III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 292 

Calling on the Government of Cameroon and armed separatist groups to 

respect the human rights of all Cameroonian citizens, to end all violence, 

and to pursue an inclusive dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 30, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. VAN

HOLLEN, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. KAINE, and Mr. MERKLEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Cameroon and armed separatist groups to respect the human rights of all 

Cameroonian citizens, to end all violence, and to pursue 

an inclusive dialogue to resolve the conflict in the Northwest and Southwest regions. 

Whereas Paul Biya has held office as Cameroon’s President 

since 1982, and won reelection to a seventh term in October 2018; 

Whereas Cameroon receives United States foreign aid and 

participates in the Department of State-led Trans-Sahara 

Counter-Terrorism Partnership (TSCTP) and United 

States-supported efforts to counter Boko Haram; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•SRES 292 IS 

Whereas the Government of Cameroon has increasingly 

cracked down on political expression, including by imprisoning opposition leaders and supporters, banning opposition and civil society conferences, reinforcing troop deployments to deter and disrupt protests, and restricting 

access to Facebook and other social media platforms; 

Whereas the Government of Cameroon has repeatedly restricted freedoms of expression and the media nationwide 

by shutting down the internet, harassing and detaining 

journalists, refusing licenses to independent media, and 

intensifying political attacks against the independent 

press; 

Whereas Boko Haram and an Islamic State-affiliated splinter 

group have destabilized northern Cameroon since 2014, 

marked recently by a June 2019 attack on security forces 

in Far North Cameroon that killed dozens of soldiers and 

civilians; 

Whereas the Boko Haram insurgency in Cameroon’s Far 

North region has created an estimated 263,000 internally 

displaced persons (IDPs), causing an escalating humanitarian crisis in difficult to access areas; 

Whereas tensions between predominantly Christian farmers 

and predominantly Muslim Fulani herders have contributed to religious and communal tensions throughout 

West and Central Africa in recent years, including in the 

Northwest region of Cameroon; 

Whereas members of the Government of Cameroon’s Rapid 

Intervention Battalion (BIR), which receives United 

States counterterrorism training and support, have been 

accused of torture and extrajudicial killings and may be 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•SRES 292 IS 

in contravention of congressionally mandated ‘‘Leahy 

human rights vetting’’ requirements; 

Whereas the 2018 Department of State Human Rights Report documented torture and abuse by Cameroonian security forces, ‘‘prolonged arbitrary detentions including of 

suspected Anglophone separatists by security forces,’’ and 

violations of freedoms of expression and assembly; 

Whereas, following Cameroon’s October 7, 2018, elections, 

the African Union Election Observation Mission stated 

that ‘‘the current [legal] framework needs to be strengthened in order to safeguard the democratic principles of 

separation of powers, fairness, and independence and impartiality,’’ which the Department of State echoed, emphasizing that electoral irregularities ‘‘created an impression that the election was not credible or genuinely free 

and fair’’; 

Whereas Anglophone Cameroonians have long felt 

marginalized by official actions and policies of the Government of Cameroon; 

Whereas, while the Government of France has condemned attacks by armed separatists, it has a meaningful role to 

play in pushing the Government of Cameroon to lift restrictions on freedoms of expression and the media, end 

arbitrary detention, and engage in inclusive dialogue with 

Anglophone leaders; 

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 and 

lawyers; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•SRES 292 IS 

Whereas, in January 2017, the Government of Cameroon ordered the suspension of internet services in the northwest 

and southwest regions of Cameroon, the suspension lasting for 93 days and having a major, debilitating effect on 

the economy, educational institutions, freedom of expression, and social communication of the region’s residents; 

Whereas the conflict escalated in late September and early 

October 2017, when Cameroonian security forces brutally 

cracked down on unarmed civilians peacefully demonstrating, resulting in at least 20 people dying and leaving over 100 injured; 

Whereas, in 2017, armed separatist groups launched a campaign to pressure school officials in the Anglophone region to go on strike as part of a boycott against the Government of Cameroon, and began burning school buildings and threatening education officials with violence if 

they did not comply; 

Whereas human rights monitors have documented armed 

groups killing traditional leaders and targeting civilians 

who are perceived to be supporting or working with the 

Government of Cameroon, and armed militants have 

killed Cameroonian security force personnel; 

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 of Cameroon security forces against 

Cameroonians living in the Anglophone regions, including 

the burning of villages, the use of live ammunition 

against protestors, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, and sexual abuse; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•SRES 292 IS 

Whereas the Department of State has expressed serious concern over the Government of Cameroon’s use of force to 

restrict free expression and the use of violence against individuals protesting the government’s policies in the 

Anglophone regions; 

Whereas both the Government of Cameroon security forces 

and armed groups have been documented targeting and 

brutally killing civilians in the Anglophone regions, including women and children; 

Whereas in February 2019, the Department of State announced it would withhold some security assistance to 

Cameroon, citing credible allegations that the 

Cameroonian military carried out human rights violations; 

Whereas United States citizen Charles Wesco was senselessly 

killed near the town of Bamenda, Cameroon, on October 

30, 2018, after being caught in what the Department of 

State has characterized as ‘‘cross fire’’; 

Whereas the United Nations Office for the Coordination of 

Humanitarian Affairs stated in March 2019 that at least 

530,000 were internally displaced in areas affected by the 

Anglophone conflict; 

Whereas the United Nations Office for the Coordination of 

Humanitarian Affairs has estimated that $298,900,000 

is required to provide humanitarian assistance throughout Cameroon, and only 21 percent of the appeal has 

been funded as of July 2019; 

Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reported that it had registered roughly 36,000 Cameroonian refugees from the Anglophone regions in Nigeria as of April 2019; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•SRES 292 IS 

Whereas some Cameroonian diaspora organizations in the 

United States and Cameroonian-based civil society organizations are working to address the needs of 

Cameroonian internally displaced persons on the northwest and southwest regions of the country and refugees 

in Nigeria; 

Whereas 47 Anglophone activists were forcibly returned from 

Nigerian custody to Cameroonian authorities in January 

2018, despite many having reportedly submitted asylum 

claims in Nigeria; and 

Whereas 10 of the 47 individuals forcibly returned from Nigeria now face charges before a military court that would 

be punishable by the death penalty, while the other 37 

reportedly remain in detention without charge: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) urges all parties to the Anglophone conflict 

3 in Cameroon, including political opposition groups, 

4 to— 

5 (A) agree to an immediate ceasefire; 

6 (B) guarantee unfettered humanitarian as7 sistance; 

8 (C) exercise restraint and ensure that pro9 tests remain peaceful; and 

10 (D) engage in inclusive dialogue with civil 

11 society to get to a political solution that re12 spects the rights and freedoms of the people of 

13 Cameroon; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•SRES 292 IS 

1 (2) strongly condemns the abuses committed by 

2 Boko Haram, state security forces, and armed 

3 groups in the Anglophone regions, including 

4 extrajudicial killings and detentions, the use of force 

5 against nonviolent civilians and protestors, and vio6 lations of the freedoms of press, expression, religion, 

7 and assembly; 

8 (3) affirms that the United States Government 

9 continues to hold the Government of Cameroon re10 sponsible for upholding the rights of all citizens, re11 gardless of their religious beliefs, political views, or 

12 the regions in which they reside; 

13 (4) urges the Government of Cameroon to— 

14 (A) initiate a credible, inclusive, good, and 

15 full-faith effort to work with religious, cultural, 

16 and community leaders in the Anglophone re17 gion and the Cameroonian diaspora to engage 

18 in meaningful dialogue and address grievances 

19 and seek nonviolent solutions to resolve the con20 flict, including possibly involving an inde21 pendent mediator in such negotiations; 

22 (B) respect the fundamental rights of all 

23 Cameroonian citizens, including political activ24 ists, faith leaders, and journalists; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•SRES 292 IS 

1 (C) ensure that any security operations are 

2 conducted in accordance with international 

3 human rights standards, including efforts to en4 sure security forces only use force under appro5 priate circumstances; 

6 (D) investigate all allegations of human 

7 rights abuses, including religious freedom viola8 tions, committed in the Anglophone regions and 

9 take the necessary measures to prevent arbi10 trary detention, torture, enforced disappear11 ances, deaths in custody, and inhumane prison 

12 conditions; 

13 (E) promote the rule of law through more 

14 transparent accountability mechanisms; 

15 (F) improve election processes and reform 

16 electoral institutions; 

17 (G) promptly charge or release all those 

18 detained in the context of the Anglophone cri19 sis, including all Anglophone activists arrested 

20 in Nigeria, and ensure that any future detain21 ees are treated with due process, in accordance 

22 with Cameroon’s penal code and international 

23 human rights norms; 

24 (H) ensure that detainees are treated fairly 

25 and humanely, with proper judicial proceedings, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•SRES 292 IS 

1 including a registry of those detained by the 

2 Cameroonian security forces, and with full ac3 cess to legal resources; 

4 (I) release human rights defenders, civil 

5 society activists, political prisoners, journalists, 

6 trade unionists, teachers, faith leaders and any 

7 other citizens who have been arbitrarily ar8 rested and detained without trial or charge; and 

9 (J) work with United States law enforce10 ment to thoroughly investigate and prosecute 

11 Charles Wesco’s murder; and 

12 (5) urges the armed groups in Anglophone 

13 areas to— 

14 (A) engage with government officials to 

15 peacefully express grievances and credibly en16 gage in nonviolent efforts to resolve the conflict; 

17 (B) immediately stop committing human 

18 rights abuses, including killings of civilians, tor19 ture, kidnapping, and extortion; 

20 (C) end the school boycott and immediately 

21 cease attacks on schools, teachers, and edu22 cation officials, and allow for the safe return of 

23 all students to class; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•SRES 292 IS 

1 (D) immediately release all civilians ille2 gally detained or kidnapped. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS