the Far North region, cross-border conflict and 
        criminality by Central African militia groups to the east, and a civil 
        war involving the Government of Cameroon and Anglophone separatist armed 
        groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
Whereas the official actions and policies of the Francophone-dominated 
        Government of Cameroon have repressed English-speaking Cameroonians 
        politically and economically throughout the history of Cameroon, dating 
        back to the reunification of British-administered Southern Cameroons and 
        French Cameroun under a federal system in October 1961;
Whereas Paul Biya, the oldest head of state in Africa, has been the President of 
        Cameroon since 1982, maintaining his grip on power by centralizing 
        authority in the executive, undermining the Constitution of Cameroon, 
        impeding democratic governance through corrupt practices, using security 
        services to repress the opposition, and conducting elections marred by 
        widespread irregularities and allegations of fraud;
Whereas key decentralization reforms enacted in the Constitution of Cameroon in 
        1996, which mandated the establishment of a decentralized unitary state, 
        ``equality of all citizens before the law'', the equal status of French 
        and English as official languages, and the establishment of local 
        authorities with ``administrative and financial autonomy'', remain 
        largely unrealized, though an enabling law was adopted in December 2019;
Whereas, throughout his tenure, President Biya has spent extended periods in 
        Europe, pursued government policies exclusively benefitting the 
        Francophone majority in Cameroon, and crippled many parastatals and 
        private enterprises in the Northwest and Southwest regions, further 
        marginalizing English-speaking Cameroonians;
Whereas, in October 2016, English-speaking lawyers, students, and teachers in 
        the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon took to the streets to 
        peacefully protest marginalization of English-speaking Cameroonians by 
        the Government of Cameroon in the legal and education systems, as 
        exemplified by the appointment of French-speaking judges and teachers in 
        the Northwest and Southwest regions and the publishing of important 
        legislation solely in the French language;
Whereas those peaceful protests by English-speaking lawyers, students, and 
        teachers were met with excessive force by the police and gendarmerie of 
        Cameroon, which led to gross human rights violations, the arrest of 
        lawyers, teachers, and Anglophone civic leaders, and their detention in 
        the notorious Kondengui prison in Yaounde;
Whereas, amid broader protests across the Northwest and Southwest regions 
        demanding greater autonomy from the central government of Cameroon, on 
        October 1, 2017, the 56th anniversary of the end of British trusteeship 
        over Southern Cameroons, the Anglophone crisis escalated as separatist 
        armed groups declared independence from Cameroon;
Whereas, in late 2017, Anglophone separatist armed groups escalated attacks, 
        targeting government officials and facilities as well as civilians and 
        traditional leaders seen as sympathetic to the Government of Cameroon 
        and brutally enforcing ``ghost town operations'' (general strikes) and 
        school boycotts in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
Whereas lengthy government-imposed shutdowns of the internet and social media in 
        the Northwest and Southwest regions, totaling 240 days between 2017 and 
        2018, had a devastating impact on the economies and educational 
        institutions in the regions, undermined freedom of expression, prevented 
        the free flow of information related to the conflict, and restricted the 
        ability of local communities to interact and communicate;
Whereas the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon has 
        caused considerable instability and human suffering, with more than 
        3,000 deaths linked to the conflict, and according to United Nations 
        agencies, approximately 3,000,000 people are in need of humanitarian 
        assistance, approximately 60,000 Cameroonian refugees have fled to 
        Nigeria, and approximately 700,000 persons are internally displaced;
Whereas the Department of State 2019 Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
        for Cameroon cited ``significant'' human rights abuses by security 
        forces and separatist armed groups in Cameroon, including unlawful or 
        arbitrary killings, forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detention, 
        repression of fundamental rights, and violence against women and 
        children;
Whereas the United Nations Children's Fund estimates that more than 855,000 
        children are out of school due to the conflict, and the Department of 
        State added Cameroon to the Child Soldiers Prevention Act List in the 
        2020 Trafficking in Persons Report as a foreign government ``identified 
        during the previous year as having governmental armed forces, police, or 
        other security forces, or government-supported armed groups that recruit 
        or use child soldiers'';
Whereas United States citizen Charles Wesco was shot and killed near the town of 
        Bamenda, Cameroon, on October 30, 2018, and, in November 2018, the 
        Department of State stated, ``In memory of American missionary Charles 
        Wesco and all others who have lost their lives in the Anglophone Crisis, 
        we urge all sides to end the violence and enter into broad-based 
        reconciliatory dialogue without preconditions.'';
Whereas, in June 2019, the Government of Switzerland announced that, together 
        with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, it was facilitating a 
        dialogue between the Government of Cameroon and armed opposition groups 
        to support a resolution of the Anglophone crisis;
Whereas, in September 2019, President Biya hastily announced a Major National 
        Dialogue, chaired by Prime Minister Ngute from September 30 to October 
        4, 2019, in Yaounde, ``to examine the ways and means to respond to the 
        deeply-held aspirations of the populations in the Northwest and 
        Southwest'';
Whereas, though the Major National Dialogue led to some concessions by the 
        Government of Cameroon on broader democratization issues, including the 
        release of some political prisoners, including the leader of the 
        Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Maurice Kamto, and some of his associates 
        after nine months of detention, attempts at conflict resolution have 
        failed to bring all parties to the table, as high levels of deaths, 
        brutality, and suffering continue;
Whereas national and international outrage followed the massacre of at least 23 
        people, including 15 children and 2 pregnant women, by government 
        security forces and allied militia on February 14, 2020, in Ngarbuh, 
        Donga Mantung division, in the Northwest region, and a commission of 
        inquiry established by Cameroonian authorities ultimately led to the 
        arrest and charging of 3 soldiers for murder;
Whereas, on June 5, 2020, amidst increasing concern over attacks on freedom of 
        the press and detention of journalists on politically motivated charges 
        in recent years, Cameroon authorities confirmed that an Anglophone 
        journalist covering the conflict, Samuel Ajiekah Abuwe, known as Wazizi, 
        who was arrested in August 2019 and transferred to a military facility, 
        died in custody shortly after his arrest, an acknowledgment that led to 
        widespread condemnation and calls for an independent inquiry;
Whereas the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) of the Government of Cameroon, 
        which has been accused of torture and extrajudicial killings and 
        implicated in massacres like that of February 14, 2020, has received 
        training and support from the United States, potentially in 
        contravention of legal requirements that ``no assistance shall be 
        furnished . . . to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country 
        if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has 
        committed a gross violation of human rights'';
Whereas, in February 2019, the Department of State announced that it would 
        withhold some security assistance to Cameroon, including equipment and 
        training, citing credible allegations of human rights violations by 
        state security forces and a lack of investigation, accountability, and 
        transparency by the Government of Cameroon in response;
Whereas, on December 26, 2019, the United States terminated the designation of 
        Cameroon as a beneficiary under the African Growth and Opportunity Act 
        (19 U.S.C. 3701 et seq.) because ``the Government of Cameroon currently 
        engages in gross violations of internationally recognized human 
        rights'';
Whereas a European Parliament resolution, passed on April 18, 2019, urged 
        inclusive political dialogue to resolve the Anglophone crisis, called 
        for the conflict to be considered by the United Nations Security 
        Council, and urged the European Union to ``use the political leverage 
        provided by development aid and other bilateral programmes to enhance 
        the defense of human rights in Cameroon'';
Whereas France maintains considerable interests in Cameroon, including 
        significant economic and security cooperation, but has not adequately 
        used its influence to stem atrocities committed in the Anglophone 
        regions or support stronger international action to seek resolution to 
        the conflict;
Whereas the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Cameroon 
        stated on January 24, 2019, that ``Cameroon can no longer be a forgotten 
        crisis; it needs to be high on our agenda'', and, on June 22, 2020, a 
        group of former world leaders and 5 Nobel Peace Laureates called on the 
        United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Secretary-
        General, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations, and La 
        Francophonie to ``ensure that Cameroon's Anglophone conflict is on the 
        agenda of the forthcoming UN Security Council meeting and all UNOCA 
        sessions before the UNSC'';
Whereas, on May 13, 2019, an Arria-formula meeting on the humanitarian crisis in 
        Cameroon was held for the United Nations Security Council, but a formal 
        meeting on the situation in Cameroon has not yet been placed on the 
        United Nations Security Council agenda;
Whereas, on July 1, 2020, in Resolution 2532 (2020), the United Nations Security 
        Council unanimously underlined its support of the appeal of the United 
        Nations Secretary-General for a global ceasefire in all conflicts as the 
        world battles the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Whereas there is a significant Cameroonian diaspora in the United States, and 
        Cameroon is a longstanding security partner and aid recipient of the 
        United States, participating in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism 
        Partnership (TSCTP) led by the Department of State and in United States-
        supported efforts to counter Boko Haram and the Islamic State-West 
        Africa, both of which have mounted terrorist operations in the Far North 
        region of Cameroon since 2014: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) strongly condemns abuses committed by state security 
        forces and armed groups in the Northwest and Southwest regions 
        of Cameroon, including extrajudicial killings and detentions, 
        the use of force against civilians and nonviolent protestors, 
        torture, rape, kidnappings, and other forms of violence against 
        women, and violations of the freedoms of press, expression, and 
        assembly;
            (2) urges all parties to the Anglophone conflict in 
        Cameroon, including political opposition groups, to--
                    (A) conclude and uphold an immediate ceasefire;
                    (B) guarantee unfettered humanitarian access and 
                assistance to the Northwest and Southwest regions;
                    (C) exercise restraint and ensure that political 
                protests are peaceful; and
                    (D) establish a credible process for an inclusive 
                dialogue that includes all relevant stakeholders, 
                including from civil society, to achieve a sustainable 
                political solution that respects the rights and 
                freedoms of all of the people of Cameroon;
            (3) affirms that the United States Government continues to 
        hold the Government of Cameroon responsible for safeguarding 
        the safety, security, and constitutional rights of all 
        citizens, regardless of their region of origin or the regions 
        in which they reside, or their religious beliefs or political 
        views;
            (4) urges the Government of Cameroon to--
                    (A) initiate a credible, inclusive, good-faith 
                effort to end the armed conflict in the Northwest and 
                Southwest regions of Cameroon by addressing the root 
                causes of the crisis and grievances and seeking 
                nonviolent solutions to resolve the conflict, including 
                possibly involving an independent mediator in 
                negotiations;
                    (B) follow through on initiatives developed to 
                address the grievances that sparked the conflict, 
                including the National Commission for the Promotion of 
                Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, the Ministry of 
                Decentralization and Local Development, and the 
                National Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration 
                Committee;
                    (C) fully implement recommendations of the Major 
                National Dialogue held in late 2019;
                    (D) respect the rule of law and the constitutional 
                rights of all Cameroonians, including members of the 
                political opposition, civil society activists, and 
                journalists;
                    (E) allow for credible, independent, and 
                transparent investigations of all allegations of human 
                rights abuses committed in the Northwest and Southwest 
                regions;
                    (F) release all political prisoners and journalists 
                currently detained and immediately stop all arbitrary 
                detention, torture, forced disappearances, deaths in 
                custody, and inhumane prison conditions; and
                    (G) work with United States law enforcement to 
                thoroughly investigate and prosecute those responsible 
                for the murder of Charles Wesco;
            (5) urges the Anglophone armed separatist groups to--
                    (A) engage peacefully with government officials to 
                express grievances and engage in nonviolent efforts to 
                resolve the conflict, including participation in a 
                credible and inclusive dialogue, possibly involving an 
                independent mediator;
                    (B) immediately cease human rights abuses, 
                including killings of civilians, torture, kidnapping, 
                and extortion;
                    (C) immediately end the school boycott in the 
                Northwest and Southwest regions and attacks on schools, 
                teachers, and education officials, and allow for the 
                safe return of all students to class; and
                    (D) immediately release all kidnapped and detained 
                civilians;
            (6) urges the Department of State, Department of the 
        Treasury, and United States Agency for International 
        Development, in coordination with other relevant Federal 
        departments and agencies, to--
                    (A) consider imposing targeted sanctions on 
                individual government and separatist leaders 
                ``responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or 
                other gross violations of internationally recognized 
                human rights'';
                    (B) press the Government of Cameroon to provide 
                unfettered humanitarian access to vulnerable 
                populations in the Northwest and Southwest regions of 
                Cameroon;
                    (C) support credible efforts to address the root 
                causes of the conflict and to achieve sustainable peace 
                and reconciliation and efforts to aid the economic 
                recovery of and fight coronavirus in the Northwest and 
                Southwest regions;
                    (D) support humanitarian and development 
                programming, including to meet immediate needs, advance 
                nonviolent conflict resolution and reconciliation, 
                promote economic recovery and development, support 
                primary and secondary education, and strengthen 
                democratic processes, including political 
                decentralization, enshrined as a fundamental principle 
                of state governance in the Constitution of Cameroon;
                    (E) continue to limit security assistance to 
                Cameroon and ensure that United States training and 
                equipment is not being used to facilitate human rights 
                abuses in the Northwest and Southwest regions;
                    (F) prioritize efforts to help develop and sustain 
                effective, professional civilian oversight of law 
                enforcement and security services in Cameroon to ensure 
                they are held accountable for abuses; and
                    (G) engage in an ongoing effort to ensure that the 
                crisis in the Anglophone regions is discussed in 
                international fora, including the United Nations 
                Security Council, that focus on urgent international 
                diplomatic engagement and response; and
            (7) urges members of the international community to--
                    (A) join in a strategic collective effort to 
                pressure the Government of Cameroon and separatist 
                armed groups, including through the use of available 
                diplomatic and punitive tools, to immediately conclude 
                and uphold a ceasefire, participate in an inclusive and 
                meaningful dialogue to address the root causes of the 
                conflict and pending grievances, and seek nonviolent 
                solutions to the conflict, including by possibly 
                involving an independent and credible mediator;
                    (B) mobilize and coordinate funding for local and 
                international organizations to provide humanitarian and 
                development assistance, including to fight coronavirus, 
                to communities affected by the crisis in the Northwest 
                and Southwest regions of Cameroon;
                    (C) leverage bilateral relationships to encourage 
                key partners of Cameroon, particularly France, to help 
                foster a peaceful resolution to the crisis in the 
                Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon and 
                implement a mutually agreed-upon program to address 
                longstanding grievances and marginalization; and
                    (D) use regional and international fora, including 
                the African Union, the Economic Community of Central 
                African States, and the United Nations Security Council 
                to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Northwest and 
                Southwest regions of Cameroon and push for a cessation 
                of violence, an expedient resolution, the 
                implementation of a mutually agreed-upon program for 
                addressing the root causes and pending grievances, and 
                the investigation and prosecution of human rights 
                abuses and crimes committed against civilians.
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