VIII. Conclusion

The numerous due process violations and other human rights violations affecting people accused of homosexual conduct in Cameroon require urgent attention. The Cameroonian government should recognize that the law is subject to widespread abuse.

There are deep contradictions between law enforcement officials’ rhetoric—such as the claims that the law’s only aim is to punish those who engage in public sex—and reality of  article 347 bis in which innocent people are framed, spied upon by neighbors, subjected to extortion and bribery, beaten by police and gendarme, humiliated with flawed anal examinations, raped in custody, disowned by parents as a result of arrest, and emotionally scarred by traumatic encounters with law enforcement—all in the name of justice.

President Biya should end arrests under article 347 bis, release those who are currently in prison solely on the basis of article 347 bis, and take immediate steps toward changing the law.

Decriminalization of consensual same-sex conduct in Cameroon is a legal imperative, and a necessary step toward restoring rights and dignity to a section of Cameroon’s population.