[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E972]
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

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2019

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, over the past two years, tensions have 
escalated in the Northwest and Southwest regions in Cameroon between 
the minority Anglophone population and the Francophone factions that 
control the government. The conflict has killed hundreds of 
Cameroonians, has displaced nearly half of a million people, and human 
rights violations have been alleged against both security forces loyal 
to the Francophone-led Cameroonian government and militant Anglophone 
separatist groups. This conflict has severely impacted the town of 
Kumbo in Cameroon, which is the sister city of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
  As sister cities, Kumbo and La Crosse have exchanged many official 
delegation visits, and a local nonprofit called the La Crosse Friends 
of Cameroon has been dedicated to deepening the ties between the two 
cities and raising awareness about the conflict. Their passion and 
dedication to finding a sustainable and inclusive peace in Cameroon was 
clear as I spoke before them at an event in La Crosse. Following that 
event, I traveled to Cameroon as part of a congressional delegation, 
and I was grateful to the local leaders from Kumbo who traveled to meet 
with us to share their powerful stories about how the conflict has 
affected their home.
  The ongoing devastation that our Cameroonian friends are experiencing 
as a result of this crisis is unconscionable, which is why I helped 
introduce a resolution calling for the respect of human rights of all 
Cameroonian citizens, an immediate end to the violence, and for the 
creation of a broad-based dialogue to seek nonviolent solutions to the 
conflict. I am proud to see the House of Representatives take up this 
resolution to show that Congress supports a path to a sustainable, 
inclusive peace in Cameroon.

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