Cameroon

In February 2024, at a regional conference in Ghana on improvised anti-personnel (AP) mines, Cameroon stated that, for more than a decade, its Far North region bordering Nigeria has been confronted with armed violence resulting from the Boko Haram insurgency. The violence has included use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), some of which are improvised AP mines banned under the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC). Cameroon also reported that its North-West and South-West (NWSW) regions have been facing a separatist Anglophone movement that has extensively used IEDs since 2018, some directly targeting civilians. A significant number of incidents were reported in 2023.

In May 2024, Cameroon submitted what is effectively an Article 7 report that detailed the national implementation measures it had adopted in line with the APMBC, particularly highlighting progress made between 2014 and 2019. Cameroon termed the document an “Article 9 report”.Cameroon informed Mine Action Review that it had submitted the report to the Cambodian Presidency of the Fifth Review Conference. In June 2024, Cameroon notified Mine Action Review of its intention to request an extension to its APMBC Article 5 deadline, although it did not say when this would occur. Additionally, Cameroon indicated its plan to submit a full Article 7 report by November 2024, with its last formal report dating back to 2009. Until then, Cameroon remains in violation of the Convention.

In 2019, Cameroon informed the United Nations that casualties from mines and improvised devices had surged by 43% in the previous year, requiring a change of approach by the government.Statement of Cameroon to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, New York, 23 October 2019. While it appealed for international assistance it did not take action to address the issue. Since then, Cameroon has made insufficient progress in returning to compliance with the APMBC, despite a continued rise in casualties across its three affected regions, especially the two NWSW regions. The government has not established a formal, civilian mine action programme; instead, ad hoc clearance and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) have remained the sole prerogative of the Military Engineer Corps. Cameroon has not systematically reported on incidents involving IEDs, nor identified those involving victim-activated devices that constitute improvised AP mines.

• Cameroon should urgently submit an Article 7 report detailing all suspected or confirmed mined areas on its territory and report on plans to release them.
• Cameroon should urgently request an Article 5 deadline in order to return to compliance with the APMBC.
• Cameroon should put in place a monitoring capacity and a database to support systematic collection of data and reporting.
• Cameroon should seek international assistance to establish a sustainable national capacity to respond to the contamination.

Click here to download the "Clearing the Mines 2024" report for Cameroon.