Cameroon: Authorities must stop harassment of human rights defender Alice Nkom and attacks on civil society organizations

Reacting to the summoning of Alice Nkom, a Cameroonian lawyer and President of the Central African Human Rights Defenders Network (Réseau des défenseurs des droits humains en Afrique centrale – Redhac), to appear before the prefect of the Wouri department on 10 January and before the national gendarmerie on 14 January, Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa, said:

“The ban on activities and the arbitrary suspension for three months of Redhac and three other civil society organizations, is contrary to the country’s international human rights obligations to ensure the rights of everyone to freedom of expression and association.

The authorities must immediately end the misuse of the justice system to target Alice Nkom.

Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s interim Regional Director 
for West and Central Africa

“Moreover, the weaponization of the justice system to intimidate human rights defender Alice Nkom shows the authorities’ flagrant disregard for the human rights of those who defend the rights of other people.

“Cameroonian authorities must end the suspension of the affected organizations, reinstate their status and allow them to carry out their activities without arbitrary interference. They must also immediately end the misuse of the justice system to target Alice Nkom and other human rights defenders and activists.”

Background 

In March 2020, the Minister of Territorial Administration accused Redhac and several other civil society organizations of being “engaged in a conspiracy against Cameroon and the defence and security forces”.

On 6 December 2024, the same Minister suspended four organizations, including Redhac, citing “illicit and exorbitant funding that does not match the profile of the activity”, a “lack of authorisation”, “activities likely to undermine the integrity of the national financial system” and a “lack of justification for the use of the funding received”.

On 10 December, Alice Nkom was summoned for the first time by the prefect of the Wouri department, after she broke the seal placed on the doors of the building housing the Redhac offices. She did not attend this summons or a second one, requesting a postponement until January in order to guarantee the presence of her lawyer. 

On 31 December, she was summoned by the head of the national gendarmerie’s central judicial investigation department for “investigation purposes”. This follows a report made to the Douala military court on 18 December by a Cameroonian NGO, accusing her of raising funds to oppose the current authorities and support armed groups in the English-speaking regions.

In its concluding observations on Cameroon published in December 2024, the UN Committee against torture expressed concern “about reports according to which human rights defenders, members of civil society, journalists, political opponents and peaceful protesters have been subjected to intimidation, threats, harassment, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, prosecution, including before military courts, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution”.