About This Report
Guilty by Association
March 20, 2013

I. Recommendations

To President Paul Biya and the Government of Cameroon

  • Ensure that article 347 bis is removed from the revised penal code, or take steps to push for decriminalization of same-sex conduct through legislative means.
  • Inform law enforcement officials and prosecutors that they should immediately suspend arrests and prosecutions on the basis of article 347 bis.
  • Release all prisoners who are currently detained for consensual adult same-sex conduct.
  • Ban the practice of anal examinations to determine homosexuality.

To the Parliament of Cameroon

  • Initiate the process of repealing article 347 bis.
  • Modify article 296 of the penal code, which criminalizes rape, by broadening the definition of rape to include both male and female victims.

To the Legal Department (Ministère Public)

  • Withdraw the charges in homosexuality cases that are currently open.
  • Investigate the cases of torture and ill-treatment documented in this report, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

To the Supreme Court

  • Ensure that court decisions in homosexuality cases reflect adherence to Cameroon’s constitution, which integrates into national law all international treaties that Cameroon has ratified.

To the National Commission on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

  • Publicly call for the revocation of article 347 bis.
  • Conduct a nation-wide study of arrests and prosecutions on the basis of homosexuality, in order to highlight due process abuses and other human rights violations.
  • Designate one commissioner to take responsibility for handling cases of arbitrary arrest or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

To the Special Rapporteur on Prison Conditions and Pre-Trial Detention at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, and to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

  • Conduct a fact-finding mission to Cameroon to investigate human rights abuses committed by state officials in the context of enforcing article 347 bis and publish a report on their findings.

To the United Nations Human Rights Council

  • At the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Cameroon’s human rights record to be held in Geneva in May 2013, evaluate Cameroon’s compliance with recommendations emerging from the 2008 UPR, which called for decriminalizing homosexuality.