Upcoming elections in Cameroon mark a ‘key opportunity’ to commit to human rights: UN human rights chief

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Despite obstacles, Cameroon maintains immense potential to foster social change and promote civic engagement in their upcoming 2025 and 2026 elections, stressed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Wednesday at the end of a two-day visit to the country. 

“Cameroon today faces multiple complex human rights challenges, but also opportunities, particularly given its extremely youthful population, with more than 40 per cent of Cameroonians under the age of 15, as well as a vibrant civil society,” observed Mr. Türk during a press conference in Yaoundé. 

According to Mr. Türk, the electoral process in Cameroon leading up to the 2025 and 2026 elections, represents “a key opportunity to strengthen political inclusion and facilitate the participation of all components of society”. 

It is also a chance to guarantee the free expression of political opinions of all, the human rights chief added. 

Tackling multiple challenges 

Among the most difficult challenges leading up to the election, he cited the three simultaneous security crises in different regions of the country: the situation in the northwest and southwest regions characterised by persistent serious human rights violations and abuses; the impact of attacks carried out by Boko Haram and affiliated and dissident groups in the far north region; and the consequences of the crisis in the Central African Republic in the eastern region. 

Located in a region strongly affected by the climate crisis, Cameroon has experienced drought, erratic rainfall and increasing desertification in the Lake Chad Basin that have sparked tensions and violence, sometimes between herding and farming communities. 

Moreover, Cameroon is in need of humanitarian assistance due to their large refugee population, according to Mr. Türk. As of June this year, there were around one million internally displaced people. A total of 3.4 million were in need of humanitarian assistance, out of a population of around 28 million. 

“The international community must mobilise to ensure that humanitarian needs are adequately financed,” he said. 

Fresh call to investigate rights violations 

Mr. Türk recalled that in the northwest and southwest regions, what began as peaceful protests in 2016 turned into a major crisis for the civilian population, with clashes between separatist groups, other armed groups and security forces, leaving thousands dead, hundreds of thousands displaced and more than 700,000 children deprived of their right to education. 

“There continue to be reports of human rights violations and abuses, including killings, ill-treatment and torture, kidnapping for ransom and restrictions on freedom of movement,” he underlined. 

“The imposition of days of confinement by separatist groups, preventing children from going to school and people from accessing their means of subsistence at the risk of being shot is unacceptable and must be strongly condemned,” he said, urging for independent, prompt, and transparent investigations where state security forces have been implicated. 

Freedom of expression 

Acknowledging that the period just before elections is always particularly delicate, the human rights chief is calling on political parties across the spectrum to publicly commit to the cause of human rights, notably by ensuring that the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are protected. 

“Civil society organizations and journalists must be able to monitor the situation and publish essential reports in the pre-election context, alongside the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, including with regard to countering hate speech and disinformation without intimidation or fear of reprisal,” he said. 

“I look forward to continuing to count on Cameroon’s support in ensuring that the universal values of human rights permeate regional and international discussions on peace, security and development as well as at the national level,” Mr. Türk concluded.