[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7203-H7204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CALLING ON GOVERNMENT OF CAMEROON AND ARMED GROUPS TO RESPECT THE HUMAN 
                   RIGHTS OF ALL CAMEROONIAN CITIZENS

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 358) calling on the Government of Cameroon and 
armed groups to respect the human rights of all Cameroonian citizens, 
to end all violence, and to pursue a broad-based dialogue without 
preconditions to resolve the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest 
regions.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 358

       Whereas many Anglophone Cameroonians have long felt 
     marginalized by official actions and policies of the 
     Government of Cameroon, including the abolishment of a 
     federal form of government, which was the constitutional 
     basis under which English-speaking Southern Cameroons entered 
     into the union, and replacing it with a unitary state 
     dominated by the Francophone majority;
       Whereas, beginning in late 2016, protests organized by 
     lawyers, teachers, and students were violently repressed by 
     the Government of Cameroon, leading to numerous deaths and 
     imprisonments, including of journalists, teachers, lawyers, 
     and an Anglophone judge on the country's Supreme Court;
       Whereas the conflict escalated in late September and early 
     October 2017, when Cameroonian security forces brutally 
     cracked down on peaceful Anglophone civilian demonstrators, 
     resulting in dozens of deaths and leaving over 100 injured;
       Whereas, in 2017, separatists launched a campaign to 
     pressure school officials in the Northwest and Southwest 
     Anglophone regions to go on strike as part of a boycott 
     against the Government of Cameroon, and reportedly began 
     burning school buildings, threatening education officials 
     with violence if they did not comply with a boycott, and 
     kidnapping for ransom children and teachers who defied the 
     boycott;
       Whereas numerous human rights monitors have documented 
     armed separatists killing traditional leaders and targeting 
     civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, who 
     are perceived to be supporting or working with the Government 
     of Cameroon, and reports indicate that armed separatists have 
     killed scores of security force personnel;
       Whereas the security forces of the Government of Cameroon 
     have attacked medical facilities and health workers in the 
     Northwest and Southwest regions;
       Whereas numerous credible reports from human rights 
     monitors, including the United Nations High Commissioner for 
     Human Rights, have documented the excessive use of force by 
     government security forces against Cameroonian civilians 
     living in the Anglophone regions, including the burning of 
     villages, the use of live ammunition against protestors, 
     arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, sexual abuse, and 
     killing of civilians, including women, children, and the 
     elderly;
       Whereas the Department of State has expressed serious 
     concern over the manner in which the government has used 
     force to unlawfully restrict the rights to free expression 
     and peaceful protest that are protected under the Cameroonian 
     Constitution and international law;
       Whereas the government has charged journalists, social 
     activists, and members of political opposition parties with 
     terrorism-related crimes and prosecuted them in military 
     tribunals;
       Whereas the Government of Cameroon arrested opposition 
     leader Maurice Kamto and roughly 150 members of the Cameroon 
     Renaissance Movement party following peaceful protests on 
     January 26, 2019, charging them with crimes that could result 
     in the death penalty and handling their cases at the Military 
     Tribunal even though they are civilians;
       Whereas the Government of Cameroon continued to place bans 
     on Cameroon Renaissance Movement's attempts to hold peaceful 
     protests, and civil society reported that security forces 
     interfered with MRC registration processes in Yaounde, 
     Douala, and Bafoussam in February 2019;
       Whereas the Government of Cameroon has repeatedly 
     restricted freedoms of expression by shutting down the 
     internet, harassing and detaining journalists, refusing 
     licenses to independent media, and intensifying political 
     attacks against the independent press;
       Whereas the United Nations Office for the Coordination of 
     Humanitarian Affairs stated in April 2019 that more than 
     530,000 people were internally displaced in areas affected by 
     the Anglophone conflict;
       Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
     for Refugees reports that more than 32,000 Cameroonian 
     refugees have registered in Nigeria;
       Whereas the Department of State has expressly called on the 
     Government of Cameroon to respect the rights, including the 
     right to due process, of 47 Cameroonians forcibly returned in 
     January 2018 from Nigerian custody to Cameroonian 
     authorities, many of whom had reportedly submitted asylum 
     claims in Nigeria; and
       Whereas ten of the 47 Cameroonians forcibly returned from 
     Nigeria now face charges before a military court punishable 
     by the death penalty, while the other thirty-seven reportedly 
     remain in detention without charge: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) strongly condemns the abuses committed in Cameroon's 
     Anglophone regions by the Government of Cameroon security 
     forces and armed groups, including extrajudicial killings and 
     detentions, the use of force against nonviolent civilians and 
     protestors, and violations of the freedoms of press, 
     expression, and assembly;
       (2) affirms that the United States continues to hold the 
     Government of Cameroon responsible for upholding the rights 
     of all citizens, regardless of political views or beliefs or 
     the regions in which they reside, in accordance with 
     Cameroon's international obligations and Cameroon's own 
     Constitution;
       (3) urges all parties, including political opposition 
     groups, to exercise restraint and to ensure that protests 
     remain peaceful;
       (4) urges the Government of Cameroon to--
       (A) initiate broad-based dialogue without preconditions and 
     make a credible, full faith effort to work with religious and 
     community leaders in the Anglophone region to address 
     grievances and seek nonviolent solutions to resolve conflict 
     and constitutional reforms that would protect minority 
     concerns, such as reconstituting a Federal system;
       (B) follow through on the initiatives developed to address 
     grievances, including the Commission of Bilingualism and 
     Multiculturalism, the Ministry of Decentralization, and the 
     National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization, 
     Reintegration, that currently offer no visible evidence of 
     having played a constructive role in resolving the crisis;
       (C) respect the fundamental rights of all Cameroonian 
     citizens, including political activists and journalists;
       (D) ensure that any security operations are conducted in 
     accordance with international human rights standards, 
     including efforts to ensure security forces only use force 
     under appropriate circumstances;
       (E) transparently investigate all allegations of human 
     rights violations committed in the Anglophone regions and 
     take the necessary measures to prevent arbitrary detention, 
     torture, enforced disappearances, deaths in custody, and 
     inhumane prison conditions;
       (F) promptly charge or release all those detained in the 
     context of the Anglophone crisis, including the Cameroonians 
     forcibly returned from Nigeria, and ensure that any future 
     detainees are treated with due process, in line with 
     Cameroon's penal code;
       (G) allow unfettered access to humanitarian and health care 
     workers in accordance with humanitarian principles of 
     humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence;
       (H) release the leaders and members of the Cameroon 
     Renaissance Movement party who were arrested following their 
     peaceful protests, and ensure that this party, like others, 
     can participate unfettered in upcoming municipal, 
     parliamentary, and regional elections;
       (I) release human rights defenders, civil society 
     activists, political prisoners, journalists, trade unionists, 
     teachers, and any other citizens who have been arbitrarily 
     arrested and detained without trial or charge;
       (J) ensure that detainees are treated fairly and humanely, 
     with proper judicial proceedings, including a registry of 
     those detained by the Cameroonian security forces, and with 
     full access to legal resources; and
       (K) ensure that Cameroon's antiterrorism legislation is 
     used only to prosecute offenses that would be considered acts 
     of terrorism under international legal standards, and cease 
     to use this legislation to sanction activities that are 
     protected by national and international guarantees of freedom 
     of expression, peaceful assembly, and association with 
     others; and
       (5) urges the separatist groups to--
       (A) engage with Cameroonian government officials, as well 
     as civil society and religious leaders, in a broad-based 
     dialogue without preconditions to peacefully express 
     grievances and credibly engage in nonviolent efforts to 
     resolve the conflict;
       (B) immediately stop committing human rights abuses, 
     including killings of civilians, use of child soldiers, 
     torture, kidnapping, and extortion;
       (C) end the school boycott immediately and cease attacks on 
     schools, teachers, and education officials, and allow for the 
     safe return of all students to class;
       (D) end incitement to violence and hate speech on the part 
     of the diaspora; and
       (E) immediately release all civilians illegally detained or 
     kidnapped in the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Engel) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.

[[Page H7204]]

  



                             General Leave

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H. Res. 358.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure.
  I want to start by thanking Ms. Bass and Mr. Smith for bringing 
forward this resolution, which calls on the Government of Cameroon and 
armed groups to respect the human rights of all Cameroonian citizens, 
to end all violence, and to pursue a broad-based dialogue without 
preconditions to resolve the conflict in the anglophone regions of 
Cameroon.
  Since October 2017, the region has been mired in conflict, with both 
the Government of Cameroon and armed separatists fighting one another 
and perpetrating human rights abuses.
  While armed actors refuse to pursue a negotiated settlement to the 
conflict, innocent civilians continue to suffer. According to UNICEF, 
more than 80 percent of the schools in the anglophone regions of 
Cameroon remain closed, putting at risk the future prospects of 
children who are being denied access to education. In addition, 1.3 
million people, including approximately 650,000 children, are in need 
of humanitarian assistance.
  This resolution urges the Government of Cameroon to respect the 
fundamental rights of all Cameroonian citizens and follow through on 
initiatives developed to address grievances in the anglophone region. 
It also urges separatist groups to engage with Cameroonian government 
officials, civil society, and religious leaders to express grievances 
and engage in efforts to resolve the conflict and to stop committing 
human rights abuses and inciting violence.
  For several months, the Swiss Government has been attempting to 
mediate a peaceful resolution to this crisis, and I am pleased this 
resolution demonstrates Congress' strong support for a negotiated 
settlement.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to support this resolution, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 358, calling on the 
Government of Cameroon and armed groups to respect fundamental human 
rights and pursue dialogue to resolve the crisis in the anglophone 
region of that country.
  Mr. Speaker, I especially want to thank Congresswoman Karen Bass, the 
chairwoman of the Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and 
International Organizations Subcommittee, of which I serve as the 
ranking member, for this resolution. It is a bipartisan resolution, 
and, again, I thank her for her leadership.
  Mr. Speaker, I would note that in the last Congress, I chaired a 
hearing on this Cameroon crisis as it was festering, seeking a way 
forward for peace. Sadly, that effort and all efforts made by the 
international community have been elusive thus far.
  The conflict in Cameroon has its roots in long-simmering tensions 
between that country's francophone majority and the anglophone 
minority, concentrated in the northwest and southwest regions.
  In 2016, protests by anglophone teachers and lawyers over 
marginalization and the lack of government services were met with a 
heavy-handed response. The government failed to genuinely address those 
legitimate grievances, which further inflamed tensions.
  Brutal fighting between government security forces and local armed 
groups who called for separatism continues.
  Today, there are over 500,000 displaced persons in the anglophone 
region.
  Mr. Speaker, entire communities have been burned to the ground. 
Humanitarian convoys struggle to reach local populations or are even 
blocked and attacked by armed groups. Over half of the health 
facilities and hospitals have been damaged and forced to close. 
Children have been out of school for over 2 years.
  According to the U.S. Department of State's Human Rights Report on 
Cameroon from 2018: ``Government security forces were widely believed 
to be responsible for disappearances of suspected anglophone 
separatists, with reports of bodies dumped far from the site of the 
killings to make identification difficult.''
  This, in turn, is fueling resentment and separatist violence.
  This resolution reiterates the U.S. position that all parties must 
immediately cease fighting and come to the negotiating table without 
preconditions. The Swiss-led mediation process is a hopeful step in 
that direction, which deserves support.
  I would also note the critical role that has been played by the 
Catholic church, in particular Cardinal Tumi, in trying to reach common 
ground, and the need to support such efforts.
  Hopefully, by weighing in, Congress can help promote the cause of 
peace and justice in the Republic of Cameroon.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield myself 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, I again want to thank Ms. Bass and Mr. Smith for their 
hard work. Again, as I mentioned before, Mr. Smith is always working 
very, very hard to be on the side of justice.
  For too long, the people in Cameroon's anglophone region have been 
marginalized by the Cameroonian Government, and since 2017, conflict 
between the government and separatists have brought chaos and fear to 
those living in the region.
  This resolution supports a negotiated settlement to the conflict that 
respects the basic human rights of its citizens, so Cameroon can become 
a country that is more peaceful and stable.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in supporting this 
bipartisan piece of legislation, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 358.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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