• Jul 1, 2013
    The Cameroonian government should rigorously investigate, denounce, and prosecute suspicious break-ins at three human rights defenders’ offices in June, six Cameroonian and international human rights organizations said today. The organizations – Affirmative Action, Alternatives-Cameroun, the Association for the Defense of Homosexuals (ADEFHO), the Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Human Rights Watch, and Humanity First Cameroon – said that those attacked included organizations working with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) community.
    Press release
  • May 17, 2013
    The Cameroonian authorities should drop the charges against two transgender youth rather than appealing their case to the Supreme Court, four human rights organizations said today. Jonas K. and Franky D. are being prosecuted on what the appeals court has already ruled were trumped-up charges of homosexual conduct, the groups said in a letter to the Yaoundé prosecutor today.
    Press release
  • Mar 21, 2013
    Cameroon prosecutes people for consensual same-sex conduct more aggressively than almost any country in the world, four human rights organizations said in a report released today. At least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most cases are marked by grave human rights violations, including torture, forced confessions, denial of access to legal counsel, and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.
    Press release
  • Feb 13, 2013
    The government of Cameroon should immediately take action against a series of death threats made over the last four months to two lawyers who represent clients accused of homosexual conduct, Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter to President Paul Biya. Alice Nkom and Michel Togué, Cameroonian human rights lawyers, began receiving death threats in October 2012, in the form of emails and text messages, assailing the lawyers for their work defending clients charged with homosexuality. Consensual same-sex conduct is criminalized under the Cameroonian penal code’s article 347 bis, and at least 28 people have been prosecuted under the law since 2010. Nkom and Togué are among the only lawyers courageous enough to take up these cases in a country where homophobia is pervasive.
    Press release
  • Dec 18, 2012
    A Cameroonian appeals court decision on December 17, 2012, upholding a criminal conviction for homosexuality demonstrates that basic human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are under assault in Cameroon. The court upheld the conviction and three-year prison sentence for Roger Jean-Claude Mbede, a university student charged with homosexuality, and ordered his arrest.
    Press release
  • Oct 24, 2012
    Authorities in Cameroon should promptly investigate threats against two prominent lawyers who are representing clients accused of homosexuality. The government should publicly denounce the threats against the defense lawyers and ensure that they receive necessary protection.
    Press release
  • Apr 5, 2012
    Cameroonian authorities on March 27, 2012, illegally shut down a human rights workshop in Yaoundé that was to include discussion of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and arrested one of the workshop organizers. The action violated rights to freedom of assembly and expression under both Cameroonian and international law.
    Press release
  • Aug 17, 2011

    Three men returning from a bar last month in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, were detained by police because two of them appeared feminine. The three were jailed on July 25, 2011, for one week and were tortured and otherwise abused by police during this time, according to a Cameroonian civil society group that has been working on their behalf.

    Press release
  • May 17, 2011
    The March arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Roger Jean-Claude Mbede to three years in prison for being homosexual is a gross violation of Mbede’s rights to freedom of expression and equality guaranteed by the Cameroonian constitution, Alternatives-Cameroun, Association pour la Defense de l’Homosexualitè (ADEFHO), and Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Cameroon’s top leaders.
    Press release
  • Mar 31, 2011
    The European Union, the United States, and other governments should call for the United Nations Human Rights Council to review the deteriorating human rights situation in China.
    Press release