IV 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 503 
Condemning the actions taken by the Government of Cameroon against Henry 
Fossung and others, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 19, 2005 
Mr. MCCOTTER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on International Relations 
RESOLUTION 
Condemning the actions taken by the Government of Cam-
eroon against Henry Fossung and others, and for other 
purposes. 
Whereas Henry Fossung is a highly regarded statesman and 
national chairman of the Southern Cameroons National 
Council, the motto of which is ‘‘The Force of Argument, 
Not the Argument of Force’’; 
Whereas Henry Fossung served as Cameroon’s ambassador 
to the Central Africa Republic, Chad Republic, Liberia, 
Guinea, and Sierra Leone; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung is highly educated, with a 
masters degree in international law/relations from the 
American University in Washington, D.C. and degrees 
from Blackstone School of Law, Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity, and the Institute of Higher Overseas Studies, and
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has lectured at Brown University, among other notable 
institutions; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung has served on numerous inter-
national committees and conferences, including the 
United Nations Committee on Disarmament and Law of 
the Sea, has countless decorations and honors to his 
credit, and has authored several books and articles; 
Whereas on January 15, 2005, under the direction of the Di-
visional Officer for Buea and the Provincial Delegate for 
National Security, more than 200 members of the Gov-
ernment of the Republic of Cameroon’s militia and police 
surrounded, fired their weapons at, and invaded the resi-
dence of Ambassador Fossung and arrested Ambassador 
Fossung and his houseguests, including women who were 
cooking food at the time, a 2-year-old toddler, and elderly 
and disabled individuals; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung and his guests were taken into 
custody and detained in a government facility for up to 
2 days; 
Whereas the Divisional Officer told Ambassador Fossung 
that he was arrested for hosting a gathering of more 
than 2 people without permission from the Government 
of the Republic of Cameroon; 
Whereas there was no warrant of criminal charges issued to 
Ambassador Fossung or the others arrested; 
Whereas 6 members of the militia knocked Ambassador 
Fossung to the ground, stripped him naked, and dragged 
and kicked him, causing severe injury, including a perma-
nent injury to his left eye, a fractured ankle, and head 
and groin injuries;
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Whereas several of the other detainees were also beaten or 
mistreated; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung and his guests were held in 2 
small cells with over 50 other prisoners, with no drinking 
water and no toilet, and were denied medical treatment 
and food for up to 11⁄2 days; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung’s residence was vandalized and 
looted by the militia and police and thousands of copies 
of books and other writings were seized and destroyed, 
while Ambassador Fossung and his family were held 
against their will; 
Whereas the militia and police confiscated money, jewelry, 
and ball-point pens belonging to the detainees, and ex-
torted bribes from visitors attempting to bring food to 
the detainees; 
Whereas Ambassador Fossung’s dog also fell victim to the 
brutality of the militia and police; 
Whereas these actions of the Government of the Republic of 
Cameroon constitute gross and reprehensible violations of 
international law and basic human rights; 
Whereas the Government of the Republic of Cameroon con-
tinues to harass and intimidate Ambassador Fossung and 
members of the Southern Cameroons National Council 
and to purge the country of all political dissent; 
Whereas any citizen of the Republic of Cameroon who dares 
to speak critically of the reigning government lives in fear 
of persecution, torture, and assassination; and 
Whereas there are numerous documented accounts of citizens 
of the Republic of Cameroon being imprisoned, beaten, 
and murdered for political reasons: Now, therefore, be it
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Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly condemns the actions taken by the 
Government of the Republic of Cameroon against 
Ambassador Henry Fossung, his family, his house 
guests, and the members of the Southern Cameroons 
National Council; 
(2) affirms that the United States continues to 
hold the Government of the Republic of Cameroon 
responsible for upholding all the rights of its citizens 
and nationals, regardless of political views or beliefs; 
(3) urges the Government of the Republic of 
Cameroon to extend to all Cameroon’s citizens, in-
cluding political dissidents, Ambassador Fossung, 
and the Southern Cameroons National Council, the 
rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights of the United Nations and other 
international covenants on human rights, including 
the freedoms of thought, conscience, and religion 
and equal protection of the law; 
(4) calls upon the President of the United 
States to continue to— 
(A) assert the concerns of the United 
States Government regarding violations by the 
Government of the Republic of Cameroon of the 
rights of Cameroon’s citizens, including Ambas-
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sador Fossung and members of the Southern 
Cameroons National Council; 
(B) emphasize that the United States re-
gards the human rights practices of the Govern-
ment of the Republic of Cameroon, including its 
treatment of political dissidents such as Ambas-
sador Fossung and innocent civilians, as having 
a negative impact on the relations between the 
United States and the Republic of Cameroon; 
(C) urge the Government of the Republic 
of Cameroon to emancipate members of the 
Southern Cameroons National Council by 
granting those rights guaranteed by the Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights of the 
United Nations and other international cov-
enants on human rights; 
(D) cooperate with international organiza-
tions, including the United Nations and its 
agencies, in efforts to protect the human rights 
of freedom of thought and speech of all citizens 
and nationals of Cameroon, through joint ap-
peals to the Government of the Republic of 
Cameroon; and 
(E) initiate an active and consistent dia-
logue with other governments that are influen-
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tial with the Government of the Republic of 
Cameroon in order to persuade that government 
to rectify its human rights practices. 
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