[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 224 (Friday, January 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8006-S8007]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2736. Mr. BOOZMAN (for Mr. Risch) proposed an amendment to the 
resolution 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; as 
follows:

       Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the 
     following: ``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 coercive and violent enforcement of the 
     school boycott in the

[[Page S8007]]

     Northwest and Southwest regions and attacks on schools, 
     teachers, and education officials, and allow for the peaceful 
     and safe return of all students to class; and
       (D) publicly condemn the illegal detention and kidnapping 
     of 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, possibly involving an independent mediator, 
     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 international 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, potentially with the 
     involvement of an independent mediator, 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--
       (i) discuss the ongoing crisis in the Northwest and 
     Southwest regions of Cameroon;
       (ii) push for a cessation of violence, an expedient 
     resolution, and the implementation of a mutually agreed-upon 
     program for addressing the root causes and pending 
     grievances; and
       (iii) maintain calls for the investigation and prosecution 
     of human rights abuses and crimes committed against 
     civilians.
                                 ______