Cameroon Woman
Cameroon
Women and children traditionally have faced the greatest risk of trafficking and have been trafficked most often for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most trafficking in children occurred within the country's borders, while most trafficked women were transported out of the country. According to anecdotal evidence by the NCHRF, women often were "hired" into hubs of prostitution, often in Europe. The method for trafficking women usually involved a marriage proposition by a foreign businessman. The woman was inducted into servitude upon arrival at a foreign destination. Girls were internally trafficked from the Adamawa, North, the Far North provinces, and from the Northwest Province to Douala and Yaounde to work as domestic servants, street vendors, or prostitutes. Children were also internally trafficked to work on cocoa bean plantations. There have been credible reports of slavery, particularly in the Rey Bouba Division of North Province, inside the closely guarded ... [Read More]
Cameroon
President Biya's October 1997 reelection was marred by serious procedural flaws as well as a boycott by the three major opposition parties. While the boycott made the outcome a foregone conclusion, most observers nonetheless considered the election to be neither free nor fair. Election irregularities especially were egregious in opposition strongholds where boycotting opposition activists were not present to monitor voting procedures. The Supreme Court declared President Biya the winner with 92.57 percent of the vote, and the UNDP, which previously had been an opposition party, joined the CPDM in a coalition government that included a faction of the UPC party.The President's control over the country's administrative apparatus was extensive. The President appoints all Ministers including the Prime Minister. On August 24, President Biya reshuffled his cabinet to bring in 18 new ministers, 16 of whom were CPDM members. The President also directly appo ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Equatorial Guinea is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, involuntary domestic servitude, and other forced labor. Women and children are trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from West and Central Africa, principally Cameroon, Nigeria, and Benin. Women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation in Malabo, where demand is high due to the booming oil sector. Cameroonian and Beninese children are trafficked to Malabo for exploitation as street and market hawkers; Nigerian boys are trafficked to Rio Muni (the mainland) for exploitation as agricultural workers. The Government of Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Over the past year the government has made a number of efforts that attest ... [Read More]
Cameroon
Juveniles and nonviolent prisoners often are incarcerated with adults, although not usually in the same cells. There are credible reports of sexual abuse of juvenile prisoners by adult inmates. Corruption among prison personnel is widespread. Persons awaiting trial routinely are held in cells with hardened criminals. There are few detention centers for women; women routinely are held in prison complexes with men, occasionally in the same cells. Mothers often are incarcerated with their children or babies. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture reported that he saw at least one 14-year-old child being kept with adult offenders, one woman being held in the same cell as male prisoners, and one woman incarcerated with her 9-month-old child. Some high-profile prisoners are able to avoid some of the abuse that security forces routinely inflict on many common criminals. They are kept in elite wings of certain prisons, where they enjoy relatively lenient treatment. ... [Read More]
Cameroon
On May 23, the Douala police sealed off the premises of Freedom FM, a new FM radio station that Douala-based newspaper, Le Messager, intended to launch the following morning. According to police, the Minister of Communication ordered the cordon because Le Messager had not submitted an application for operation. Le Messager claimed to have submitted its application under a different name but subsequently informed the Ministry of the name change. The Minister of Communication granted the frequency that Freedom FM had applied to use to another private radio station. Station owner Pius Njawe, who previously has been jailed for criticizing President Biya, initiated legal action to recover his equipment, and the trial was ongoing at year's end. In November, the Government temporarily closed Radio Veritas, a private radio station established by Cardinal Christian Tumi, an outspoken critic of the Government; the station resumed broadcasting ... [Read More]
Cameroon
Despite constitutional provisions recognizing women's rights, women do not, in fact, enjoy the same rights and privileges as men. Civil law theoretically provides equal status and rights for men and women; however, no legal definition of discrimination exists, and some points of civil law are prejudicial to women. The 1981 Civil Code allows a husband to oppose his wife's right to work in a separate profession if the protest is made in the interest of the household and the family. While the law gives a woman the freedom to organize her own business, the Commercial Code allows a husband to end his wife's commercial activity by notifying the clerk of the commerce tribunal of his opposition based upon the family's interest. Partly for this reason, some employers require a husband's permission before they hire a woman. Polygyny is permitted by law and tradition, but polyandry is not. In cases of divorce, the husband's wishes determine the custody of child ... [Read More]
United States Embassy Equatorial Guinea: Trafficking in Persons Report
There is no law specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons. The Ministry of Justice drafted a new trafficking law in 2003, which awaits adoption. The Ministry of Justice has designated one of its lawyers as a trafficking specialist. In 2003, the government prosecuted its first trafficking case, convicting a woman of trafficking and enslaving a young girl from Benin. Corrupt law enforcement officials are known to facilitate trafficking in and through Equatorial Guinea. ... [Read More]
Frequently Asked Historical Questions
Who was the first woman to head one of the regional bureaus? ... Who was the first woman Foreign Service Officer to become an Ambassador? ... Who was the first African-American woman to become an Ambassador? ... [Read More]
United States Embassy Equatorial Guinea: Equatorial Guinea Trafficking in Persons report (TIP), June 03, 2005.
The Government of Equatorial Guinea made significant progress in addressing trafficking through law enforcement measures during the reporting period. The government in September 2004 enacted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, which was drafted by an inter-ministerial commission on trafficking that had been created in July 2004. The government did not provide comprehensive law enforcement statistics on anti-trafficking activities. However, during the year, the government enforced its law against forced labor and convicted a Beninese woman for holding a 14 year-old Beninese girl in involuntary servitude. The Ministry of Interior in early 2005 embarked on a campaign to rescue foreign children forced to sell products in the Malabo market and on the streets. A draft national plan of action, which will provide implementation guidelines for the new law, plans to empower dedicated police officers, "fiscales de menores," to fight child trafficking. There are reports of low-level law enforce ... [Read More]
Vol 34 No 1, January - March 1996 Page 29
Generally, students look at poetry as some kind of mystery. So the first step I take is to "demystify" it. The obvious place to start is with meaning. Students are encouraged to think of the ordinary meaning of a word or expression, and then try to "relate" it to the poem. For example, when a poet talks of pregnant clouds , you think of the implications of the word pregnant . Just as we expect a pregnant woman to produce a baby, so must pregnant clouds. But what are they likely to produce? Rain of course, not babies. ... [Read More]
|