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Article 19 accuses government of systematic abuses

An international human rights watchdog on Monday accused Cameroon’s government of systematically perpetrating rights violations ranging from illegitimate detention to torture and deaths in custody.

In a report,’Hollow Promises, Freedom of Expression in Cameroon since 1995’ the International Centre Against Censorship, Article 19, also accused the Commonwealth, which admitted Cameroon in 1995, of turning a blind eye to official abuse of power by one of its members.

“We call for an immediate end to the appalling abuse of power by the authorities in Cameroon,” Andrew Puddephatt, executive director of Article 19, said. “Our new report contains a catalogue of just some of the abuses against the media and political opponents.

“Since the Cameroonian government refuses to adhere to the most basic human rights standards, the Commonwealth must lead the international community in assisting them to guarantee the safety of their citizens,” he added.

[The report is available at http://www.article19.org.]


This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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