Pushing Cameroon to Decriminalize Homosexuality

by Michael Jones · 2010-08-19 10:30:00 UTC
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Ever wonder how the Cameroon government treats its LGBT citizens? The United Nations Human Rights Committee has an answer for you. And it's not pretty.

The UN Human Rights Committee recently issued a report detailing the conditions faced by LGBT people in the country of Cameroon, and what they found was that systematically and across the board, LGBT people in Cameroon face police brutality, institutionalized homophobia, and a culture of fear and persecution. And it's time for the Cameroon government to own up and take responsibility for this.

The report was cited by Human Rights Watch today, in a release that called on Cameroon to decriminalize same-sex acts.

"Cameroonian and international organizations have documented abuses and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Cameroon. Suspected homosexual men have been arrested and beaten on their bodies, heads, and even the soles of their feet while in custody. Women suffer violence in their families if they are suspected of being lesbians. In some cases, they have been forced to leave their homes or their children have been taken away from them," Human Rights Watch argued.

Is that anyway for a country, let alone one like Cameroon that is a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to act? It's not. And it's time to urge the government of Cameroon to follow the lead of the UN Human Rights Committee and work to end laws that criminalize homosexuality and same-sex acts.

Cameroon's anti-gay reputation is starting to catch hold in other parts of the globe, too. In July 2010, a court in the United Kingdom ruled that a gay Cameroon citizen should be granted asylum in the UK, due to fear of persecution and violence back home. That ruffled the feathers of the government of Cameroon, which continues to insist that the country is a perfectly safe space for LGBT individuals. But tell that to the facts on the ground.

As Human Rights Watch notes, with the help of international LGBT organizations (as well as the Cameroon organization, Alternatives-Cameroun), Cameroon has a disturbing history of persecuting LGBT people, and denying LGBT certain basic services, like health care. These groups found that Cameroon refuses public health services to men who have sex with men and women who have sex with women -- including HIV treatment -- and that police in Cameroon regularly try to bar LGBT people from hospitals, and from medical treatment and care.

As a State Party to the ICCPR, Cameroon has international legal responsibilities to uphold the right to equal protection and equal treatment for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. At the moment, Cameroon is failing. Big time.

That's why it's worth sending a message to the Cameroon government, imploring them to follow the lead of the UN Human Rights Committee, and work in whatever parameter they can to create laws and policies that take the stigma off of homosexuality, and end a culture of violence and persecution toward LGBT people in the country.

Photo credit: Manu2573

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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