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| Internally Displaced Persons |
Human Rights
Watch (HRW) on Wednesday says Cameroon’s army has deported no fewer than
100,000 Nigerians who have fled an insurgency by Boko Haram since early 2015 and subjected some to torture, .
Watch (HRW) on Wednesday says Cameroon’s army has deported no fewer than
100,000 Nigerians who have fled an insurgency by Boko Haram since early 2015 and subjected some to torture, .
The
deportations violate international and Cameroonian law and constitute
one of the world’s largest recent cases of illegal forced repatriation,
the rights group said in a report.
deportations violate international and Cameroonian law and constitute
one of the world’s largest recent cases of illegal forced repatriation,
the rights group said in a report.
They could
also have intensified one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises by
sending people in dire need of aid back to northeast Nigeria, it said.
also have intensified one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises by
sending people in dire need of aid back to northeast Nigeria, it said.
Cameroon’s minister of communications declined to comment on HRW’s report.
Nigeria
is struggling to cope with millions of people dependent on emergency
relief for food, shelter and medicine, victims of an eight-year conflict
in which at least 20,000 have been killed.
is struggling to cope with millions of people dependent on emergency
relief for food, shelter and medicine, victims of an eight-year conflict
in which at least 20,000 have been killed.
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At
least 10.7 million people are in need of assistance in the region,
mainly in Nigeria but also in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, according to the
United Nations.
least 10.7 million people are in need of assistance in the region,
mainly in Nigeria but also in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, according to the
United Nations.
The forced returns are a
“flagrant breach” of international and Cameroonian law and fly in the
face of pleas by the United Nations and other aid groups, said the
report, drawn in part from interviews with former asylum seekers and
refugees.
“flagrant breach” of international and Cameroonian law and fly in the
face of pleas by the United Nations and other aid groups, said the
report, drawn in part from interviews with former asylum seekers and
refugees.
“Cameroon’s army has been
aggressively screening newly arriving Nigerians at the border,
subjecting some to torture and other forms of abuse, and containing them
in far-flung and under-serviced border villages,” the report said.
aggressively screening newly arriving Nigerians at the border,
subjecting some to torture and other forms of abuse, and containing them
in far-flung and under-serviced border villages,” the report said.
“This
policy of blocking asylum seekers from accessing protection has made it
easier for Cameroon to deport them,” it said, adding that the U.N.
refugee agency (UNHCR) has been denied access.
policy of blocking asylum seekers from accessing protection has made it
easier for Cameroon to deport them,” it said, adding that the U.N.
refugee agency (UNHCR) has been denied access.
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A
UNHCR spokesman in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja declined to comment, and
the agency’s representative in Cameroon did not respond to an email
seeking comment.
UNHCR spokesman in Nigeria’s capital of Abuja declined to comment, and
the agency’s representative in Cameroon did not respond to an email
seeking comment.
Cameroon signed a treaty in
March with Nigeria and the UNHCR to ensure that all refugee returns are
voluntary but the rights group said Cameroon’s violations had continued.
March with Nigeria and the UNHCR to ensure that all refugee returns are
voluntary but the rights group said Cameroon’s violations had continued.
Cameroonian soldiers tortured, beat to death and sexually exploited some of them, said HRW.
“They
humiliated us like animals and beat us like we were slaves,” one
interviewee told the rights group. His brother died from the resulting
internal bleeding, he said.
humiliated us like animals and beat us like we were slaves,” one
interviewee told the rights group. His brother died from the resulting
internal bleeding, he said.
Some deportees, including children, were so malnourished or sick they did not survive their return to Nigeria, said HRW.
Reuters
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