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e-2435 (Foreign affairs)

E-petition
Initiated by Sam Weller from Victoria, British Columbia

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • Canada and Cameroon, two of the few English-French bilingual countries in the world, have nearly 60 years of direct diplomatic and development relations with over $1 billion in Canadian bilateral official development assistance provided to Cameroon since the 1960s;
  • In 2016, peaceful demonstrations in Anglophone Cameroon were met with violence by Cameroonian security forces, sparking the three-year, ongoing Anglophone Crisis;
  • Since 2016, rights groups in Canada and Cameroon have documented hundreds of serious human rights abuses, including crimes against humanity, in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions:
  • At least 3,000 people have been killed and more than 200 villages have been burned:
  • Over 650,000 citizens have been displaced, due to violence perpetrated by both Cameroon military and non-state armed groups; and
  • Because of the Crisis, more than 800,000 children have been unable to go to school for nearly four years.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Publicly condemn the violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by all sides in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon; and
2. Put direct and sustained diplomatic pressure on the Government of Cameroon to engage in meaningful negotiations for peace, mediated by an independent third party (such as the proposed Swiss talks).

Response by the Minister of Foreign Affairs

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Rob Oliphant

The Government of Canada is deeply concerned by the continuing violence in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. Canada fully supports the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly as well as democracy in Cameroon, as well as in countries around the world.

Canada has consistently and publicly condemned violence and human rights violations in Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon and continues to encourage all parties to the conflict to seek a negotiated solution.

In addition to public statements, Canada raises its concerns about the situation in Cameroon in international fora, including at Cameroon’s most recent Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council on May 16, 2018. Canada also joined 38 other countries in a joint statement on Cameroon at the United Nations Human Rights Council on March 21, 2019. The statement urged the Government of Cameroon to accept offers of assistance from regional and international partners to prevent further erosion of the human rights of those living in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, resulting from the conflict between armed separatists and the Government of Cameroon.

Canada’s High Commissioner to Cameroon and Global Affairs Canada officials have also raised Canada’s concerns with Cameroonian authorities and urged the Government of Cameroon to take steps towards a negotiated solution. Most recently, Canada’s High Commissioner to Cameroon visited the Southwest region and signalled Canada’s ongoing concerns with various stakeholders, including civil society and government officials.

Canada calls on Cameroon to redouble its efforts to peacefully resolve the crisis in the Northwest and Southwest region. In this regard, the Government of Canada supports the efforts of Switzerland and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) to facilitate an inclusive negotiation process in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon. Canada provides funding for HD’s facilitation efforts and for the Swisspeace Foundation’s support for civil society peacebuilders in Cameroon.

Canada will also continue to call for the respect for human rights and call for a negotiated dialogue as the best means of peacefully resolving this crisis.

Open for signature
March 19, 2020, at 4:49 p.m. (EDT)
Closed for signature
July 17, 2020, at 4:49 p.m. (EDT)
Presented to the House of Commons
Len Webber (Calgary Confederation)
November 4, 2020 (Petition No. 432-00207)
Government response tabled
January 25, 2021
Photo - Len Webber
Calgary Confederation
Conservative Caucus
Alberta