European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in Cameroon
Date: 2001-05-17
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Cameroon, human rights, legal hearing, torture

7.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 34 E/379

Thursday 17 May 2001

N. whereas the current deterioration in the political situation may continue if the government does not
respond positively to the call for a national dialogue with the opposition and civil society, as provided
for in particular by the 1998 Paris Conference on peace and national reconciliation,

O. whereas the democratic process in Ethiopia must be reinforced,

1.

2.

3.

4.

Condemns the disproportionate and excessive use of police violence;

Condemns the assassination of Kinfe Gebremedhin;

Offers its condolences to the victims(cid:146) families;

Condemns the attacks on human rights organisations, the free press and the opposition parties;

5. Welcomes the attempt of the Ethiopian Parliament to resolve the current crisis;

Calls on the Ethiopian Government to hold an inquiry into the conduct of the security forces with all

6.
speed;

Reiterates the importance it attaches to the fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech,

including
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through the channels of the press, academic freedom, freedom of assembly and the freedom to form
trade unions, including students(cid:146) unions, and independence of the judiciary;

Recalls that respect for human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law is laid down in the

8.
Cotonou Agreement;

Calls for the immediate release of the arrested politicians and activists from the human rights organi-

9.
sations, particularly Professor Mesfin Woldemariam, Dr Berhanu Nega and Lidetu Ayalew;

10.

Calls for the immediate release of students who have not engaged in acts of violence;

11.

Condemns any use of torture and ill-treatment;

12.
Calls for the holding of a general inter-Ethiopian dialogue, with all opposition groups, including
armed movements and the representatives of civil society, on the peace and national reconciliation, pro-
vided for by the 1998 Paris Conference, in order to achieve a peaceful resolution of the country(cid:146)s political,
economic and social problems;

Calls on the European Union to support the national inter-Ethiopian dialogue for peace and recon-

13.
ciliation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the co-presi-

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dents of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Ethiopian Government and the OAU.

14. Human rights: Cameroon

B5-0358, 0371, 0377, 0387 and 0397/2001

European Parliament resolution on the human rights situation in Cameroon

The European Parliament,

A. whereas several reports from independent human rights organisations denounce the systematic use of
torture and numerous instances of disappearances and extrajudicial execution in Cameroon, said to be
the work of the Operational Command set up in February 2000 to combat large-scale banditry in
Littoral Province,

C 34 E/380

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

7.2.2002

Thursday 17 May 2001

B. having regard to the discovery during 2000 of mass graves which have been linked to the activities of

the Operational Command,

C. whereas several high-ranking officers of the Cameroon gendarmerie,

including Colonel Ousmanou
Bobbo, were arrested and charged on 7 May 2001, and have been remanded in custody in YaoundØ,
which shows a determination to apply the rule of law,

D. whereas Cameroon(cid:146)s President Paul Biya set up a commission of inquiry in April 2001 which has also

led to the arrests of 20 junior officers of the Operational Command,

E. whereas, following a damning internal inquiry, the President of Cameroon dismissed the brigadier in
charge of that unit, the colonel responsible for the Douala centre and the captain in charge of criminal
investigations,

F. whereas human rights organisations currently investigating these recent events or speaking out against

human rights violations have been threatened and intimidated,

G. whereas in November 2000 the United Nations Committee Against Torture stated that torture was
still widely used in Cameroon and advised the Cameroon Government to consider disbanding the
special forces set up to combat large-scale banditry,

H. whereas Cameroon is a signatory to the Cotonou Agreement, under which the signatory States under-

take to respect human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law,

Condemns in the strongest possible terms the cases of torture, disappearances and extrajudicial

1.
executions said to have been perpetrated by the special security forces in Cameroon;

2. Welcomes the swift action taken by Cameroon(cid:146)s judicial authorities to investigate and arrest those
allegedly involved in the disappearance of the nine youths from Bepanda and notes that Cameroon(cid:146)s inter-
national reputation will be enhanced by a transparent trial which publishes all the evidence;

3.
Calls for an independent committee of inquiry to be set up to shed light on the numerous acts of
violence and torture and the disappearances and extrajudicial executions which have occurred in recent
months and to ascertain whether the operational centre of the gendarmerie may have been responsible;

Calls on the Cameroon Government not to place any obstacle in the way of the activities of human

4.
rights workers and local organisations working on this case;

Calls on the Commission and Council to monitor the trials and to provide technical assistance to the

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investigating magistrates (cid:129) including advice on the protection of witnesses;

Calls on all political parties in Cameroon to avoid making partisan use of these events in order to

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allow an independent and impartial inquiry to be carried out;

7.
Calls on the Council and Commission to open consultations with Cameroon, pursuant to the pro-
cedure under Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, with a view to shedding light on the human rights
situation in this country;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the co-presidents of

8.
the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, the Government of Cameroon and the OAU.