This petition is seeking to compel the government of Cameroon to respect her own laws by releasing over 190 young and elderly people abducted between March 2nd and March 9th, 2023 in Matoh and surrounding villages from illegal and arbitrary detention.

On march 2nd, 2023, on the orders of the Senior Divisional Officer for Meme, Mr Ntou'ou Ndong Chamberlain, 190 people were summarily rounded up and imprisoned in a makeshift concentration camp with no charges, no trials and without any due process. 

This marks a perilous development in the 6 year conflict for self-determination by the minority English-speaking Southern Cameroons against the majority french-speaking government of Cameroon

While there are already an estimated 3 thousand individuals, including women and children, who have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured of which some died as a result and are currently detained in horrendous conditions  in the context of the conflict, indiscriminate arrests at this scale is a recent worrying development. 

Other detainees include teachers, lawyers, students, youths, staff at job sites, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, patients from hospitals, unarmed protesters, human rights activists and defenders, and journalists.

National and international human rights defenders and organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and even the Vatican, have called for their release to no avail, despite the recommendations by the Human Rights Council during the 2018 Universal Periodic Review, which obliged the Cameroon state to work towards releasing all those illegally arrested and  arbitrarily detained. 

Earlier in the year, on February 12, 2023 the Cameroon military had summarily rounded up over 97 young people around the vicinity of Muyuka, in Fako division. Days later, 81 of them were later released after their mothers staged a protest. The rest are still imprisoned without charges. 

The recent mass abductions started on the 2nd of March, 2023 with 157 youths from Matoh, Mbonge Mateke, Barombi,Bamba Kidongui and Ediki villages following an Administrative Order issued by the SDO of Meme Division, Chamberlain Ntou'ou Ndong. By March 9th, the number had risen to 190 youths and a few elderly persons.

Given this terrible conditions in prisons all over the Cameroons, the widespread use of torture and other forms of degrading and Inhumane treatment of suspects and inmates by security personnel and the prevalence of extra Judicial killings and enforced disappearances, it is safe to say that these youths are in imminent danger. 

The lawyers in charge of following up on their case, who visited the Kumba prison on the 9th of March and was informed by the Senior Divisional Officer who signed that order for their mass abductions, that investigations are still to begin. The  official added that these unfortunate individuals will be remanded in prison custody for 15 days extendable ad infinitum.

Law № 2005 of 27 July on Cameroon's Criminal Procedure Code in its Section 8 emphasizes the presumption of innocence which is the right of every citizen. Furthermore, due to the 6 year conflict in the Cameroons which is classified as a non-international armed conflict, the actions of Cameroon's security forces violate article 3 of the 1949 Geneva convention which offers international minimum protection to persons taking no part in the conflict.

Sign this petition to insist that government of Cameroon immediately releases these people and completely halt mass arrests, arbitrary and incommunicado detentions, torture and other forms of degrading and inhumane treatment of suspects, extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances.