Cameroon People

Cameroon's estimated 250 ethnic groups form five large regional-cultural groups: western highlanders (or grassfielders), including the Bamileke, Bamoun, and many smaller entities in the northwest (est. 38% of population); coastal tropical forest peoples, including the Bassa, Douala, and many smaller entities in the Southwest (12%); southern tropical forest peoples, including the Ewondo, Bulu, and Fang (all Beti subgroups), Maka and Pygmies (officially called Bakas) (18%); predominantly Islamic peoples of the northern semi-arid regions (the Sahel) and central highlands, including the Fulani, also known as Peuhl in French (14%); and the "Kirdi", non-Islamic or recently Islamic peoples of the northern desert and central highlands (18%). ... [Read More]

Cameroon

The 2002 legislative and municipal elections, which were dominated by the CPDM, largely reflected the will of the people; however, there were widespread irregularities. ...

There were more than 180 registered political parties in the country; however, less than 10 were significant, and only 5 had seats in the National Assembly. The ruling CPDM held an absolute majority in the National Assembly; opposition parties included the SDF, based in the Anglophone provinces and the largest of the opposition parties, the National Union for Democracy and Progress, the Cameroon Democratic Union, and the Union of the Peoples of Cameroon. ... [Read More]

US Embassy Cameroon: Cameroon Links

1 Welcome to Cameroon (An Informal Introduction to 1the Country and its People (by Tom Tadfor Little) ...

1 The Cameroon Ambassador to the U.S.111Political Parties1 Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) 1- Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais (RDPC) ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2003-2004 (Cameroon)

To complement the programs with local government leaders and the press, the United States organized two workshops to train leaders in civil society on political organizing and the local registration process for NGOs. The United States also awarded two grants using Economic Support Funds totaling $250,000 to local NGOs for elections-related projects: $180,000 to the Cameroon League for Human Rights to distribute nationwide an elections guide in seven local languages, provide training in approximately 250 villages on elections procedures, civic responsibility and the application of electoral law, and hold a seminar to train print and radio journalists on coverage of elections; and $70,000 to the Youths International Movement for Africa to distribute a series of educational posters in French, English and seven local languages related to election themes, encouraging people to vote and explaining voter's rights. The group plans to hold meetings in five provinces of Cameroon to train local a ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Numerous prisoners died in custody due to abuse inflicted by security forces and harsh prison conditions and inadequate medical treatment (see Section 1.c.). Mob violence and summary justice directed against suspected thieves and those suspected of practicing witchcraft and other crimes reportedly continued to result in an increased number of deaths and serious injuries. For example, in early March, an angry mob in the Oyom Aban neighborhood of Yaounde beat to death Emile Eyenga, a 34-year-old bandit who previously had been arrested and released on several occasions. Aban was caught burglarizing a private residence. In early August, the gendarmerie company commander for Ngoketunjia Division, North West Province, stated that angry mobs lynched three persons caught stealing. The commander severely criticized the "jungle justice" and asked the citizens of Ngoketunjia to inform security forces of the presence of any su ... [Read More]

Peace Corps in Cameroon

The US Peace Corps was established in 1961 to promote world peace and friendship through the work of American Volunteers in social and economic development projects. Currently around 2,200 Peace Corps Volunteers are serving in 28 African countries. In Cameroon, over 130 Volunteers are involved in projects in Education, Community Health, Water and Sanitation, Agriculture, Forestry and Environment, and Small Business development. The Three Goals of Peace Corps in CameroonHelp the people of Cameroon meet their need for trained manpowerPromote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the Cameroonian peoplePromote a better understanding of the Cameroonian people on the part of the American people. ... [Read More]

United States Embassy Cameroon: Peace Corps

The Three Goals of Peace Corps in CameroonHelp the people of Cameroon meet their need for trained manpowerPromote a better understanding of the American people on the part of the Cameroonian peoplePromote a better understanding of the Cameroonian people on the part of the American people. ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Cameroon is a republic dominated by a strong presidency. Since independence a single party, now called the Cameroon People's Democratic Movement (CPDM), has remained in power. In 1997 CPDM leader Paul Biya won reelection as President in an election boycotted by the three main opposition parties, marred by a wide range of procedural flaws, and generally considered by observers not to be free and fair. The 1997 legislative elections, which were dominated by the CPDM, were flawed by numerous irregularities and generally considered not free nor fair by international and local observers. The President retains the power to control legislation or to rule by decree. In the National Assembly, government bills take precedence over other bills, and no bills other than government bills have been enacted since 1991, although the Assembly sometimes has not enacted legislation proposed by the Government. The President has used his control of the legislature to change the Constitution. The 1996 Consti ... [Read More]

Cameroon

Prison conditions remained harsh and life threatening.  Prisons are seriously overcrowded, unsanitary, and inadequate, especially outside major urban areas.  Serious deficiencies in food, health care, and sanitation due to a lack of funds are common in almost all prisons, including in "private prisons" in the north operated by traditional rulers.  U.N. Special Rapporteur Rodley described prison conditions in the country as "universally appalling."  Rodley also reported that: "overcrowding, unhygienic sanitation, lack of health care, and shortage of food, reportedly are the main failings in the Cameroonian prison system.  These conditions cannot be blamed only on lack of financial or material resources, but also result from deliberate policies or serious neglect on the part of the relevant officials."  Rodley wrote that these conditions are "endangering the health and even the lives of the detainees."  Prisoners are kept in dilapidated colonial-era pri ... [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]