LM Report 2000

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CAMEROON

Key developments since March 1999: Legislation to ratify the Mine Ban Treaty was passed in July 1999.

Mine Ban Policy

Cameroon signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1999. In June 1999 the government submitted ratification legislation to the National Assembly and on 16 July 1999 the National Assembly passed Law 99/008 authorizing the President to ratify the treaty. The ratification document was forwarded to the Presidency of the Republic for signature. After Landmine Monitor requested an update, the Ministry of External Relations sent a reminder letter for quick ratification to the Presidency on 24 April 2000.^[1] Officials told Landmine Monitor that Cameroon will ratify the treaty before the Second Meeting of States Parties in September 2000 since there is no obstacle to it.^[2]

Cameroon participated in the First Meeting of States Parties in Maputo in May 1999, represented by an official from Cameroon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.^[3] Cameroon has not participated in any intersessional meetings of the ban treaty. Cameroon is a member of the United Nations Consultative Committee on Peace and Security in Central Africa, a committee deeply concerned with small arms, including landmines.^[4] Cameroon voted for UN General Assembly Resolution 54/54B supporting the Mine Ban Treaty in December 1999.

Cameroon is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons. It is a member of the Conference on Disarmament, but has not been vocal on the issue of possible negotiations on a mine export ban in the CD.

Production, Transfer, Stockpiling, Use

Cameroon has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. There has been some concern expressed about the possibility of Cameroon being used as a transit point for shipments of landmines involving the Central African Republic or Chad, but Landmine Monitor’s investigations found no evidence of such transiting and officials denied this has occurred.^[5]

According to officials, Cameroon possesses a small stockpile of antipersonnel mines for training purposes, and these are tightly controlled.^[6] A figure of 500 mines for training was declared during the Oslo negotiations in 1997 and Dr. Elie Mvie Meka, a Technical Advisor in the Ministry of Defense confirmed this number.^[7]

The country’s defense strategy does not include the use of landmines. Military training courses include only basic information on landmine recognition and safety precautions.^[8] There is no evidence of use of AP mines by Cameroon in its border dispute with Nigeria or elsewhere.^[9]

Cameroon is not mine-affected. There are centers in Cameroon that take care of disabled persons. The main rehabilitation centers include the Jamot Center, the Etoug Ebe Center in Yaounde and the Sajocah in Mezam Division-Bamenda. In Cameroon, a special law for disabled persons was passed on 21 July 1983 by the National Assembly.^[10]

[1] Interview with Jacques Alfred Ndoumbe Eboule, Assistant Director, United Nations Department, Ministry of External Relations for Cameroon, Yaounde, 24 April 2000.
[2] Telephone interview with Ferdinand Hgoh Ngoh, Second Counselor, Cameroon Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, 14 April 2000.
[3] Telephone interview with Ferdinand Hgoh Ngoh, Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, 14 April 2000.
[4] Interview with Jacques Alfred Ndoumbe Eboule, Ministry of External Relations, Yaounde, 20 April 2000.
[5] Interview with Dr. Elie Mvie Meka, Technical Advisor, Ministry of Defense, Yaounde, 20 March 2000.
[6] Interview with Jacques Alfred Ndoumbe Eboule, Ministry of External Relations, Yaounde, 20 April 2000.
[7] Interview with Dr. Elie Mvie Meka, Ministry of Defense, Yaounde, 20 March 2000.
[8] Ibid.
[9] The ICRC notes that there have been no mine casualties reported. Interview with Daniel Augstburgger, Regional Delegate, International Committee of the Red Cross, Yaounde, 19 March 2000.
[10] Law Number 83/013, 21 July 1983.