Parallel Report Submitted to CERD re: Cameroon

Between 11 and 29 April 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination, at its 106th session, considered the combined 22nd and 23rd reports from the Republic of Cameroon. The review had been postponed from its original planned date of 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Among the themes of particular interest to the Committee during this session were the measures taken by the State to adopt legislation to protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, use, develop and exercise total control over their lands, territories and resources, guarantee their rights to consultation and free, prior and informed consent, and guarantee fair and immediate compensation and reparation for communities who have been driven out of their traditional lands and territories. The Committee also looked at measures taken to strengthen the effective participation of indigenous peoples and minorities, to guarantee their non-discriminatory access to education, and to ensure their access to justice.

To contribute to the Committee’s examination of Cameroon, Association Okani and Forest Peoples Programme submitted a parallel report for consideration of the Committee, focusing in particular on the continuing issues faced by forest indigenous peoples with respect to their customary land rights. The report notes the continuing lack of full respect and protection of customary land rights in Cameroon, as well as the disproportionate impacts that current laws have on forest indigenous peoples, in particular because of the inability to obtain title to customarily-held forest lands, as well as the lack of collective titling provisions.   

The full parallel report is available here in English and in French.

The Committee has now published the advanced draft of its concluding observations, which include some important recommendations for the State as regards indigenous peoples, including that the State:

“(a) Accelerate the review of land ownership legislative framework, including the Ordinances of 1974, Law on Forests of 1994 and the Law on mining of 2016, to ensure the protection of the right of indigenous peoples to own, use, develop and control their lands, territories and resources, while ensuring their effective and meaningful participation in the review process;

(b) Adopt measures to ensure consultation with indigenous peoples on any projects or legislative or administrative measures that may affect their land, territories and resources and with a view to obtaining their free, prior and informed consent;

(c) Take measures to ensure access of indigenous peoples to effective remedies and provide them with just and fair compensation for their lands, territories and resources that they have traditionally owned or used, and which have been confiscated, occupied, used or damaged without their free, prior and informed consent;

(d) Adopt measures to ensure the availability and accessibility of indigenous peoples to the land administration offices and to ensure that the legal land registry procedural framework respects the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples, without discrimination;

(e) Adopt measures to mitigate the impact of the climate change on the lands, territories and resources of indigenous peoples with a view to protecting their customs and traditional ways of life, while preventing inter-community conflicts.”

Forest Peoples Programme urges the State of Cameroon to comply with these recommendations in full.