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United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child - States Parties Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS |
|
CRC
|
|
Convention on the Rights of the Child |
Distr. GENERAL CRC/C/28/Add.16 26 March 2001 ENGLISH Original: FRENCH |
COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER
ARTICLE 44 OF THE CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1995
Addendum
CAMEROON
GE.0141148
(E)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1
3 5
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 4 18 5
A. Legislation and regulations 5 11 5
B. Other measures 12 16 13
C. Measures to disseminate information on the
Convention 17 14
D. Obstacles to the implementation of the Convention
18 16
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 19 24 16
III. GENERAL
PRINCIPLES 25 53 17
A. Nondiscrimination (art. 2) 25 33 17
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3) 34 41 20
C. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6) 42 47 22
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12) 48 53 23
IV. CIVIL
RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 54 77 24
A. Name, nationality and preservation of identity
(arts. 7 and 8) 54
64 24
B. Freedom of expression, thought, conscience and
religion, association
and peaceful assembly
(arts. 13, 14 and 15) 65 68 26
C. Protection of privacy (art. 16) 69 72 27
D. Access to appropriate information (art. 17) 73 75 27
E. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
(art. 37 (a)) 76
77 28
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 78 126 28
A. Parental guidance and parental responsibilities
(arts. 5 and 18,
paras. 12) 78 83 28
B. Separation from parents (art. 9) 84 88 29
C. Family reunification, illicit transfer and nonreturn
(arts. 10 and
11) 89 93 30
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
D. Recovery of maintenance for the child
(art. 27, para. 4) 94
97 31
E. Children deprived of their family environment
(art. 20) 98
103 33
F. Adoption (art. 21) 104 118 34
G. Periodic review of placement (art. 25) 119 37
H. Neglect or negligent treatment (art. 19), including
physical
recovery and social reintegration (art. 39) 120 126 37
VI. BASIC
HEALTH AND WELFARE 127 191 39
A. Disabled children (art. 23) 127 133 39
B. Health and health services (art. 24) 134 168 41
C. Social security and childcare facilities and services
(arts. 26 and
18, para. 3) 169 186 48
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 13) 187
191 52
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 192 210 55
A. Educational, including vocational training and guidance
(arts. 28
and 29) 192 203 55
B. Leisure and cultural activities (art. 31) 204
210 58
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 211 282 60
A. Children in emergency situations 211 220 60
B. Children in conflict with the law 221 259 62
C. Children subjected to exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration 260 280 70
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous
group (art. 30)
281 282 74
SOME ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE REPORT OF CAMEROON
CAB/PR Cabinet of the President of the
Republic
CAO Care and Observation Centre
CNPS National Social Contingency
Fund
CNRH National Centre for the Rehabilitation of Disabled
Persons
DAJS Department of Judicial Affairs and Justice
DDS Social Welfare
Department
DJA Youth and Community Activities Department
DPIF Department
for the Protection of Individuals and the Family
ECAM Cameroonian Household
Survey
EMO Community Education
EPR Education for Responsible
Parenthood
FENAMCAM Cameroonian National Federation of Disabled
Persons
ICE Cameroonian Juvenile Institute
LF Federal
Act
MINAS Ministry of Social Affairs
MINASCOF Ministry of Social Affairs
and the Status of Women
MINEDUC Ministry of National
Education
MINEFI Ministry of the Economy and Finance
MINFOPRA Ministry of
the Civil Service and Administrative Reform
MINJES Ministry of Youth and
Sports
MJS Ministry of Youth and Sports
MSAP Ministry of Health and Public
Welfare
MTLS Ministry of Labour and Social Legislation
RGDH General
Population and Housing Census
SDPF Subdepartment for the Promotion of the
Family
Introduction
1. Cameroon ratified the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on 11 January 1993. It thus demonstrated its political
will to work
for the best interests of children and protect them from the many
dangers to which they are subjected and confirmed its commitment
to respect and
fully implement the relevant provisions of the Convention. Well before that
ratification, it had expressed its determination
to promote and protect human
rights.
2. The present initial report, submitted under article 44 of
the Convention, contains information on the legislative, administrative,
judicial and other measures taken to give effect to the provisions of the
Convention. It was prepared, insofar as possible, on the
basis of the
general guidelines regarding the form and contents of periodic reports to
be submitted by States parties under article
44, paragraph 1 (b), of
the Convention, adopted by the Committee at its thirteenth session on
11 October 1996 (CRC/C/58).
3. The core document forming part of the
reports submitted by States parties to the human rights treaty monitoring bodies
(HRI/CORE/1/Add.109,
dated 19 June 2000) contains basic data on Cameroon and
general information on its geographical, economic and political structure
and
the general legal framework within which human rights are protected.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
4. The Convention on the Rights of the Child forms
the basis for the rights of the child and is the highestranking legal provision
that takes precedence, in the hierarchy of rules of law, over any relevant
domestic legislation, as stressed by article 45 of the
Constitution of
Cameroon, which provides that “duly approved or ratified treaties and
international agreements shall, following publication,
take precedence over
national laws”. Cameroon, for which the wellbeing of children is a basic
and ongoing concern, has adopted
a set of legislative and institutional measures
designed to protect and promote the rights of the child. The sections which
follow
give a general picture of these legislative, regulatory, administrative
and other measures, deal with the measures taken to make
the principles and
provisions of the Convention widely known and briefly describe the obstacles to
the implementation of the Convention.
A. Legislation and regulations
5. The list of measures, some coming before and some
after the Convention, takes account of the hierarchy of legal
provisions.
1. Legislation
6. The main legislation in this regard is the
following:
(a) The Constitution of 2 June 1972, as amended by Act
No. 96/06 of 18 January 1996;
(b) The 1804 Napoleonic
Civil Code, as subsequently amended;
(c) The Code of Criminal
Investigation;
(d) Act No. 58/203 of 26 December 1958 simplifying
criminal procedure;
(e) The Penal Code: Acts of 12 November 1965 and 12
June 1967, as subsequently amended;
(f) The Labour Code: Act No. 92/007
of 14 August 1992;
(g) The Act of 22 July 1867 on imprisonment for debt,
as amended by Act No. 58/203 of 26 December 1958 adapting and
simplifying criminal
procedure;
(h) The Act of 24 July 1889 of the
protection of illtreated and abandoned children;
(i) The Act of
19 April 1898 on the punishment of violence, assault, acts of cruelty and
offences against children;
(j) The Southern Cameroons High Court Law
1955;
(k) Act No. 67/LF of 12 June 1967 establishing the Family Benefits
Code;
(l) Act No. 68/LF/3 of 11 June 1968 establishing the Nationality
Code;
(m) Act No. 69/LF/18 of 10 November 1969 establishing a pension
scheme (old age, disability and survivors);
(n) Act No. 69/LF/3 of 14
June 1969 governing the use of first and last names and
aliases;
(o) Matrimonial Causes Acts 1973;
(p) Act No. 83/013 of
21 July 1983 on the protection of disabled persons;
(q) Act No. 84/04 of
4 July 1984 on conditions for the adoption and guardianship of
orphans;
(r) Act No. 88/016 of 16 December 1988 governing advertising in
Cameroon;
(s) Act No. 88/017 of 15 December 1988 on filmmaking
guidelines;
(t) Act No. 90/042 of 19 December 1990 establishing the new
national identity card and Decree No. 99/154 of 20 July 1999 on the
characteristics
of the card and procedures for its preparation and
issue;
(u) Act No. 90/043 of 19 December 1990 on conditions for entry
into, stay in and departure from Cameroonian territory;
(v) Act No.
90/045 of 19 December 1990 simplifying criminal procedure for some offences and
amending Ordinance No. 72/17 of 26 December
1972 on serious
crime;
(w) Act No. 90/046 of 19 December 1990 repealing Order No.
62/OF/18 of 18 March 1962 on action to combat
subversion;
(x) Act No. 90/047 of 19 December 1990 on the state of
emergency;
(y) Act No. 90/052 of 19 December 1990 on freedom of social
communication, as amended by Act No. 96/04 of 4 January1996 on administrative
censorship;
(z) Act No. 90/053 of 19 December 1990 on freedom of
association;
(aa) Act No. 90/054 of 19 December 1990 on the maintenance
of law and order;
(bb) Act No. 90/55 of 19 December 1990 on public
meetings and demonstrations;
(cc) Act No. 90/056 of 19 December 1990 on
political parties;
(dd) Act No. 92/022 of 14 August 1992 on conditions
for the election of municipal councillors;
(ee) Act No. 91/20 of 16
December 1991 on conditions for the election of deputies to the National
Assembly, as amended by Act No.
97/13 of 19 March 1997;
(ff) Act No.
92/10 of 17 September 1992 on conditions for the election and
temporary replacement of the President of the Republic,
as amended by Act
No. 97/020 of 9 September 1997;
(gg) Act No. 96/03 of 4
January 1996 containing the health framework law;
(hh) Act No. 97/019 of
7 August 1997 on the control of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and
precursors and on extradition
and judicial assistance in connection with
trafficking in children, psychotropic substances and precursors;
(ii) Act. No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 on education guidelines in
Cameroon;
(jj) Act No. 98/006 of 14 April 1998 on
tourism;
(kk) Act No. 99/014 of 22 December 1999 on nongovernmental
organizations.
2. Ordinances
7. The second tier of legal provisions is composed
of ordinances:
(a) Supreme Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, CAP 211, and
the Magistrates Court Ordinance 1948;
(b) Children and Young Persons
Ordinance, CAP 132 of the 1958 Revised Laws (applicable in the former western
Cameroon);
(c) Criminal Procedure Ordinance of the 1958 Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, chapter 43;
(d) Juveniles Courts Rules, CAP 32 of
the 1958 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria;
(e) Ordinance No. 72/4 of 26 August 1972 and later amendments on the organization of the judiciary;
(f) Ordinance of 23 December 1958 on the protection of children and
young people at risk;
(g) Ordinance No. 81/02 of 29 June 1981 on the
organization of the civil register and various provisions on the status of
natural
persons;
(h) Ordinance No. 72/05 of 26 August 1972 on judicial
and military organization, subsequently amended.
3. Decrees
8. Decrees come next:
(a) The Decree of 30
November 1928 establishing special courts and the probation system for
minors;
(b) The Decree of 30 October 1935 on the protection of
children;
(c) The Decree of 23 September 1954 on the family record
book;
(d) Decree No. 61/94 of 21 June 1961 establishing the High
Commission for the Protection of Children at Risk;
(e) Decree No.
68/DF/253 of 10 July 1968 on general conditions for the employment of domestic
and household workers, as amended by
Decree No. 76/162 of 22 April
1976;
(f) Decree No. 69/DF/287 of 30 July 1969 on apprenticeship
contracts;
(g) Decree No. 71/DF/343 of 22 July 1971 on the control of
cinematographic films and sound recordings;
(h) Decree No. 72/461 of 2
September 1972 on the organization and operation of the Minors’ Care and
Observation Centre (CAO)
in Douala;
(i) Decree No. 73/115 of 22 March
1973 on the organization and operation of the Buéa Borstal
Institute;
(j) Decree No. 73/333 of 25 June 1973 on the organization and
operation of the Cameroon Juvenile Institute (ICE) in
Betamba;
(k) Decree No. 77/495 of 7 December 1977 on conditions for the
establishment and operation of private welfare agencies;
(l) Decree No.
82/412 of 9 September 1982 on the procedure for granting State relief to
indigent and needy persons;
(m) Decree No. 85/25 of 26 February 1985 on
the organization and operation of homeworkshops for young women in
Douala;
(n) Decree No. 87/1115 of 17 August 1987 on the procedure for
the establishment and operation of special civil register
centres;
(o) Decree No. 89/141 of 27 January 1989 reorganizing the
National Centre for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons;
(p) Decree
No. 90/524 of 23 March 1990 establishing the National Commission to Protect
Children at Risk, Juvenile Delinquents and
Abandoned
Children;
(q) Decree No. 90/1516 of 28 September 1990 on the procedure
for the implementation of Act No. 83/013 of 21 July 1983 on disabled
persons;
(r) Decree No. 90/1516 of 26 November 1990 on the procedure for
the implementation of Act No. 83/13 of 21 July 1983 on the protection
of
disabled persons;
(s) Decree No. 90/1483 of 9 November 1990 on
conditions and procedures for the operation of drinking
establishments;
(t) Decree No. 90/462 of 9 November 1990 on applications
for permission to engage in filmmaking activities;
(u) Decree No. 92/052
of 27 March 1992 on the prison system in Cameroon;
(v) Decree No.
92/456/PM of 24 November 1992 establishing and organizing the
National
Committee to Combat Drug Abuse;
(w) Decree No. 95/040 of 7 March 1995
organizing the Ministry of Public Health;
(x) Decree No. 96/379 of 14
June 1996 establishing the National Committee for the Social and Economic
Rehabilitation and Reintegration
of Disabled Persons;
(y) Decree No.
98/069 of 4 May 1998 on the organization of the Ministry of Social
Affairs;
(z) Decree No. 98/109 of 8 June 1998 establishing the Technical
Committee to Monitor the Implementation of International Human Rights
Instruments;
(aa) Decree No. 98/153 of 24 July 1998 organizing the
Ministry for Urban Affairs.
4. Orders
9. Many orders relate to the rights of the
child:
(a) Order No. 3945 of 4 August 1953 on assistance for blind
persons in Cameroon;
(b) Order No. 16 of 27 May 1969 on female
labour;
(c) Order No. 17/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May 1967 on child
labour;
(d) Order No. 16/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May 1967, annex, listing work
prohibited to children and women;
(e) Order No. 2/CG/JS/EP of 15
February 1977 on the organization and operation of school holiday
facilities;
(f) Interministerial Order No. 242/L/729/MINEDUC/MJS of 25
October 1979 organizing afterschool and extracurricular activities (under
review);
(g) Order No. 477/CAB/PR of 22 September 1986 establishing the
Douala homeworkshop;
(h) Order No. 89/003/A/MINASCOF of 2 April 1989
establishing social welfare offices in the external departments of some
ministries
and public bodies (prisons, police stations, universities, high
schools, hospitals and medical and social welfare centres);
(i) Order
No. 002/MJS/DJA/SA of 12 July 1990 organizing and operating youth and community
activity centres in Cameroon;
(j) Order No. 018/A/MJS/DGA of 27 December
1990 establishing youth and community activity centres throughout the national
territory;
(k) Joint Order No. 00001/MINEFI/MINAS of 7 March 1991 giving
effect to article 13 of Finance Act No. 90/001 of 29 June 1990 on the
budget assessment and allocation of MINASCOF specialized agencies and
determining how the share of these agencies is to be
used;
(l) Interministerial Order
No. 040/AI/MSP/SG/DSPM/SDSF/SN/BCDA/060/AI/ MINDIC/DC/SDDC/SD of 6 October
1993 on the marketing of mothers’
milk substitutes;
(m) Order No.
0153/A/MSP of 15 February 1996 establishing and organizing a [word omitted] at
Yaoundé Central Hospital;
(n) Joint Order No.
99/0012/MINEFI/MINFOPRA/MINAS of 8 June 1999 opening education spaces and social
welfare services in the Ministry
of Social Affairs.
5. Ministerial instructions
10. A number of ministries publish instructions
relating to various activities:
(a) Ministerial Instruction No.
83/0026/I/MINAS/DDS/SPIS of 29 September 1983 on specifications for community
education (EMO);
(b) Instruction No. 87/000085/I/MINAS/SG/DDS/STDJ of 14
July 1987 on vocational training programmes in residential rehabilitation
centres;
(c) Ministerial Instruction No. 001/IM/MJS/DGA/S2 of 8 April
1988 on the teaching functions of youth and community activity
centres;
(d) Ministerial Instruction No. 001/IM/MJS/DGA of 23 January
1990 on the administration and management of youth and community activity
centres;
(e) Ministerial Instruction No. 002/IM/DJA/SA of 16 July 1990
on the operation of mobile community development teams;
(f) Ministerial
Instruction No. 91/00114 of 8 July 1991 on the new management policy of
specialized establishments;
(g) Ministerial Instruction No.
92/193/I/MINASCOF/SG/DPIF/SDDS/SEMO of 30 December 1992 on the
functions of specialized community
education
instructors;
(h) Ministerial Instruction No. 93/00723/MINASCOF/SG of 1
April 1993 determining the functions of prison social welfare
officers;
(i) Ministerial Instruction No. 93/00723/MINASCOF/SG of April
1993 determining the functions of court social welfare
officers;
(j) Ministerial Instruction No. 93/00739/MINASCOF/SG of 2
April 1993 determining the functions of medical and social services social
welfare officers;
(k) Ministerial Instruction No. 93/00739/MINASCOF/SG
of 2 April 1993 determining the functions of Mother and Child Protection Centres
(PMI) social welfare officers;
(l) Ministerial Instruction No.
93/00740/MINASCOF/SG of 2 April 1993 determining the functions of the school
social welfare service;
(m) Ministerial Instruction No.
93/00770/MINASCOF/SG of 7 April 1993 determining the functions of hospital
social welfare officers.
6. Circulars
11. Circulars are the
last type of legislative text:
(a) Circular No. 9062/AAJS of 8 April
1965 on pretrial detention;
(b) Circular No. 9062/DAJS of 12 May 1965 on
supervision of pretrial detention;
(c) Circular No 9062/DAJS of 5
December 1966 on supervision of pretrial detention;
(d) Circular No.
9062/DJAS of 15 July 1967 on pretrial detention of minors;
(e) Circular
No. 300018/DJAS/of 8 July 1968 on juvenile delinquents and runaway
children;
(f) Circular No. 66/5435/PGY of 30 June 1969 on juvenile
delinquency and placement in the Cameroonian Juvenile Institute in
Betamba;
(g) Circular No. 522/MSAP/DAS/BDI of 27 June 1974 on methods of
investigation in relation to the adoption of children;
(h) Circular No.
10/A/562/MINEDUC/ESG/DETP/DEPE/DDP of 19 January 1980 on student pregnancies in
public and private schools in the
Republic;
(i) Circular letter No.
81/0018/LC/MINAS/SPFI of 18 September 1981 on the authorization of temporary
child custody;
(j) Circular letter No. 80/L/658/MINEDUC/CT2 of 13
January 1986 on admission of disabled children and children of disabled parents
to public and private schools;
(k) Circular No.
17/B1/1464/MINEDUC/ESG/SCP of 20 April 1987 on the student dress code of
conduct;
(l) Circular letter No. 15/B1/2928/MINEDUC/DESG/SGP/BF of 2
February 1989 on raising awareness of drug problems in
schools;
(m) Circular No. 9062/MINJUSTICE/DAJS of 18 October 1989
providing for the reduction of pretrial detention for minors to a
minimum;
(n) Circular letter No. 90/02759/LC/MINASCOF/SDPF of 5 December
1990 containing a reminder on procedures for the temporary custody
of abandoned
children;
(o) Circular letter No. 91/01047/LC/MINASCOF/SG/DPIF/SDPF on
supervision of private welfare agencies;
(p) Circular letter No.
005/LC/MJS/DJA/SJL of 30 March 1992 on conditions for the opening, rules and
regulations and operation of
school holiday facilities in the Republic of
Cameroon;
(q) Circular No. 21/B1/10251/MINEDUC/CAB of 27 April 1993 on
the monitoring of health and hygiene conditions in schools;
(r) Circular
No. 9471/DAJS of 16 September 1993 on the implementation of civil register
legislation;
(s) Circular No. 7128/DAJS of 27 January 1995 on pretrial
detention of minors.
B. Other measures
12. Institutional and
administrative measures in support of the abovementioned legislation and the
promotion of the wellbeing of children
are referred to below. In the context of
the institutional structure of the State, responsibility for the protection of
the rights
and the promotion of the wellbeing of children is vested primarily in
the Ministry of Social Affairs, as organized by Decree No.
98/069 of 4 May
1998 and entrusted, inter alia with the tasks of preparing and
monitoring the implementation of the relevant policies and programmes. The
central services of the
Ministry of Social Affairs thus include the Department
for the Wellbeing of Families and Children, which has a subdepartment for
the
protection of children that is composed of:
The Residential Rehabilitation Service;
The Probation and Community Education Service; and
The Infant Protection Service.
13. In accordance with article 23
of the abovementioned Decree, the State also deals with the situation of
disabled children in planning
and implementation facilities. The National
Solidarity Department and, in particular, the Rehabilitation Service thus
coordinate
and monitor the implementation of policies and programmes on behalf
of disabled children at the central level. These core facilities
supervise and
coordinate external services, such as the provincial and departmental social
welfare offices, social welfare centres
and operational technical units, which
include child welfare services and offices (arts. 42 et seq. of the
abovementioned Decree).
14. The allimportant task of promoting the
wellbeing of children is not the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Social
Affairs,
which also interacts with the other ministerial departments concerned,
including the Ministries of Local Government, Communication,
Culture, Economy
and Finance, National Education, Public Investment and Reginal Planning, Youth
and
Sports, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Public Health, Labour, Employment and
Social Welfare, Town Planning and Housing and Urban Affairs.
Studies are also
being carried out on the institutionalization of the Children’s
Parliament.
15. What is involved is thus a multisectoral approach. The
former Ministry of Social Affairs and the Status of Women (MINASCOF) prepared
a
“frameworkdocument” entitled “Plan of Action for Implementing
the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection
and Development of Children in
the 1990s”. Its implementation dates back to July 1995. The 1990
National Population Policy
Declaration is part of this
approach.
16. Other strategic measures that have been taken
include:
(a) The National Education Strategy for Responsible Parenthood
(EPR), which has been implemented since 1990 and consists of three
volumes
containing the Strategy Declaration, the Education Programme and Teaching
Profiles. The Strategy has four main components:
sex education, childbirth
education, family life education and community life and development
education;
(b) The establishment, by Decree No. 90/524 of 23 March 1990, of the
National Commission to Protect Children at Risk, Juvenile Delinquents
and
Abandoned Children.
The Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS) also oversees
private welfare agencies and other associations involved in the protection of
the rights and the promotion of the wellbeing of children.
C. Measures to disseminate information on the Convention
17. Although ignorance of the law is not an
excuse, measures have to be taken to disseminate information on legislation
creating rights
and obligations. With regard to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child, measures were taken by the authorities after its ratification
to
ensure that information on it was provided systematically or at least
sporadically. In addition to publication in the Official
Gazette, information
is disseminated in the following ways:
(a) Communication by the media through lecture notes, summaries and radio
broadcasts and programmes, such as: “Church and
development”,
“For women”, “My friend Babel”, “Women’s
rights”, and “Social
development”. There are also television
programmes, such as: “For young people”, “The verdict”,
“For
kids” and “The law situation”;
(b) Advocacy
and mobilization during events such as National Youth Day, the Day of the
African Child, the International Day of Disabled
Persons, the International Day
for Natural Disaster Reduction and the International Day of Families, which are
opportunities for
raising awareness of the importance of the rights of the
child;
(c) Action by MINAS officials through information and education
activities and communication with youth associations in schools by
means of
lectures, educational talks and the distribution of illustrated pamphlets,
booklets, posters and banners, as well as copies
of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child;
(d) Use of rural radio broadcasts to disseminate
information on human rights in local languages;
(e) Translation and
dissemination of information on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
simplified terms;
(f) Organization of seminars and workshops, such as:
(i) The Seminar on Children in Conflict with the Law (1993);
(ii) The National Seminar on the Rights of the Child in Cameroon (1995);
(iii) The Seminar on IllTreatment of Minors in Cameroon (1995);
(iv) The Subregional Seminar on Children in Particularly Difficult Situations, which led to the establishment of a fouryear national programme of action for the benefit of 6,000 children (1996);
(v) The Seminar on “Legislation on children in conflict with the law in Cameroon”, which was held in Yaoundé from 28 July to 1 August 1997 and one of the recommendations of which was the implementation of a strategy on the review and harmonization of legislation;
(vi) The International Seminar on Child Labour, which was held in Yaoundé in October 1997 and which led to the adoption of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour;
(vii) The first National Symposium on the Family and the Social Rehabilitation of Children as a Strategy for Street Survival in Cameroon, held
from 1 to 3 July 1993;
(viii) Seminars on street children held in Douala and Garua, from 1 to 12 and from 14 to 20 December 1997, which led to the adoption of a plan of action for street children;
(ix) Workshops on school attendance by girls and nonformal education, held in Ngaoundéré and Garua;
(x) The International Round Table on the Eradication of Female Sexual Mutilation through the Use of Community Approaches, held
from 11 to 13 May 1998 in Yaoundé. The Round Table was followed by a seminar on the adoption of a national plan of action to combat female sexual mutilation, held in Marua in December 1998;
(xi) The MINASUNICEF programme to raise the awareness of opinion leaders of the promotion of and respect for the rights of the child.
As
may be noted, efforts of all kinds are being made to provide specific
information on the Convention on the Rights of the Child
in Cameroon, even
though there are still many obstacles
which it should be possible to
overcome.
D. Obstacles to the implementation of the Convention
18. The obstacles to the
full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Cameroon
include:
(a) Insufficient coordination of sectoral policies relating to
children;
(b) The existence of widely varying legislation, some of which
is unsuitable and some outdated;
(c) The economic recession, with the
resulting reduction in government spending and the adverse impact on funding for
social services
and for children, in
particular;[1]
(d) The
continued existence of backward customs and traditions, especially the
perception of the child simply as a human being in
the making without any rights
in a gerontocratic society, on the one hand, and discriminatory gender practices
in the education of
girls and boys, on the other.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
19. In ratifying the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Cameroon endorsed the definition of the
child given therein. A child
is thus “Every human being below the age of
18 years, unless, under the law applicable in the country, majority is attained
earlier.” The fact that there may be more than one age of majority,
depending on circumstances or activities, is a legal derogation
from this
definition.
20. In civil law, the age of majority is 21 years, according
to article 488 of the Civil Code (legal capacity, consent, medical counselling
without parental consent, sexual consent). A minor may, however, be emancipated
by court order or automatically by marriage. With
regard to marriage and
according to article 521 of Order No. 81/02 of 29 June 1981 on the organization
of the civil register, “No
marriage may be celebrated if the girl is below
the age of 15 years or the boy below the age of 18 years, except under an
exemption
granted by the President of the Republic for serious reasons.”
A young woman may thus be emancipated by marriage as of age
15, but, in
order to protect her, particularly from fraud, the prior authorization of her
parents or guardians is required.
21. In electoral law, article 11 of Act No. 91/020 of 16 December 1991 on
conditions for the election of deputies to the National
Assembly and
article 12 of Act No. 92/010 of 17 September 1992 on conditions
for the election and replacement of the President of
the Republic provide
that the age of majority is 20 years.
22. In social matters, according to
article 1 of Order No. 17 of 27 May 1969 on child labour, “Any person of
either sex, whether
a wage earner or an apprentice, who is below the age
of 18 years shall be regarded as a minor.” However, the annex
to Order
No. 16 of 27 May 1969 contains a list of work prohibited to minors.
According to article 861 of the Labour Code, moreover, “Minors
may not be
employed in any enterprise, even as apprentices, before the age of 14, except as
otherwise provided by order of the Minister
of Labour in the light of local
circumstances and the work that may be required of them.” On 14 April
1998, Cameroon adopted
a law authorizing the President of the Republic to ratify
ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Admission to Employment and
thus considers that the minimum age for admission to employment or work is 14
years, in accordance with its domestic legislation.
According to the
regulations in force, no minor below the age of 18 may be recruited into the
armed forces and the police, except
as otherwise decided by the parents.
Article 13, paragraph 1 (b), of Decree No. 94/199 of 7 October 1994
containing the staff rules
of the Government civil service provides that
“No one may be recruited as a civil servant if he is not at least 17 years
old.”
23. As far as schools are concerned, the provisions of the
Constitution and of article 9 of Act No. 98/004 of 14 April 1999 on
education guidelines in Cameroon provide that primary education is compulsory,
but do not refer to any age limit for school attendance.
24. In criminal
law, the age of majority is 18 years, according to article 80 (4).
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Nondiscrimination (art. 2)
25. The
principle of nondiscrimination is embodied in the Constitution, the preamble of
which reads:
“All human beings, without distinction as to race, religion, sex or beliefs, possess inalienable and sacred rights.
All human beings are equal in rights and in duties.
The State guarantees all citizens the necessary conditions for their development.
The State guarantees the protection of minorities and preserves the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with the law.”
26. This nondiscrimination extends to education, where there is no
segregation between boys and girls. Thus, according to article
7 of Act of
No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 on education guidelines in Cameroon:
“The State shall guarantee everyone equal opportunities
for access to
education without discrimination as to sex, political, philosophical or
religious opinion and social, cultural, linguistic
or geographical
origin.”
27. With regard to social protection and security, there
is legislation designed to prevent the marginalization of the vulnerable
category of children, such as:
(a) The Decree of 30 October 1935 on the
protection of children, which emphasizes guidance for children neglected or
abandoned by
their parents and for orphans by placing them in special
institutions or in State care;
(b) Act No. 83/013 of 19 July 1983 on the
protection of disabled children, especially with regard to educational and
medical and
social welfare assistance;
(c) Article 61 of the Labour
Code, which embodies the principle of equal pay for equal work, regardless of
sex, age, status or religion;
(d) The Ordinance of 29 June 1981 on the
organization of the civil register, articles 43, 45 and 46 of which
facilitate the recognition
of children born out of wedlock.
In addition
to these general provisions, specific measures have been taken in favour of
certain population groups, such as girl children,
disabled children, minorities
and marginal population groups (Pygmies, Bororos, Mafa).
28. Factors such
as social prejudices, customary and religious practices and early marriages
create an imbalance in the school enrolment
of girls and boys. To remedy this
situation, the State has adopted incentivebased measures for girls, particularly
with regard to
the age of admission to industrial and commercial technical
education schools (CETIC), which is 14 years for girls and 13 years
for
boys. Some legislation which excluded girl children from school on account
of pregnancy has also been repealed. Curricular
No.
10/162/MINEDUC/ESG/DERP/
DEPF/DDP of 19 January 1980 on
pregnancy of students in public and private schools in the Republic of Cameroon
allows a girl to be
suspended during pregnancy and readmitted after she has
given birth.
29. A set of institutional measures has also been adopted to
provide guidance for girl children:
(a) The UNICEFMINEDUCMINAS education
programme for girls, consisting of the following:
(i) Nonformal basic education;
(ii) Programme on guidance for girl children through the Centres for the Advancement of Women;
(iii) Identification of factors affecting the school enrolment rate of girls;
(iv) Progress report on school attendance by girls and their performance in scientific subjects;
(v) Focus on girl children in the national policy document entitled “Women and development”.
(b) The establishment of
“social welfarehome management” centres at the neighbourhood
level;
(c) The establishment of “homeworkshops”, specialized
institutions for the rehabilitation and reintegration of young
women who are
socially maladjusted, at risk or from needy families; because of financial
problems, only one homeworkshop is in operation
in Douala; it was established by
Order No. 477/CAB/PR of 22 September 1986;
(d) The
establishment of youth and community activity centres and noninformal education
institutions operating on the basis of alternative
training and personalized
teaching offering participants the possibility of developing their creativity
and business sense with a
view to fuller sociooccupational integration; the
target groups are young school dropouts aged at least 12 years; there
are about
318 youth centres (11 provincial, 56 departmental and
251 district centres).
30. Action has also been taken on behalf of
disabled children, including:
(a) Care of children with special
educational needs and school assistance for disabled children with destitute
parents;
(b) Medical assistance for medicines, surgery and medical
evacuation;
(c) Facilitation of access by disabled children to
education, sports and recreation.
31. There are two types of sports
associations for disabled children:
(a) Sports and cultural associations
for the disabled, such as HandisportCameroon;
(b) The Cameroonian Sports
Federation for Disabled Persons (FECASH), which has just been
established.
32. The State guarantees the school enrolment of children
from marginal groups by granting special educational assistance in cooperation
with NGOs.
33. The abovementioned action by the State nevertheless
encounters certain obstacles, such as:
(a) Problems in settling
nomad populations, which make it difficult to keep track
of them;
(b) Customary types of resistance which are contrary to the
law and perpetuate discriminatory practices, especially against
girls;
(c) Unsuitable programmes and approaches which do not always take
account of the real needs of the people for whom they are
intended;
(d) The job crisis resulting from economic problems, which
have contributed, inter alia, to the growth of the problem of the
exploitation of child labour as a result of poverty; this particular category of
workers is
not supervised by the labour inspector because of the informal nature
of the activities involved.
An appropriate solution to these problems
requires the strengthening of institutional and technical capacity and an
increase in the
human resources of the institutions responsible for designing
and implementing State policy and monitoring conditions of employment.
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
34. On the basis of the
provisions of article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
preamble of the Constitution states, in general terms, that “The nation
shall protect and promote the family as the natural foundation of society. It
shall
protect women, young people, the elderly and the disabled.” A set
of criminal, civil, social and administrative provisions
reflects the fact that
the best interests of the child are taken into account at the national
level.
35. These measures take the form both of substantive and
procedural criminal laws.
(a) As to substantive laws, chapter V of book
II of the Penal Code makes offences against children and the family punishable.
It
covers a wide range of offences: abortion (art. 337); slavery and
bondage (art. 342); prostitution (art. 343); corruption of minors
(art. 344); public indecency in the presence of a minor aged under 16
(art. 346); homosexuality (art. 347); public access to and
consumption
of alcohol beverages (art. 348); abuse of weaknesses (art. 349); child
abuse (art. 350); kidnapping of minors (art. 352);
kidnapping
involving fraud and violence (arts. 353 and 354); forced marriage
(art. 356); excessive dowry requirements (art. 357);
desertion of the
home (art. 358); incest (art. 360);
(b) With regard to
procedure, special measures have been adopted to protect children, both during
the preliminary investigation and
during trial and sentencing. Article 27,
paragraph 2, thus provides that “If a woman who has been sentenced to
a term of imprisonment
is pregnant or has just given birth, she shall start
serving her sentence only six weeks after the child is born.”
Article
27, paragraph 4, states that “A husband and wife sentenced to
less than one year’s imprisonment and not imprisoned as
of the day of the
trial may, at their request, not serve their sentences at the same time, if,
having proved that they have the same
domicile, they have responsibility for and
custody of a minor below the age of 18 years.” When a minor is being
prosecuted,
Ordinance No. 58/1301 of 23 December 1958 provides that he
may be tried in chambers or behind closed doors so that the public nature
of the
proceedings will not be prejudicial to him.
36. In civil matters, the
best interests of the child are an ongoing concern. For example, the custody of
the child when a marriage
is in crisis (separation or divorce) is awarded to the
parent who is best suited to assume such custody; alimony is ordered for the
maintenance of children; parents are liable in civil law for any loss or injury
caused by their children (art. 13841 of the Civil
Code); adoption may
take place only if it is in the interests of the adoptee; and the reserved
portion has the effect of keeping
three quarters of the estate of the deceased
exclusively for the children.
37. In social matters, specific measures
have been taken to protect the best interests of the child. They relate
primarily to conditions
for the hiring of children and the nature of the work to
be performed. With regard to hiring, Ministerial Order No. 171/MTLS/DEGRE
of 27
May 1969 on child labour provides that the working day in industry is eight
hours at most, with a rest period of at least one
hour a day for minors below
the age of 16. Order No. 16/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May 1969 also contains a list of
types of work that may
not be performed by children. Under article 82 of the
Labour Code, children are excluded from night work in industry between 10
p.m. and 6 a.m. The annual leave of minors below the age of 18 is increased
from one and onehalf days to two and onehalf days per
month (art. 90 of the
Labour Code). The abovementioned Ministerial Order No. 17 prohibits children
from performing work for which
they are not strong enough, as well as work that
is unhealthy or dangerous or likely to undermine their morals. Women who are
pregnant
or who are breastfeeding have special leave to take care of their
infants.
38. These are all specific public policy measures. The
penalties for anyone who does not comply with the provisions of articles 82,
86
and 90 of the Labour Code on child labour are the following:
(a) Article
167 of the Labour Code provides for a penalty of CFAF 100,000 to
CFAF 1 million for failure to comply with the provisions
of articles
86 and 90 on the minimum age and paid leave;
(b) Article 168 increases
this fine from CFAF 200,000 to CFAF 1.5 million for failure to comply with
article 82 on night work;
(c) Article 190 provides for a penalty of six
days to six months’ imprisonment in the event of repeated violations of
these
articles.
39. In administrative matters, the following bodies have
been established to ensure that the best interests of the child are taken
into
account: the National Committee to Combat Drug Abuse; the National Committee
for the Social and Economic Rehabilitation and
Reintegration of Disabled
Persons; the National Commission for the Protection of Children at Risk,
Juvenile Delinquents and Abandoned
Children; the National Commission on Health
and Safety at Work; the National Prison Administration Commission; and the
Technical
Committee to Monitor the Implementation of International Human Rights
Instruments.
40. With regard to health, the reorganization of primary healthcare services
gives priority to maternal and child health through the
introduction in the
minimum activities package of maternal and child health activities involving
health training and the improvement
of health and nutritional education for
mothers. Emphasis is also being placed on preventive medicine, including the
monitoring
of pregnancies, vaccinations, the improvement of conditions of
hygiene, action to combat transmissible diseases and AIDS and the
use of
traditional medicine.
41. It may, however, be noted that these measures
do not always achieve the desired results because material and financial
resources
are lacking.
C. The right to life, survival and development (art. 6)
42. The right to life is provided for in the
Constitution, the preamble of which states that: “Every person has the
right to life and to physical and moral integrity.” This
is reflected in
a set of criminal, civil and social provisions.
43. In terms of criminal
law, there are legislative texts which protect the child from conception until
birth and throughout childhood.
Reference may be made to: the nonapplication
of the death penalty to a pregnant woman prior to childbirth (art. 22,
para. 3); the
refusal to pay alimony (arts. 180 and 181); arbitrary
arrest and detention (art. 291); forced labour (art. 292); procuring
(art.
294); abortion (art. 337); violence against a pregnant woman
(art. 338); slavery and bondage (art. 342); infanticide
(art. 350);
and forced marriage (art. 356).
44. Although there
are no specific provisions to punish female genital mutilation, persons
responsible for such an act may be prosecuted
on the basis of article 277
of the Penal Code, which reads: “Anyone who causes another person to
be permanently deprived of
the use of all or part of a member, an organ or a
sense shall be liable to 10 to 20 years’
imprisonment.”
45. In civil and social welfare terms, legislative
and institutional measures have been taken to protect the life, survival and
development
of children, including:
(a) Article 301, paragraph 1,
of the Civil Code and article 76 of Ordinance No. 81/02 of
29 June 1981 on alimony awarded to a woman
abandoned by her husband
and on behalf of the children;
(b) Article 38 of the Ordinance requires
any person who finds an abandoned newborn child to make a statement to that
effect to the
police or the gendarmerie. At the request of the AttorneyGeneral,
moreover, the registry official prepares a provisional birth
certificate;
(c) Article 26 of Act No. 67/LF/7 of 12 June 1967
establishing the Family Benefits Code, which provides for five types of benefits
to guarantee the wellbeing of children:
(i) Antenatal allowances;
(ii) Maternity allowances;
(iii) Medical costs which have been incurred as a result of antenatal medical examination and which are reimbursed;
(iv) Family allowances;
(v) Daily allowance for women wage earners who are on maternity leave.
46. In addition to these legislative texts, many
facilities have been established to protect the life, survival and development
of
children, such as:
(a) Facilities for infants and children in
distress (nurseries, homes);
(b) Facilities for children in difficult
situations: public and private rehabilitation institutions, youth and community
activity
centres;
(c) Social centres, sections and sectors, home
management centres, homeworkshops, centres for the advancement of women,
education
spaces;
(d) Health work, which includes health training at the
central, provincial and district levels;
(e) Specialized centres for
disabled persons, which include functional rehabilitation, special education and
vocational training
institutions.
47. With regard to the registration of
the death of children, articles 78 to 80 of Ordinance No. 81/02 of
29 June 1981 require any
person with knowledge of the death of an
individual to make a statement to that effect to the competent
authorities.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art. 12)
48. According to article 12 of the Convention,
“States parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or
her
own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting
the child.” The preamble of the Constitution generally provides for the
right to freedom of expression of all citizens, stating that: “Freedom of
communication, freedom
of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly,
freedom of association, trade union freedom and the right to strike shall
be
guaranteed under the conditions determined by law.”
49. The
following legislation has been adopted to protect and guarantee the exercise of
these freedoms: Act No. 90/53 of 19 December
1990 on freedom of social
communication; and Act No. 90/53 of 1990 on freedom of
association.
50. In specific terms, the views of the child are often
taken into account, either directly or by representation (parent, guardian,
legal representative), in legal and administrative proceedings, as in the case
of the award by the court of custody of the child
in divorce or separation
proceedings, in marriage (art. 52, para. 1, and art. 64, para. 1, of Ordinance
No. 81/02 of 19 June 1981;
art. 238 of the Civil Code) and in hearings in
the Council Chamber.
51. In addition, administrative measures have been
adopted to enable children to express their views. For example, children
presented
the Convention at the ordinary session of the National Assembly in
June 1991 to request its ratification, which took place in 1993.
On 2 September 1993, Yaoundé street children, who had the
support of various associations, submitted their case to the Prime
Minister in
order to draw the Government’s attention to their
situation.
52. Similarly, the children of Cameroon, together with other
African children, were offered a platform and addressed the African Heads
of
State meeting in Yaoundé at the thirtysecond ordinary session of OAU in
July 1996 in order to express their views on the
armed conflicts decimating the
continent. Cameroon also tried out two meetings of the Children’s
Parliament in June 1998 and
1999, during which “parliamentary”
children put oral questions on matters such as education, health, action to
combat
corruption and street children. Studies are under way to
institutionalize this forum for the expression of views by children. Various
other opportunities are offered to children, either in schools or in the media,
for the expression of their views, including the
presence of students in school
management committees.
53. It should nevertheless be pointed out that
these efforts to guarantee respect for the views of children may go against the
tide
of certain traditions which regard children merely as human beings in the
making who must, until they reach maturity, submit to the
gerontocratic law of
the community.
IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name, nationality and preservation of identity (arts. 7 and 8)
54. According to
article 7 of the Convention, “The child shall be registered immediately
after birth and shall have the right
from birth to a name and to acquire a
nationality.” This concern is fully reflected in Cameroonian
legislation.
1. Legal recognition of births
55. Ordinance No. 81/2 of 29 June 1981
organizing the registry office and containing provisions on the status of
natural persons governs
the legal recognition of births, marriages and deaths.
Article 30 makes it an obligation to declare a birth to the registry official
in
the place of the birth within 30 days following childbirth. Article 31 reads:
“When a child is born in a hospital, the
head of the hospital or, in his
absence, the doctor or any person who assisted the woman is required to declare
the birth of the
child within the following 15 days.” If the birth has
not been declared within this time limit, the parents of the child have
an
additional 15 days in which to make the declaration to the registry official in
the place of the birth.
56. With regard to abandoned children, the
Ordinance provides that anyone who finds an abandoned newborn child is required
to make
a statement at the nearest police or gendarmerie station (art. 38, para.
1), which will prepare a detailed report indicating not
only the date, time,
place and circumstances of the discovery and the apparent age of the child and
its sex, but also any particular
information which might help identify the child
and the person to whom his
custody is temporarily entrusted (art. 38, para. 2). At the request of the
AttorneyGeneral, the registry official draws up a temporary
birth certificate
under the conditions provided for by law (art. 38, para. 3).
57. With a
view to these operations for the registration and legal recognition of births,
article 10, paragraph 1, of the Ordinance
provides that “A registry
centre shall be opened in each commune and in each diplomatic or consular
mission of Cameroon abroad.”
In order to bring the administration closer
to its customers, moreover, an order of the Minister of Local Government may
establish
“one or more special registry centres in a commune when
warranted by the size of the commune, the density of its population
and
communication problems” (art. 10, para. 2).
58. Registry
officials and secretaries are appointed on the proposal of the local
administrative authorities. Refresher courses on
how the centres operate and
civil registers are kept are organized for such staff in the main towns of
departments and provinces.
59. Despite these legal and administrative
provisions, there are still problems with the registration of births because of
the lack
of facilities, the remoteness of some areas, the high cost of medical
fees for childbirth, certain customary practices and the ignorance
of some
parents.
2. Naming
60. Naming and the use of names are governed by
Act No. 69/LF/3 of 14 June 1969 governing the use of first and last names and
aliases
and Order No. 81/02 of 29 June 1981 on the organization of the registry
office. The first and last names of children are freely
chosen by the parents.
In the case of a foundling, the first and last names are chosen by the person
who has found him or by the
registry official who receives the statement (art.
35 of the abovementioned Ordinance of 29 June 1981).
61. In order to
protect the dignity and honour of the child, giving him a first or last name
which is improper and plainly ridiculous
under the law and according to public
morals, customs and beliefs is prohibited. In such a case, the registry
official is required
to refuse to put the first or last name in the record and
the person making the statement is invited to propose another first or
last name
or to bring the matter before the president of the competent court within the
time limit provided for by law (art. 35,
para. 3). The following may be
included in birth certificates: names used in tradition, religious names and
names of historical
figures (art. 36).
3. Nationality
62. Nationality is governed by Act. No. 68/LF/3
of 11 June 1968 containing the Cameroonian Nationality Code. According to
article
6 of the Act, the following are Cameroonian: legitimate children born
of Cameroonian parents and natural children, when the two
parents in respect of
whom descent is established are Cameroonian. Article 7 of the Act provides that
the following are also Cameroonian:
legitimate children one of whose parents is
Cameroonian and children born out of wedlock, when the parent in respect of whom
descent
was first established is Cameroonian. In any event, when one of the
parents of the child is Cameroonian, the child acquires Cameroonian
nationality
ipso facto.
4. Preservation of identity
63. Article 12 of Ordinance No. 81/02 of 29 June
1981 on the organization of the registry office provides that “Civil
register
records give the date of the events recorded, the date on which they
have been prepared and the last and first names, occupation,
domicile and
residence of the persons to whom they relate.” Such records thus contain
some indications of the identity of
the person in question. Act No. 90/043 of
19 December 1990 establishing the new national identity card and Decree No.
99/154 of
20 July 1999 on the characteristics of and procedures for the
preparation and issue of the national identity card are designed to
protect the
nationality and the identity of individuals.
64. There are penalties for
anyone who commits acts designed to deprive a child of its descent, such
as:
(a) Article 162 of the Penal Code, under which anyone who makes an
untruthful statement during the establishment of a birth certificate
is liable
to three months to three years’ imprisonment;
(b) Article 341,
under which anyone whose action has the effect of depriving a child of proof of
his descent is liable to 5 to 10
years’ imprisonment;
(c) Article
R 370, paragraph 1, which penalizes the failure of the persons present during
the childbirth to make a statement. This
provision also punishes anyone who has
found a newborn and does not turn it over to the registry official or, if he
wishes to assume
responsibility for the child, does not make a statement to the
registry official in the commune concerned.
B. Freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion
association
and peaceful assembly (arts. 13, 14 and 15)
65. Articles 13 to 15
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child guarantee the exercise of the
public freedoms of children. These
public freedoms are formally embodied in the
preamble of the Constitution.
66. Freedom of expression is governed by
Act No. 90/052 of 19 December 1990 on freedom of social communication; in
this connection,
many opportunities are offered to young people both by the
audiovisual media and by the written press.
67. Although the principle of
freedom of thought, conscience and religion is clearly accepted, parents educate
their children according
to family religious values.
68. Freedom of
association and freedom of peaceful assembly are governed by
Act No. 90/055 of 19 December 1990 on public meetings
and
demonstrations, article 3, paragraph 1, of which provides that
“Public meetings, whatever their purpose, shall be free”,
subject to
a statement made in advance to the administrative authorities. In this
connection, there are many sports and sociocultural
associations in
schools.
C. Protection of privacy (art. 16)
69. Article 16 of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child provides that: “No child shall be subjected to arbitrary or
unlawful
interference with his or her privacy, family, home or correspondence,
nor to unlawful attacks on his or her honour and reputation.”
Similarly,
the preamble of the Constitution states that “The home shall be inviolable
and searches may take place only in accordance with the law.” It also
states
that “The secrecy of correspondence shall be inviolable.
Interference with correspondence may take place only in accordance
with
decisions taken by the judicial authorities.”
70. The Penal Code
provides for penalties for the following violations of the privacy, honour and
reputation of children: procuring
(art. 294); indecent behaviour in private
(art. 295); rape (art. 296); trespass on domestic premises (art. 299);
insults (art. 306);
interference with correspondence (art. 300);
indecent assault on a minor below the age of age 16 (art. 346); indecent
assault on
a minor aged between 16 and 21 (art. 347); defamation
(art. 305); incest (art. 360).
71. In addition to these
provisions involving penalties, measures have been taken in connection with
judicial proceedings to protect
the privacy of children. A judicial
investigation is compulsory for any offence committed by a minor. It is
conducted secretly.
Article 198 of the Code of Criminal Investigation prohibits
the publication of any decision convicting a minor, as well as any means
of
identifying him. Article 226 punishes anyone who, without the written
authorization of the AttorneyGeneral, makes the suicide
of a minor under age 18
public by any means whatever. It also punishes anyone who, except as requested
in writing by the investigating
magistrate, reproduces, in pictures or in any
other form, all or part of the circumstances of violent offences and all
offences committed
against minors.
72. According to article 2 of the
Decree of 13 November 1928, decisions concerning minors aged between 10 and 14
years are not included
in the court records. Article 28 of the Decree reads:
“Court clerks shall keep a special nonpublic register in which all
decisions concerning minors below the age of 18 are recorded. Decisions of the
Council Chamber and excerpts from the file may be
communicated only to the
judicial authorities and only during the period while the persons concerned are
still minors. However,
an excerpt of a decision provisionally or definitively
entrusting a minor to an individual or to a charitable institution shall be
notified to the individual or institution concerned by the justice of the peace
or the prosecutor, who shall take all the necessary
measures to turn the child
over.”
D. Access to appropriate information (art. 17)
73. Article 17 of the Convention stresses that
States parties recognize the importance of ensuring that children have access to
appropriate
information aimed at the promotion of their social, spiritual and
moral wellbeing and physical and mental health. Cameroon shares
this concern
and efforts are being made to ensure that young people have access to
educational information, inter alia, through specific programmes for
children in the audiovisual media, the promotion of school and municipal
libraries and public reading
centres, the preparation of pamphlets and brochures
on topics of social benefit, the establishment of schools in prisons and the
provision of audiovisual equipment in prison wings where minors are
detained.
74. It should be noted that 5 provincial libraries and 17
municipal libraries are in operation.
75. Filmmaking activity is governed
by the following legislation:
(a) Act No. 88/017 of 16 December
1988 containing guidelines for filmmaking activity;
(b) Decree No.
90/1462 of 18 November 1990 determining conditions for the authorization
and exercise of filmmaking activities;
(c) Decree No. 90/1462 of 9
November 1990 establishing the National Film and Sound Recording Control
Commission, which carries out
prior censorship of films in order to ensure that
films which might jeopardize the social, spiritual, moral or physical wellbeing
of children are not shown;
(d) Decision No. 58/CAB/DPAV/SEE of 18
October 1995 prohibiting the operation of cinemas in video clubs.
E. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel,
inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
76. Under article 37
(a) of the Convention, States parties must ensure that “No child shall be
subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.” The preamble of the Constitution emphasizes the fundamental
protection of the human person, providing that “Every person has the right
to humane treatment in
all circumstances. Under no circumstances may any person
be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.”
77. In order to ensure compliance with this
provision, the State has adopted measures to punish anyone who jeopardizes the
physical
integrity or dignity of another person by means, for example, of:
murder (art. 276); torture (art. 132 bis of Act No. 397/009 of
10 January 1997 amending the Penal Code); grievous bodily harm (art.
277); aggravated assault (art. 279); simple
battery (art. 280); slight bodily
harm (art. 281); involuntary manslaughter and injury (art. 289); arbitrary
arrest and detention
(art. 291); forced labour (art. 292); slavery (art. 293);
slavery and bondage (art. 342); child abuse (art. 350).
V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE
A. Parental guidance and parental responsibilities
(arts. 5 and 18,
paras. 12)
78. The upbringing of children was traditionally the
responsibility of the whole community in Cameroon. The modern concepts of
uncle,
aunt and cousin, in the sense that these terms are understood in the
West, were essentially meaningless. Mindful of this fact, the
drafters of the
Penal Code took the view that, in different circumstances, a child could be
under the
authority of his father, mother, guardian or the person responsible for him
in customary law. Such is the tenor of articles 48 (preventive
authority) and
358 (abandonment of the family home).
79. As customs have developed,
however, the family has tended to become more nuclear. The responsibility of
bringing up children
falls almost exclusively to the parents. This is clearly
expressed in statutory provisions which speak of paternal authority (arts.
371
to 387 of the Civil Code and art. 47 of Order No. 81/02 of 29 June 1981) and
presumption of paternity (art. 312 of the Civil
Code), which implies a
connection between a child and its legal father and raises the possibility of
filing a paternity suit.
80. The economic crisis, which has resulted in
unemployment and a reduction in purchasing power, has considerably eroded
paternal
authority to the advantage of women since they are more active in this
sphere. This is especially true considering the increase
in the number of
singleparent families in which the head of household is always female. Article
81 of the Order referred to above
specifies that the mere act of giving birth
implies recognition by the mother. A child born out of wedlock is therefore
linked to
his mother, who assumes responsibility for him. The child may,
however, be recognized by his biological father through administrative
or
judicial channels, as provided for by articles 43 and 44 of the abovementioned
Order.
81. Just as a mother may bring a paternity suit in respect of an
underage child within the statutory timelimit, so a child may bring
a similar
suit as soon as he attains the age of majority or within one year of attaining
the age of majority.
82. In order to ensure that a child is protected
within the family environment, articles 179, 180, 355 and 358 of the
Penal Code make
it a punishable offence to fail to hand over a child to a person
who has been granted custody pursuant to a court order, to refuse
to
pay child maintenance or to abandon the family home.
83. As regards
the family structure, Government policy has promoted two areas, namely, the
promotion and protection of population
quality through the family circle
(Education for Responsible Parenthood) and the provision of assistance through
the Family Benefits
Code and targeted benefits. The programme of parental
guidance and responsibility espoused by the Cameroonian Government aims to
promote family cohesion and avoid the separation of children from their
parents.
B. Separation from parents (art. 9)
84. Article 9 of the Convention stipulates that
a child has the right to live with his parents unless separation is in the
child’s
best interests. The child also has the right to maintain personal
relations with both parents in the event of separation from either
parent.
Article 203 of the Civil Code states that “By entering into marriage,
spouses undertake to feed, maintain and bring
up their
children.”
85. In certain circumstances, however, it may be
desirable for a child to be separated from his parents. Grounds for separation
may be marital breakdown, forfeiture of parental authority, placement of a
delinquent child pursuant to an institutional care order
or foster care for
children at risk. Potential foster families are identified by the Ministry of
Social Affairs following a careful
screening process. In all cases, when the
situation has returned to normal, the child goes back to live with his own
family.
86. Judicial custody and placement of children are subject to a
court order and any such decision must be in the child’s best
interests.
When one of the parents is granted custody, the other is normally allowed to see
the children during the holidays or
at weekends, in accordance with the right of
access. If such access is not granted, the aggrieved parent may take legal
action pursuant
to of articles 179 and 355 of the Penal Code. Despite the
provisions in force, some parents are reluctant to abide by the decisions
of the
courts.
87. Administrative placement with a foster family or in an
institution is authorized by a social worker specializing in family matters
and
employed by the Ministry of Social Affairs.
88. Government policy
conforms to article 9 of the Convention. Action in this field is geared towards
maintaining family cohesion;
strengthening indigent parents’ capacity to
care for their children and encouraging them to do so by providing material
assistance
and education for responsible parenthood; and promoting and
organizing the reintegration of children at risk into their families.
The
search for family stability and cohesion is reflected in the preventive
implementation of programmes to prepare young people
for marriage, spousal
education for married couples and marriage counselling for couples experiencing
problems. Additionally, the
community education programme is designed to cater
for street children and reintegrate them into their families.
C. Family reunification, illicit transfer and nonreturn (arts. 10 and 11)
89. The childhood protection programme aims to
keep the child in his family environment, where he can receive a basic
education, support
and a moral upbringing conducive to his mental and physical
development. Exceptionally and for various reasons, a child may be separated
from his family, whence the existence of applications for family
reunification.
90. The Government, acting through the Ministry of Social
Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pays special attention to
applications
regarding entry into or exit from the country, whether they
originate from a child, relatives or nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
and
associations. Such applications involve an assessment of whatever information
is relevant or necessary to form a view of the
best interests of the child, in
addition to the social inquiry report and input from other experts, as
required.
91. When inquiries have been completed and applications
considered, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may follow one of two procedures,
depending on the case:
(a) It may routinely issue entryexit visas to
requesting children or relatives through Cameroonian consulates and
embassies;
(b) It may facilitate the procedure for obtaining a visa for
children or relatives, resident or otherwise, through representations
to
accredited diplomatic and consular missions in Cameroon.
However, such
applications may be rejected or subject to legal proceedings if they undermine
national security, public order or public
health or morals.
92. In order
to combat the illicit transfer of children, the Ministry of Local Government has
issued a circular prohibiting the establishment
of “marriage
bureaux”, which are allegedly a springboard for the exploitation of young
people. Likewise, in the Penal
Code, article 179 (custody of a minor) and
282 (abandonment of a person lacking legal capacity) specify penalties for any
breach
of the provisions in force.
93. The various mechanisms provided
for when an office of the International Social Service (ISS) was established in
the Ministry of
Social Affairs facilitate the transmission of information aimed
at curbing reported instances of illicit transfer and nonreturn.
The following
statistics were recorded in 19961997, for example:
Nature of reported case
|
Number of cases
|
Requesting country
|
Action to obtain administrative, judicial or social welfare documentation
in support of a threat to repatriate
|
18
|
Germany, France, Netherlands
|
Search for biological family by adopted child
|
2
|
France
|
Search for family following separation from parents
|
5
|
France, United Kingdom
|
Search for parents by a child abroad and vice versa
|
4
|
France, Belgium
|
Intercountry adoption request
|
12
|
France, Switzerland
|
Total
|
41
|
6
|
The table above indicates a preponderance of cases necessitating
intervention or action by the Ministry of Social Affairs in connection
with the
transmission of administrative, judicial or social welfare documentation
enabling a decision to be taken on the illicit
transfer or nonreturn of an
adopted child or a child living abroad.
D. Recovery of maintenance for the child (art. 27, para. 4)
94. In Cameroon, questions concerning the
payment of maintenance to an abandoned child are decided on by the courts.
Maintenance
may be recovered amicably or by coercion. It should be noted,
however, that maintenance payments are frustrated by psychological
and technical
factors.
(a) At the psychological level, difficulties arise because some
parents are reluctant to pay maintenance to their children, as they
have been
ordered to do so. They cannot understand why they should concern themselves
with a child who is not in their custody;
(b) At the technical level,
maintenance is recoverable from the assets of the individual liable to pay. In
some cases, these assets
are limited to takehome pay and the maximum amount
recoverable is one third of a person’s earnings. However, enforced
recovery
is frustrated by considerable problems connected with the execution of
judicial decisions in Cameroon.
Where it is absolutely impossible to
recover maintenance and the child’s situation necessitates urgent
acceptance of responsibility,
emergency assistance may be provided by the
Ministry of Social Affairs. This allowance is paid to the spouse who has
custody of
the child.
95. In all cases, failure to pay child maintenance
is a criminal offence. Article 180, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Penal Code
states
that:
“Anyone who neglects for over two months to pay in full the
maintenance which he has been ordered to remit to his spouse, ascendants,
or
descendants, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment ranging from one month to
a year and/or a fine ranging from CFAF 20,000
to CFAF 40,000. Failure to
pay shall be considered intentional unless it can be proved otherwise. But
insolvency resulting from
habitual conduct, for example drunkenness, shall in no
case be a valid excuse for the person liable.”
96. This stipulation
of the criminal law strengthens the provision contained in article 76 of Order
No. 81/02 of 29 June 1981, which
states that:
“(1) A wife who has been deserted by her husband may take appropriate legal action to secure maintenance for children left in her charge and for herself.
(2) The registrar shall summon both spouses to appear before the court within one month by means of a registered letter indicating the subject matter of the proceedings. The parties are obliged to appear in person unless they can indicate a valid reason for nonattendance.
(3) The court shall reach a decision according to the needs and resources of both parties and, where appropriate, the wife may be authorized to attach a portion of her husband’s earnings, the product of his work or his income.
(4) Once the judgement has been handed down and registered without costs, it becomes immediately enforceable notwithstanding objections or appeals and legal aid is automatically available to pursue such appeals.
(5) By the same token, pursuant to a request by the husband, a woman with an independent livelihood or personal income may be compelled to contribute to household costs.”
It should be noted that the time limit fixed for appearance before the
court referred to in paragraph (2) demonstrates that it was
the wish of the
lawmakers that proceedings should be set in motion as quickly as possible, it
being assumed that payment of maintenance
is a matter of some urgency.
97. In
the light of the foregoing, it must be pointed out that recovery of maintenance
is possible only for lawful marriages which
end in divorce or judicial
separation. In contrast, the situation of unrecognized children born out
of wedlock is a matter of concern
since there are still no legal provisions
or regulations specifying that such children are entitled to
maintenance.
E. Children deprived of their family environment (art. 20)
98. The main situations in which children may be
deprived of their family environment are: death or separation of the parents
(divorce
or living apart); institutional placement; imprisonment of the parents;
mental illness; forfeiture of parental authority; family
dysfunction; disasters;
wars; behavioural problems; and recruitment into a religious sect. Children in
this category are placed
under an alternative care order, either on a fulltime
or an interim basis.
1. Interim care
99. Interim care takes two forms, temporary
custody and temporary institutional placement. Both measures are
administrative in nature.
Departmental circular
No. 9002759/LC/MINASCOF/DPIF/SDPF of 5 December 1990, which outlines the
procedures for the temporary custody
of abandoned children, establishes
mechanisms to protect very young children (i.e. up to three years old) who have
been abandoned.
Only the Minister has the power to grant temporary custody of
abandoned children to an approved family.
100. Given the administrative
difficulties of dealing with foundlings in Yaoundé, it is admitted that,
in emergencies, the
local authorities in the district where the child is found
have the power to order that the child should be cared for by an approved
foster
family. Temporary administrative placement is decided upon by the social worker
handling the case. Legally speaking, placement
is part of a strategy to deal
with juvenile delinquency or it is resorted to in the event of forfeiture of
parental authority.
101. There exist special public bodies responsible
for children under three years of age and institutions which aim to reeducate
and
resocialize maladjusted children aged between 10 and 18. Their
function is to ensure that the various placement measures are effectively
enforced. The Nkomo shelter for young children in need has room for 40
children. For socially maladjusted children, there is the
Buéa Borstal
Institute (120 places), the Cameroonian Juvenile Institute in Betamba (120
places), the Douala Care and Observation
Centre (120 places), the Cameroonian
Juvenile Institute in Marua (60 places), the Bertua Juvenile Reception Centre
(60 places) and
the Douala homeworkshop (180 places). In the past five
years, these institutions have received grants totalling CFAF 200
million.
102. Despite the best efforts of the Government, institutions
such as these are scattered unevenly around the country and are currently
facing
operational difficulties owing to the economic recession. Fortunately, NGOs and
international organizations are also supporting
Government efforts by
undertaking private welfare work subject to official approval.
2. Fulltime care
103. This means longterm institutional placement
or adoption, which are administrative and judicial measures. Institutional
placement
is provided for under two draft decrees. The first deals with early
childhood institutions, i.e. daycare centres, childcare facilities
and
occasional care centres, and the second focuses on institutions for maladjusted
children or juvenile delinquents, namely, reeducation
centres, care and
observation centres, homeworkshops, reception and transit centres and
accommodation centres.
F. Adoption (art. 21)
104. Before commenting on the matter of
intercountry adoption, we present here an overview of the legal framework with
regard to adoption
in Cameroon.
1. Legal framework within which adoption takes place
105. Adoption in Cameroon is regulated by a
number of texts within the framework of the Civil Code, which is cited in
Ordinance No.
81/02 of 29 June 1981 on the organization of the registry office
and various provisions on the status of natural persons. The Ordinance
lays
down the categories and consequences of adoption, as well as the procedures to
be followed and the conditions to be fulfilled
by the adopter.
(a) Categories and consequences of adoption
106. Two categories are distinguished, namely
simple and full adoption. Simple adoption may be revoked; full adoption is
final.
The significance of this nuance becomes more apparent when the
respective consequences are taken into account.
107. In simple adoption,
not only does the adopted child acquire the same inheritance rights as the
children or legitimate descendants
of the adopter (art. 356 of the Civil Code)
but it remains a member of its original family and retains all rights therein.
However,
all rights of paternal authority over the adoptee are vested in the
adopter (art. 351 of the Civil Code). In the case of full adoption,
by
contrast, the adoptee ceases to belong to his or her original family.
Henceforth, the child has the same rights and duties in
respect of his or her
adoptive parents as would a child issuing from their marriage (art. 370 of the
Civil Code). It should be noted
that full adoption is permitted only in the
case of children aged under five who have been abandoned by their parents or
whose parents
are unknown or deceased (art. 368 of the Civil Code).
(b) Procedure
108. Adoption is essentially a matter for the
courts and follows defined procedures which differ slightly according to whether
simple
or full adoption is envisaged. As a first step, the court handling the
application by the interested party meets in private on receipt
of information
pertinent to the case. The AttorneyGeneral then makes a submission before the
court decides whether or not there
is a case for adoption. Subsequently, the
decision regarding the application is announced in open court following a
private inquiry
and hearing (art. 369 of the Civil Code).
109. It should
be noted, especially with regard to full adoption, that, in practice, the social
services play a very important role
prior to the judicial phase. During this
preadoption phase, the social services responsible for young people in care
undertake various
activities, such as registration of prospective adopters;
social inquiries; selection of foster families; issuance of consent to
adoption;
acceptance of responsibility for and/or family placement of children in
temporary care; and referral of adoption cases
to the courts. Followup
mechanisms still need to be established to ensure that, after the social
services have placed a child with
a family or when an individual has found an
abandoned infant and wishes to assume custody of it, the child’s
development is
monitored and any abuses are avoided.
(c) Qualifications required of prospective adopters
110. Both couples and single persons are legally
capable of adopting a child. Single persons of either sex who wish to adopt a
child
must be over 40 years old. Couples must have been married for more than
10 years, not be judicially separated and at least one of
the spouses must be
aged over 35. In all cases, the adopters must be 15 years older than the child
they are thinking of adopting.
In addition, at the time of adoption, they must
not have any children or legitimate descendants, although the existence of
children
legitimized by adoption is not an obstacle to adoption.
(d) The interests of the child
111. The need to take account of the best
interests of the child in matters relating to adoption runs like a connecting
thread through
certain legal requirements. First of all, article 343 of the
Civil Code stipulates that adoption may take place only if there are
reasonable
grounds for proceeding and if it offers advantages for the adoptee.
Furthermore, in order to ensure better integration
of the child into its
surroundings, various forms of consent are sought to ensure that all the parties
involved agree without reservation
to the arrangements. These
include:
(a) The consent of the father and mother of the underage child,
if they are alive;
(b) The consent of the Family Council when the
parents are unknown or if they are incapable of expressing their
will;
(c) The consent of both adopting spouses;
(d) The consent
of the individual or charitable association having custody of the child, or the
child’s legal representative;
(e) The consent of the minor, if he
or she has attained the age of 16.
The need to protect the child is also
reflected in the opportunity granted to the child, in simple adoption cases, to
revoke the adoption
decision. However, the situation with regard to
intercountry adoption is more complicated.
2. Intercountry adoption
112. Cameroonian law makes provision for the
possibility of recourse to intercountry adoption. However, this form of
adoption presents
a number of shortcomings which necessitate certain adjustments
in practice.
(a) The state of legislation regarding intercountry adoption
113. Article 345 of the Civil Code states that
“a Cameroonian national may adopt a foreigner or be adopted by a
foreigner.
Adoption has no effect on nationality.” The law thus paves
the way for intercountry adoption, but unfortunately does not provide
for any
institutional monitoring or followup mechanisms, either before or after
adoption. This situation is all the more alarming
when it is borne in mind that
certain placements with a view to intercountry adoption are made in an
unregulated manner by family
members, by NGOs and other religious organizations
or by individuals.
114. With regard to children in need, efforts are
being made by the Ministry of Social Affairs to ensure that there is some
element
of followup for children who have been designated for intercountry
adoption. In this way, diplomatic and consular services are often
approached to
provide clarifications on potential intercountry adoptions. In addition,
cooperation has been stepped up between the
Ministry of Social Affairs and the
International Social Service, a nonprofitmaking international organization
founded in 1924 which
has legal personality under article 60 of the Swiss Civil
Code. ISS aims, inter alia, to collaborate in protecting children
designated for intercountry adoption, in accordance with the provisions of the
various Hague
conventions, and to develop and maintain an international network
of branches, affiliate offices and correspondents.
115. Since 1995 there
has been a dedicated intercountry adoption desk in the Ministry of Social
Affairs. The Ministry was also represented
at a training seminar on methods and
techniques in intercountry adoption cases which was held in London in October
1997. In addition,
there is a mechanism for sharing information with ISS on
matters concerning intercountry action procedures. This cooperation will
eventually be placed on a more formal footing following the signature of a
cooperation agreement between the two structures.
116. Intercountry cases
that have been dealt with by the Ministry of Social Affairs involve various
countries in Africa, Europe, America
and Oceania. They relate
to:
(a) Requests for action to obtain administrative, judicial and
social welfare documents for migratory children;
(b) The situation of
children whose parents settle in different countries following divorce or
separation;
(c) Crossborder searches by children for their parents (and vice
versa);
(d) Searches by children adopted under an intercountry procedure
for their roots.
117. Some of the problems which have unfortunately been
encountered are:
(a) A tendency by States to protect their nationals,
generally to the detriment of the best interests of the child in question,
occasionally
implying a very restrictive interpretation of national
laws;
(b) Access to the ISS database;
(c) Lack of uptodate
textprocessing and data archiving equipment;
(d) Lack of a rapid and
efficient communications network to obtain or request information on an
individual, even in very remote areas.
When all is said and done,
intercountry adoption is the exception rather than the rule and is only resorted
to if better placement
opportunities for the child are unavailable
locally.
(b) Future developments
118. Studies are currently being carried out by
the Ministry of Social Affairs with a view to reforming the law relating to
adoption.
A number of NGOs are mobilizing at the local
level to persuade the authorities that it would be in Cameroon’s
best interest
to accede to The Hague Convention on Protection of Children
and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption.
G. Periodic review of placement (art. 25)
119. The frequency of medical checkups and
treatment is specified in the internal regulations of the various facilities
designed to
accommodate children placed in care. Generally speaking, these
facilities are visited by one or a number of physicians if there
is no
infirmary. The physicians hold clinics during their weekly visits and seriously
ill children are referred to hospital. Medical
checkups are the rule at
Staterun facilities because sound physical and mental health is one of the
conditions for admission (except
in special institutions for sick or handicapped
children). In facilities where there is an infirmary, all care is provided
in situ. Children’s homes are equipped either with an infirmary or
a hospital unit. However, these facilities lack adequate equipment
and human
resources.
H. Neglect or negligent treatment (art. 19), including
physical recovery
and social reintegration (art. 39)
120. In order to tackle
neglect and negligent treatment of children, the Government has taken
appropriate legal and institutional
measures.
121. From the legal standpoint, it is an offence under the Penal Code to
abandon a person lacking legal capacity (art. 282) or to
desert the family home
(art. 179). Similar provisions are contained in the Act of 19 April 1898 on the
punishment of violence, assaults,
acts of cruelty and offences against children.
With the similar object of protecting children against neglect and violence,
article
29 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that:
“Any duly constituted authority, public servant or official who, in the
performance of his duties, is made aware of a serious
or lesser indictable
offence, shall be obliged to report thereon to the AttorneyGeneral attached to
the court in whose jurisdiction
the said offence was allegedly committed or
where the accused may be found and to transmit to him all pertinent information,
official
records and documents.”
This provision enables all the
abovementioned parties to intervene at any time when neglect or negligent
treatment of a child is reported
(incest: art. 306 of the Penal
Code).
122. In addition to legal safeguards, various structures exist to
tackle neglect and negligent treatment of children, namely, planning
and
implementation facilities.
123. The planning facilities include the
National Commission to Protect Children at Risk, Juvenile Delinquents and
Abandoned Children,
which was established by Decree No. 90/524 of 23 March
1990. The Commission is an advisory body whose role is to deliver opinions
and
make suggestions on any question concerning national policy in the areas of
child welfare and the prevention and treatment of
juvenile social maladjustment.
Furthermore, Decree No. 98/069 of 4 May 1998, which established the Ministry of
Social Affairs, also
created the Office of Family Affairs and Child
Welfare.
124. The implementation facilities are divided into childcare
facilities and children’s homes. Social welfare officers in schools,
prisons, health care institutions, courts and police stations are on hand to
deal with the frequent cases of neglect and negligent
treatment in these
institutions. They fulfil the role of careers for all clients.
Children’s homes include all institutions
catering for young children and
socially maladjusted children.
125. With regard to child labour and
female genital mutilation, studies undertaken by the Ministry of Social Affairs
have spawned
a national plan to combat child labour. This plan, which was
finalized in September 1997, focuses on five main areas:
(a) Sensitizing
and mobilizing public opinion in respect of child labour
issues;
(b) Developing and strengthening the welfare and protection of
working children;
(c) Promoting education and formal and informal
training;
(d) Improving and strengthening legislation on child labour
and ensuring that the legislation is applied;
(e) Coordinating and monitoring action to combat child labour.
126. In
addition, special facilities for street children for example education spaces
and crisis centres have been established pursuant
to a joint
MINEFI/MINFORPA/MINAS Order of 8 June 1999. There are plans to
increase the number of public facilities for the accommodation
and supervision
of young children. In order to give effect to these strategies, the Ministry of
Social Affairs has targeted this
group through action designed to resettle
normal children with their families and promote the social and economic
reintegration of
socially maladjusted children. These activities focus on
various matters such as accommodation, material assistance, crisis intervention,
school enrolment and vocational training.
VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
A. Disabled children (art. 23)
127. In essence,
article 23 of the Convention requires States parties to take measures to ensure
that disabled children enjoy access
to education, training, health care,
rehabilitation and vocational training with a view to promoting their autonomy
and social integration.
For its part, Cameroon gives urgent attention to the
welfare of disabled persons through a combination of legislative, institutional
and administrative measures.
128. The following legislative instruments
should be noted:
(a) Act No. 83/013 of 21 July 1983 on the protection of
disabled persons and its implementing regulations (No. 90/1516, 26 November
1990);
(b) Act No. 96/09 of 5 August 1996 containing the Charter for
Sports;
(c) Decree No. 80/380 of 13 September 1980 establishing the
Rehabilitation Institute for the Blind;
(d) Decree No. 71/DT/315 of 9
July 1971 establishing the Cameroonian National Disabled
Federation;
(e) Decree No. 78/56 of 21 February 1978 establishing the
National Centre for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons and Decree No.
89/141
of 27 January 1989 reorganizing this body;
(f) Decree No. 82/412 of 29
September 1982 on the procedure for granting State relief to indigent and needy
persons;
(g) Decree No. 96/379 of 14 June 1996 on the social and
economic rehabilitation and reintegration of disabled
persons;
(h) Circular letter No. 80/1/658/MINEDUC/CTD of 18 January 1980
on the admission of disabled children or children of disabled persons
to public
and semipublic institutions;
(i) Order No. 39/45 of 4 August 1953 on
benefits for the blind.
129. At the institutional and administrative levels,
Decree No. 98/069 of 4 May 1998, which established the Ministry of Social
Affairs,
also created a Subdepartment for the Protection of Disabled Persons
within this Ministry.
130. Approximately 700,000 people in Cameroon are
affected by motor, mental or sensory disability. In 1993, there were
approximately
450,000 disabled children. The treatment offered to these
children basically seeks to minimize their handicap through functional
rehabilitation, social integration and job placement. To this end, the
Government has developed various sheltered structures such
as the National
Centre for the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons in Yaoundé, the
Rehabilitation Institute for the Blind in
Buéa, the “Golden
Bobbin” sewing workshop for disabled women in Ekounou and the
Rehabilitation Centre for Deaf
Children.
131. In addition to these
structures, there exist a number of nonState institutions, the most important of
which are “la Colombe”,
a nonresidential child guidance clinic for
mentally handicapped children in Yaoundé; a special school for
hearingimpaired
children in Yaoundé; the SETA Handicapped Training Centre
in Mbengwi (Bamenda); the Mutenguene Associated Rehabilitation Centre
for
Persons with Motor Disability; Promotion of Cameroonians with Disabilities; the
Garua Rehabilitation and Welfare Centre for Deaf
Children; and the National
Committee for the Disabled.
132. As regards medical assistance, the
authorities purchase medicines, reimburse surgical operations and organize
medical evacuations
and functional rehabilitation for destitute
patients.
133. Since the proclamation of the United Nations Decade of
Disabled Persons (19831992), the Cameroonian Government has increasingly
focused
its attention on education, sports and leisure activities. The following action
has been taken:
(a) Children with visual and hearing impairments, and
also mentally and physically disabled children, are integrated into the regular
education system at the end of their specialneeds primary schooling and also
into universities and higher educational establishments.
This policy is in
conformity with the provisions of Act No. 83/013 of 21 July 1983, referred to
above;
(b) Private sponsors are authorized to establish specialneeds
educational institutions and subsidies are available to help run such
establishments;
(c) Payment of special educational benefits to young
Cameroonians in national and foreign institutions. These benefits are normally
designed to cover the cost of tuition and any equipment that students may
require;
(d) In accordance with the Charter referred to above, a sports
association called Handisports has been established to promote sports
and
leisure activities for disabled persons and integrate such activities into
functional rehabilitation programmes. Likewise, several
sports associations
under the umbrella of the National Sports Federation for Disabled Persons have
had the opportunity to participate
in various sporting events, including at the
international level;
(e) Young disabled athletes have participated in
national sporting events.
These activities are constrained by scarce public
resources, which make it difficult to address the manifold problems facing
disabled
children, and by the qualitative and quantitative inadequacies of
specialized institutions and personnel.
B. Health and health services (art. 24)
134. Article 24 of the Convention states that
the child has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
health
and to facilities for the treatment of illness. Cameroon is a party to
the Declaration of Alma Ata of 1978 and thus espouses the
ideal of primary
medical care. Cameroon also ratified the Charter on Child Health Development in
1980.
135. To ensure the survival and development of the child, the
Government has adopted and (since 1992) implemented its primary health
care
refocus programme, the aim of which is to reorganize the health service so as to
make it more accessible to the general public,
and to mothers and children in
particular, whence the concept of the health district, which is the task unit
for the implementation
of this programme.
136. Moreover, as part of the
implementation of this policy, in 1995, the new organizational flow chart of the
Ministry of Public
Health established within the Community Health Office a
Subdepartment for Family Health with special responsibility for issues relating
to maternal and child health. This Subdepartment comprises a child survival
programme and a maternal health service. It also incorporates
a hygiene
service.
137. Maternal health services have been improved through
initiatives focusing on reproductive health, nutrition education, antenatal
clinics and emergency obstetric care.
138. Child survival is supported
by four priority programmes, namely, the extended vaccination programme; the
national programme
to promote breastfeeding; the diarrhoeal disease control
programme; and the acute infection control programme, a national policy
document
on which is being finalized.
139. Other programmes which impact on the
entire population, but also involve children, include the antimalaria programme
and the
AIDS control programme, which is coordinated by a national committee.
Also worthy of note are antenatal and postnatal clinics, the
universalization of
vitamin A supplementation and InformationEducationCommunication activities. The
introduction of comprehensive
treatment for childhood illnesses, which aims to
bring all these programmes and other childrelated issues under one umbrella, is
now in progress.
140. In addition, the following measures are helping to
improve maternal and child health:
(a) Approval of a national population
programme;
(b) Publication of standard policy documents on maternal and
child health and family planning;
(c) Inclusion of contraceptives in the national list of essential medicinal
products;
(d) Establishment of an ad hoc subcommittee to coordinate
maternal and child health and family planning
activities;
(e) Involvement of NGOs in the implementation of child
health and family planning activities in collaboration with the Ministry of
Public Health;
(f) Integration (since 1994) of maternal and child health
and family planning activities in the minimum action programme at all
levels;
(g) Finalization of an adolescent health policy
document;
(h) National consensus on the constituent elements of
reproductive health.
141. The statistics quoted below present a much more
detailed picture of the state of maternal and child health in Cameroon.
1. Mortality indicators
142. Maternal and child mortality indicators
are relatively high:
(a) Probability of death prior to fifth birthday:
126 per thousand;
(b) Deaths from acute respiratory infections in
underfives: 27 per cent;
(c) Deaths from diarrhoeal diseases in
underfives: 17.6 per cent;
(d) Deaths from measles in underfives: 12.3
per cent;
(e) Deaths from malaria in underfives: 43 per
cent;
(f) Crude death rate: 13.7 per cent;
(g) Infant mortality
rate: 81/1000;
(h) Maternal mortality rate: 547 deaths per 100,000
births.
143. These statistics appear to show that the infant and maternal
mortality rates in Cameroon are relatively high. However, considerable
efforts
have been made to strengthen antenatal and postnatal care. For example, 55 per
cent of all childbirths are assisted and
50 per cent of newborns are cared for
by qualified personnel.
2. Morbidity indicators
144. The development of indicators for the
major target diseases covered by the extended vaccination programme is shown in
the following
table:
|
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Neonatal tetanus
345
285
95
Measles
14 171
6 712
5 535
7 210
(a) Number of iodinedeficiency cases: 18 per cent of children aged
between 6 and 12 in risk provinces;
(b) Anaemia in underfives: 44.7 per
cent of children aged between 6 and 59 months;
(c) Vitamin A deficiency
in northern provinces: xerophthalmia (3.1 per cent), blindness (1.2 per
cent).
Vaccination coverage, fiveyearolds
|
1994
|
1995
|
1996
|
1997
|
|
BCG
|
|
53%
|
54%
|
55%
|
55%
|
DTP3
|
34%
|
38%
|
46%
|
44%
|
49%
|
Polio 3
|
34%
|
36%
|
46%
|
43%
|
47%
|
Rouvax
|
32%
|
38%
|
46%
|
39%
|
[illegible]
|
Tetanus vaccine 2
|
9%
|
10%
|
12%
|
35%
|
[illegible]
|
Coverage
|
66%
|
71%
|
70%
|
77%
|
75%
|
These statistics have been calculated on the basis of the reports
received, from which the extent of coverage has been
extrapolated.
145. The two National Polio Vaccination Days in 1997, on
which 93 and 102 per cent of the target populations were inoculated
respectively,
have significantly boosted vaccination coverage against this
disease. These days, which form part of a strategy to eradicate polio,
will be
organized every year until 2000 at least. Similar antimeasles campaigns are
planned in urban areas in 1999.
3. Health policy
146. Current policy is to make the services on
offer more accessible to the general public. This is the tenor of Decree No.
95/013
of 17 February 1995 on the organization of basic health services, which
enshrines the concept of the health district. A health district
is a unit
covering approximately 100,000 people. It includes a district health service, a
district hospital, integrated health centres
and dialogue facilities (health
committees and management committees). All
these structures must be operational. There are approximately 135 health
districts divided among the 10 national provinces: Adamaoua
(5); Centre (22);
Est (11); ExtrêmeNord (22); Littoral (15); Nord (12); NordOuest (13);
Ouest (16); Sud (6); and SudOuest (13).
147. In the restructured health
system, health units have been grouped into six categories in order to make them
more accountable:
(a) Category 1: three general hospitals and a
university hospital;
(b) Category 2: three referral hospitals including
a hospital run by a semipublic body;
(c) Category 3: eight regional
hospitals;
(d) Category 4: district hospitals;
(e) Category 5:
district medical centres (structures intermediate between integrated health
centres and district hospitals);
(f) Category 6: integrated health
centres.
4. Human, financial and material resources
148. The available human, financial and
material resources are sometimes inadequate to meet developing needs. In
1998, the population
of Cameroon was 14,452,270 compared to 10,493,665 in
1987. The annual rate of population growth is 2.9 per cent.
Number of health workers
Total number, 1996
|
Number per 1 000 inhabitants
|
|
[Word omitted] specialist training
|
1 007
|
0.74
|
Midwives
|
69
|
0.05
|
Health administrators
|
21
|
0.01
|
Nurses (all categories)
|
4 998
|
3.66
|
Pharmacists
|
59
|
0.04
|
Surgeons dentists
|
59
|
0.04
|
Others*
|
1 578
|
1.16
|
Source: Ministry of Public Health 1996.
* Laboratory
assistants, public health engineers, assistant anaesthetists, assistant
pharmacists, etc.
5. Support for government efforts
149. Cameroon is supported in its endeavours by
its international partners. International aid accounts for 66 per
cent of total public
health expenditure, or CFAF 12,797 million
in 19951996.
Generally speaking, there has been a trend towards outside funding in the
period 1993 to 1996, as indicated in the table
below:
|
19931994
|
19941995
|
19951996
|
Total, millions
|
7 979
|
8 828
|
12 797
|
In this way, bilateral and multilateral bodies and local NGOs support the
Government’s maternal and child health programmes
in the field. Needless
to say, of course, it cannot be claimed that the goal of health for all by the
year 2000, as proclaimed by
the slogan, has been achieved if people still do not
have access to essential drugs.
150. To this end, the system for
supplying essential drugs has been reorganized through the establishment of
community pharmacies
in integrated health centres and public hospitals,
pharmaceutical supply centres at provincial level and the National Centre for
the Supply of Essential Drugs. In order to ensure the availability of medicines
at the lowest possible cost and because the economic
crisis has
considerably eroded individual purchasing power, Act No. 90/062 of 19
December 1990 allows hospitals and health units
to sell essential drugs at below
market price and to use the proceeds for restocking.
151. The authorities
are taking a keen interest in traditional medicine as part of the community
health programme. This branch of
medicine is promoted by the Institute for
Medical Research into Medicinal Plants. Traditional medicine is encouraged and
practitioners
work alongside local health authorities to provide patient care.
A bill is currently being prepared by the Traditional Medicine
Department of the
Community Health Office.
6. The national AIDS prevention programme
(a) Prevention strategies
152. Efforts to
combat AIDS are based on four major activities, namely, prevention, patient
care, disease control and research.
153. Prevention is the lynchpin of
the strategy. The core element is the InformationEducationCommunication
programme, which aims
to raise the awareness of the general public and
especially of risk groups with regard to the following areas:
− Awareness of channels of transmission;
− Preventive methods focusing on responsible sexual behaviour and the use of onetime or sterile medical equipment;
− Transfusion safety, i.e. efforts to minimize the number of blood transfusions, which should be administered only when the case warrants and after the blood designated for use in the transfusion has been screened. To this end, it is planned to establish a network of laboratories with the capacity to conduct HIV serological testing throughout all health districts. A blood transfusion guide has been formulated.
154. Effective care is
provided to AIDS patients, persons infected by HIV, orphans, and HIVpositive
relatives.
AIDS patients
155. There is a specific treatment which is not
available to the vast majority of the population of Cameroon. This treatment
should
consist of triple or at least doublecombination therapy.
Triplecombination therapy will undoubtedly become more accessible as a
result of
effective cooperation between the Ministry of Public Health and the various
bodies and NGOs active in this field. Patients
are admitted to hospital for the
treatment of opportunistic infections. AIDS patients are advised to avoid
unprotected sexual relations
so as not to increase the viral load.
Persons infected by HIV
156. Persons infected by HIV receive
counselling that enables them to live with their infection and encourages them
to adopt responsible
sexual behaviour and submit to rigorous and regular medical
checkups.
Orphans
157. Programme personnel, in collaboration with
certain NGOs, visit orphans and provide appropriate care. One NGO also takes in
orphans
and provides comprehensive care.
Relatives
158. Relatives receive counselling which
enables them to learn more about the disease, provide better support for
patients and assist
them as best they can.
159. In addition to systematic
disease control, sentinel surveillance remains the principal source of
information. Various surveys
and studies are used to provide a very detailed
picture of the pandemic. Sentinel surveillance targets pregnant
women.
160. Research focuses on viral forms, vaccines and treatment (in
collaboration with practitioners of traditional medicine).
161. The
increasing exposure of certain social and professional groups to the disease has
led to the identification of four main risk
groups in Cameroon, namely,
prostitutes; military personnel, police officers and related personnel; lorry
drivers; and prisoners.
162. With a view to providing a comprehensive community care programme, the
campaign against AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases
(STDs) forms part of the
minimum programme to be implemented by hospitals and health units. The
InformationEducationCommunication
programme also attaches importance to this
campaign.
163. The following principles have been laid down for the care
of HIVpositive pregnant women undergoing treatment at a hospital or
health unit:
(a) practise contraception; (b) regularly attend antenatal clinics to term and
postnatal clinics thereafter; and (c)
regular checkups of the newborn,
comprehensive care and successive tests.
164. In certain rare cases, the
disappearance of HIV infection has been noted owing to spontaneous and natural
seroconversion.
(b) The pandemic in Cameroon
(i) The general population
165. The rate of HIV
seroprevalence in the general population is 5.5 per cent, a figure extrapolated
from sentinel surveillance of
pregnant women conducted by the MOSCAP project in
the course of its work. The rate of seroprevalence stood at 1 per cent in the
1990s. Following the winding up of the MOSCAP project, it has become
practically impossible to reassess the situation. The most
recent evaluation
dates from 1995. Surveys are currently being carried out by the Institute for
Demographic Training and Research,
which will yield new data.
(ii) Risk groups
166. The rate of seroprevalence in
Yaoundé was 25 per cent in 1992 and 15 per cent in 1995. In Douala, the
rate was 45 per
cent in 1992. Fifteen per cent of lorry drivers and 16 per cent
of prisoners tested seropositive in 1994. In 1995, 2,766 children
were
diagnosed with AIDS. The rates of seroprevalence among children were 3.5 per
cent in the age range 0 to 4; 3.1 per cent in
the age range 5 to 14; and 18.6
per cent in the age group 15 to 24.
(c) Efforts to combat STDs
167. This campaign focuses on four main areas:
(a) attendance at a hospital or health unit at the first sign of disease; (b)
avoidance
of selfmedication; (c) procedures enabling personnel to deal
expeditiously with STDs; (d) promotion of responsible sexual behaviour
through
the InformationEducationCommunication programme.
168. Up to 1997, the
national antiAIDS programme was operated exclusively with funds received from
abroad. Since the financial year
19981999, however, the fiveyear budgeted
action plan has been put into effect with a combination of public money and
contributions
from foreign donors.
C. Social security and childcare facilities and
services (arts. 26 and 18, para. 3)
169. Under article 26
of the Convention, children have the right to benefit from social security,
including social insurance. In
Cameroon, social security is administered
by:
(a) The National Social Contingency Fund (CPNS) in the case of
workers subject to the Labour Code, i.e. the employees of private
and semipublic
enterprises and personnel other than State civil servants;
(b) The
Ministries of the Civil Service, the Economy and Finance, as well as all
ministerial departments concerned, in the case of
civil servants and personnel
with decisionmaking powers, excluding the category of those subject to the
Labour Code.
It may thus be seen that the right to social security
benefits is, in the first place, the right of salaried workers and, in the
second,
that of their children and those regularly under their care.
1. The legal framework
170. The legislation and regulations governing
social security include:
(a) Act No. 67/LF/7 of 12 June 1967
establishing the Family Benefits Code and Act No. 84/007 of 4 July 1984
amending Act No. 69/LF/18
of 10 November 1969 establishing a pension scheme (old
age, disability and survivors);
(b) Decree No. 94/199 of 7 October 1994,
article 31 of which contains the general statutes of the State civil service and
the enabling
legislation.
There are thus two coexisting social security
systems, each of which determines the kind of social benefits provided. Some of
these
benefits are granted to children through their parents or
guardians.
(a) The social security system administered by the National Social Contingency Fund
171. Several benefits are provided to ensure
the welfare of children. They are as follows:
(i) Assistance to mothers and infants
172. Assistance to mothers and infants takes
the form of prenatal allowances, maternity allowances, the payment of medical
expenses
for pregnancy and childbirth and possible benefits in
kind:
(a) An antenatal allowance is granted to every woman wage earner
or wife of a wage earner regularly registered with the National
Social
Contingency Fund (CNPS) for each pregnancy; it is paid in two instalments, each
of which is equivalent to four and onehalf
months of family allowance for one
child;
(b) At term, a maternity allowance is due if a viable infant is
born and the birth declared to the registry office; it is payable
once and is
equivalent to 12 times the monthly amount of the family allowance for one
child;
(c) Medical expenses incurred at the time of antenatal
examinations, delivery and doctor’s visits for the infant up to the
age of
six months are partially reimbursed by the CNPS.
(ii) Maternity leave allowance
173. A daily maternity leave allowance is paid
by the CNPS to every pregnant woman wage earner or wife of a wage earner; it is
equivalent
to the full daily salary being paid at the time the work contract is
suspended because of the pregnancy.
(iii) Family allowance
174. A family allowance is paid to a
beneficiary (parent or guardian) who has dependent
children. A dependent
child is one for whom housing, food, education and general care is actually and
permanently provided. The
child may be legitimate, legitimized, recognized,
adopted or born to the wife of the beneficiary by a previous marriage. The
amount
of the family allowance is set at CFAF 1,800 per child per month and is
paid at the end of each quarter.
175. In addition to these different
family allowances, assistance of various kinds is given to parents in
discharging their responsibilities
for the education of their children through
health and social services. For this purpose, the CNPS creates and administers
health
and social welfare facilities and grants subsidies and loans to
institutions, establishments and facilities catering for health and
social
welfare to assist the families of insured persons.
Health facilities
176. These are mother and child protection
centres (MCP) and medicalsocial welfare centres which, for prophylactic
purposes, provide
prenatal consultations, weekly weighing of infants from 0 to 2
years, vaccinations and dietary demonstrations. By way of remedial
care, they
hold consultations and minister to the sick, who are basically children,
pregnant women and victims of industrial injury
and occupational
disease.
177. The services provided by the MCP centres are free of
charge. In addition to MCP activities, the medicalsocial welfare centres,
hold
consultations and give all kinds of outpatient care, refer sick adults and
children to hospital and work to provide psychological
and maternal assistance
to their patients. For this purpose, they each have a paediatrics section, a
general medical section, a
maternity section, a surgical centre, an xray
section, a laboratory and pharmacy, and a social services unit. There is a
charge
for the services offered by these centres, but it is much lower than what
is charged by private facilities.
178. There are at present three
medicalsocial welfare centres, in Yaoundé (120 beds), Marua (50
beds) and Garua (60 beds) and
four MCP centres, in Douala, Bafoussam, Bamenda
and Bertua.
Social welfare agencies
179. These include social centres, sections and
sectors and home management centres:
(a) The social centres carry out
various activities in the sphere of maternal and child protection and
assistance. In the area of
family education, for example, they give young
mothers classes in family budget management, sewing, embroidery, knitting and
cookery.
By way of preventive action and psychological and material assistance,
the social centres give help, where possible, to their users
in solving some of
their problems, for example marital disputes and the preparation of applications
for benefits. Today, out of
the 282 social centres planned for the whole
country, 146 are in operation;
(b) The social sections are social centre
branches set up within the services of the CNPS. They provide moral,
psychological and
material assistance to their users. The table in annex 1
shows 56 social sections;
(c) Social sectors are being set up on the
basis of one per district. For the moment, there is only one sector, in the
city of Douala;
(d) The home management centres teach the theory and
practice of childcare, first aid, health education, sewing, cookery, etc. They
are open without discrimination to all girls who have completed at least their
primary education.
(iv) Survivor benefit
180. A survivor’s pension or allowance is
granted to the descendants of a wage earner who has died, even if he already had
an
oldage pension.
(b) The civil service social security system
181. Where children are concerned, the benefits
are as follows:
(a) Family benefits granted to parents for each of their
schoolage children; these comprise a monthly allowance per child, a family
salary supplement and a maternity allowance; in the case of civil servants and
related categories, such benefits are paid at the
same time as the
salary;
(b) The partial reimbursement of the expenses of medical care,
medicines, evacuation abroad for health reasons, hospitalization,
physiotherapy
and artificial aids for children of State employees;
(c) A
survivor’s pension or allowance paid monthly to the descendants of a
deceased civil servant or the like.
2. Procedures for the payment of benefits
182. In general, the procedures vary according
to the system and, within each system, according to the type of
benefit:
(a) In the CNPS, benefits cannot be requested or granted unless
the parent of the child is a wage earner registered with the CNPS;
the CNPS has
its own payment windows;
(b) In the civil service, certificates granting
the different benefits are recorded by the respective competent authorities,
disbursed
by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and paid by its treasury
department; there is no “social security management”
account in the
treasury;
(c) In the two systems, family allowances and survivors’
pensions are paid regularly, all other benefits becoming payable only
once a
given event takes place; furthermore, benefits are not paid directly to
children, but to their representatives.
3. Social security financing
183. In the Civil Service, social security
charges are included in the State budget under compulsory expenditure;
contributions are
shown as income. In the CNPS, social security is funded
jointly by employers’ and workers’ contributions; it is based
on a
costsharing system.
4. Problems
184. The problems are the
following:
(a) Unwieldy procedures;
(b) Structural and
organizational weaknesses;
(c) The complexity of the
arrangements;
(d) Disparities between the two systems;
(e) Lack
of computerization of benefits;
(f) Irregularly supplied
database;
(g) Arrears in contributions owing to economic difficulties
experienced by private enterprises and the State where staff subject
to the
Labour Code are concerned;
(h) Accumulated arrears in benefits owed to
CNPS beneficiaries because of arrears in contributions and the decline in
funding resources,
on the one hand, and the contraction of salaried employment,
on the other;
(i) Restricted categories of social security
beneficiaries: children of nonwage earners, workers in the informal sector,
independent
farmers and the unemployed are excluded;
(j) Low amount of
benefits, which are purely symbolic;
(k) Limited scope of social
security: the health insurance and unemployment insurance branches are not
covered;
(l) Adverse effects of the economic crisis.
5. Prospects
185. Consideration is being given to the
rehabilitation of the CNPS and to the reform of social security in
Cameroon.
6. Childcare support services and facilities
186. Under article 18, paragraph 3, of the
Convention, States parties take all appropriate measures to ensure that the
children of
working parents have the right to benefit from childcare services
and facilities for which they are eligible. With regard to legislation,
the
right of working parents to benefit from such services has not yet been made the
subject of any legal instrument. From the economic
and social point of view,
setting up crèches requires an investment which is not always within the
means of either enterprises
or the State. Nor can workers afford the price of
such services, so they prefer to employ domestic workers. In general, the
Government’s
policy with regard to crèches is based on the
principle that children are something precious to be fostered; the Government
aims to ensure for each child that is born the environment of affection and
psychological support it needs for harmonious growth
and development.
Programmes have been set up aiming at an appropriate combination of productivity
at work and care for the children.
A programme called “Nursing
mothers’ friendly corner” has been set up by an NGO
in cooperation with the Ministries
of Health and Social Affairs.
D. Standard of living (art. 27, paras. 13)
187. Article 27 of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child stipulates that every child has the right to a standard of living
adequate
for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development. Parents have the primary responsibility to secure
that standard of
living for the child. The State has the duty to act in such a way that they can
and do assume that responsibility.
The State’s responsibility may include
material assistance to parents and their children. From the point of view of
that
provision, there have to be two main partners working together to guarantee
the child an adequate standard of living: the parents
and the State.
1. Parental responsibility
188. According to articles 180, 282 and 358 of
the Penal Code, parents have an obligation to ensure a decent standard of living
for
their children.
Article 180: Alimony
“(1) Anyone who has failed for more than two months to provide the full amount of the alimony he has been ordered to pay to his spouse, her ascendants or descendants shall be liable to one month to one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine of CFAF 20,000 to CFAF 400,000.
(2) Failure to pay is deemed deliberate without proof to the contrary;
insolvency as a result of habitual misconduct, for example,
drunkenness, is
never a valid excuse for debt.”
Article 282: Abandonment of an incapable person
“(1) Anyone who removes a person incapable of protecting himself by reason of his physical or mental state in order to abandon him shall be liable to one to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of CFAF 5,000 to CFAF 25,000.
(2) The term of imprisonment shall be 5 to 10 years if the victim was abandoned in an isolated place.
(3) The term of imprisonment shall be 10 to 20 years where the offender is an older relative or anyone having authority or custody de jure or de facto over the incapable person.
(4) In all cases, the court of law may pronounce the loss of rights provided
for in article 30 of the present Code, as well as revoking
parental rights for
the same period of time.”
Article 358: Abandonment of the home
“(1) The mother or the father of a family who without legitimate reason neglects all or part of his or her moral or material obligations visàvis his or her spouse, child or children by abandoning the family home or by any other means shall be liable to three months to one year’s imprisonment or a fine of CFAF 5,000 to CFAF 500,000.
(2) The court of law may pronounce the loss of rights provided for in
article 30 of the present Code and deprive the convicted person
of the
guardianship or custody of one or any of his children for the period specified
in article 31 (4) of the present Code and revoke
his parental rights for the
same period.”
2. State responsibility
189. The Government has adopted quite a wide
variety of appropriate measures, which include:
(a) Decree No. 82/412 of
9 September 1982 on the procedure for granting State relief to indigent and
needy persons;
(b) Circular letter No. 80/I/658/MINEDUC/CTD of 18 January
1980 on admission of disabled children and children of disabled parents
to
public and semipublic institutions;
(c) Circular letter No.
90/02800/LC/MINASCOF/SG/DRS of 10 December l990 on provision of aids to needy
and disabled persons;
(d) Act No. 67/LF/7 of 12 June 1967 instituting a
family benefits code.
190. Out of a desire to improve the living
environment of its people with regard to housing, Cameroon has set up several
bodies:
(a) The urban planning unit within the Ministry of Town Planning
and Housing to plan urban development;
(b) The Urban and Rural Planning
and Development Mission (MAETUR), set up by Decree No. 77/193, articles 1, 2, 3,
11 and 13 of which
were amended and supplemented by Decree No. 82/599 of 25
November 1982;
(c) The Cameroon Property Loan Bank, created by Decree
No. 77/140 of 13 May 1977 to finance housing;
(d) The
Cameroon Property Company (SIC), reorganized to ensure better production of
housing for Cameroonians.
191. Measures related to children’s
living standards can be judged primarily on the basis of environmentlinked
indicators.
The following data are taken from the second General Population and
Housing Census (RGPH) and the Cameroonian Household Survey (ECAM):
Total population (thousands), RGPH, projection for 1997
Total 14,174
Male
6,986
Female 7,188
Urban 6,633
Rural 7,441
Population aged up to 64 years (thousands), RGPH, projection for 1997
Total 3,477
Male
1,748
Female 236
Population 65 years and over (thousands), RGPH, projection for 1997
Total 439
Male
203
Female 1,729
Demographic growth rate: 2.9 (RGPH, 1997)
Housing (ECAM)
Average size of
household 5.9 persons
Housing units with mud or adobe
walls 51.8%
Housing units with walls made of breeze blocks, concrete,
freestone or baked
brick 16.7%
Householders 71.5%
Tenants 20.3%
Persons
housed by their employer or free of charge 8.2%
Lighting (ECAM)
Electricity 37%
Paraffin 54.4%
Other
8.6%
Water supply (ECAM)
Connection to National Water Distribution
Company network 31.3%
Supplied from springs, rivers or
wells 55.8%
Other 8.6%
Income inequalities and poverty (ECAM)
Households below poverty
line 38.4%
Intermediate households 33%
Not
poor 28.6%
It is clear from these different indicators that
children’s living standards deserve attention from the authorities. Since
they are interrelated, any improvement in these living standards can perforce be
achieved only by improving those of the parents.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A. Education, including vocational training
and guidance (arts. 28 and 29)
192. Article 29
of the Convention on the Rights of the Child basically provides that the
education of the child is directed to fostering
the physical, intellectual,
moral and cultural development of the child, as well as the development of his
personality and sense
of responsibility, and to instilling a sense of respect
for others and for the virtues of peace, tolerance and equality of the sexes.
In order to make such education accessible to all, article 28,
paragraph 1 (a), of the Convention requires States to make primary
education “compulsory and available free to all”. Cameroon appears
to be meeting this requirement, since its authorities
are committed to promoting
basic education for all. The preamble of the Constitution thus affirms that
“The State shall guarantee the child’s right to education. Primary
education shall be compulsory.”
The preamble also provides that the State
guarantees all citizens of either sex the enjoyment of this right to
instruction. Similarly,
Act No. 63/COR/5 of 3 July 1963 and
the text containing the West Cameroon Education Policy recognize every
citizen’s right
to education and instruction without
discrimination.
193. The objectives of the philosophy of education in
Cameroon include:
(a) Quality education for the masses: this
democratization of education favours access to instruction for the greatest
number while
preserving its quality;
(b) The physical, moral,
intellectual and cultural development of the child;
(c) National
integration; and
(d) The promotion of bilingualism in accordance with
the provisions of article 1, paragraph 3, of the Constitution of the
Republic, through the teaching of English and French as from the primary
level.
In the same vein, Act No. 98/004 of
14 April 1998 containing education guidelines in Cameroon stipulates
that:
“Article 6: The State shall guarantee the child’s right to education.
Article 7: The State shall guarantee to all equality of opportunity for access to education without discrimination by reason of sex, political, philosophical or religious views or social, cultural, linguistic or geographic origin.
Article 9: Primary education is compulsory.”
194. To achieve
the abovementioned aims, a series of measures have been adopted, of which the
following four are the most important:
1. Improving education supply
195. At the primary and nursery school level,
2,304 schools were created between 1990 and 1998 (see
table 1[*]) compared to 184 private
schools; this permitted an intake in 1996/1997 of 1,966,950 pupils for the
primary cycle and 87,318 pupils
for the nursery school cycle, distributed
as indicated in tables 2 and 3*. During the same year, the schoolage
population (children
aged 5 to 14 years) was 3,444,740. Hence
there was an unmet social demand for education of 1,477,790. At the
postprimary, general
secondary and technical levels, 314 general and
technical colleges, as well as 240 SAR/SMs and 254 general and
technical lycées
provided instruction for 558,424 students,
distributed as indicated in tables 2 to 9,* in 1996/1997.
2. Improving quality
196. This requires initial training for young
people of both sexes. It is provided by the Ecole normale
supérieure (ENS) (a
teacher training college) and by the Ecole
normale supérieure de l’enseignement technique (ENSET) (a
technical teacher
training college), which train teachers for general and
technical colleges and lycées. General and technical primary school
teachers are trained by the Ecoles normales des instituteurs de
l’enseignement général and de l’enseignement
technique
(primary school teacher training colleges). Nearly 8,000 high school
teachers and about 8,703 primary school teachers
have thus been trained and
recruited by the State.
197. In 1996/1997, for example, out of
5,339 student teachers in training, 48 per cent or 2,563
were girls (table 7*). At the general
secondary level, out of
907 student lycée teachers graduating from ENS in 1998,
girls accounted for 37.8 per cent. However,
it should be noted that
they were mainly to be found in the literary sections.
198. Ongoing
training is provided for teachers on the job: it takes the form of teacher
training days and seminars which are also
designed for supervisory staff (heads
of primary and nursery schools, principals of secondary schools and
lycées). A sufficiently
large pool of teachers is ensured and the level
of their skills can be raised by these means.
3. Guaranteeing fairness
199. To reduce the existing gap between the
number of girls attending school and the number of boys, as well as disparities
in the
geographical distribution of pupils (see table 8*), the Government,
with the support of donors, has undertaken reforms and devised
strategies in
general to improve entry rates in the provinces where enrolment is low and to
keep girls in school in particular.
In addition, a policy of encouragement and
social advocacy has been adopted to attract more girls to the sciences. More
than 2 million
adults aged 15 years and over are illiterate, the
rate being highest among women. Consequently, the Government is setting up
literacy
programmes to reduce the number of illiterates.
4. Financing education
200. Despite the economic crisis that has
severely afflicted the country and reduced budgetary allocations to the
different economic
sectors, the share of the budget devoted to education remains
relatively high (see table 10*). However, measures to implement the
20/20
initiative are being taken by the Government. Pursuant to the Framework and
Plan of Action adopted at the UNESCO Conference
in Jomtien, reforms are under
way to pinpoint new opportunities for educational funding and better management
of the resources thus
obtained.
201. The following may be mentioned as
contributors to the mobilization of financial and material
resources:
(a) Parents of pupils, 80 per cent of whose
required contribution goes to fund school operating
costs;
(b) Decentralized local communities (communes), through
programmes for the construction and equipment of schools and antimalaria
prophylaxis or “nivaquinization” for
pupils;
(c) Parents’ associations, which make an appreciable
contribution to the outfitting and running of schools;
(d) NGOs, through
construction, outfitting and the improvement of the school
environment;
(e) Private sponsors.
The resources thus mobilized
improve school distribution and performance, thereby enhancing the quality of
education on offer and
its availability, with a view to “education for
all” and “lifelong education”.
202. The global
promotion strategies in the Jomtien Plan of Action include the
“least cost” approach, which aims to improve
the
costbenefit/costeffectiveness ratio in the procurement and use of goods and
services intended for education.
203. It must be pointed out that the
implementation of this whole policy of quality education for the masses is
unfortunately hampered
by several obstacles, such as the economic recession, the
external debt burden, the devaluation of the CFA franc, the weight of tradition,
demographic pressure and the high concentration of population in the main
towns.
B. Leisure and cultural activities (art. 31)
204. To promote the right of the child to
leisure and recreational and cultural activities, Cameroon has adopted a set of
legislative,
administrative and institutional measures.
205. The many
laws and regulations include:
(a) Act No. 74/22 of
5 December 1974 on sports and socioeducational
facilities;
(b) Act No. 96/09 of 5 August l996
containing the Charter for Sports;
(c) Decree No. 69/DF/302 of
8 August l969 amending Decree No. 67/DF/503
of 2 November 1967 on the reorganization of youth movements
and
popular education;
(d) Decree No. 96/CAB/MINJES of
12 March 1996 on the organization of the Ministry of Youth and
Sports;
(e) Decree No. 91/255 of 30 May 1991 on the
organization of the National Youth and Sports
Institute;
(f) Order No. 002/C/JS/EP of
15 February 1977 on the organization and operation of school holiday
facilities;
(g) Ministerial Instruction No. 001/IM/MJS of
18 January 1979 setting up mobile community development
teams;
(h) Ministerial Instruction No. 001/IM/MJS/DJA/MINJES
of 23 January 1990 on the administration and management of youth and
community
activity centres.
206. Where administrative and institutional
measures for the promotion of leisure and cultural activities are concerned,
Decree No.
96/CAB/MINJES of 12 March 1996 on the
organization of the Ministry of Youth and Sports provided for a Department of
Youth and Community
Activities with a SocioEducational Activities Branch
composed of two services for the promotion of sociocultural and educational
activities. As far as external services are concerned, provincial and
departmental youth and community activities and sports services
have been
created to promote the development of sports and sociocultural activities in
schools. Examples are the establishment of
sports and cultural activities
services and divisions in higher education and sports and cultural associations
at the secondary level.
207. In addition to the abovementioned decree,
Decree No. 98/003 of 8 January 1998 on the organization of
the Ministry of Culture
provides for a Department for the Promotion of Culture
and the Arts whose task is to develop and promote creative and productive
work
in culture and the arts and to define and implement strategies for promoting
reading, the arts and cultural activities.
208. Moreover, some activities
are carried out for the care of young people during the holidays, including
holiday camps for those
from 8 to 12 years of age, holiday work camps
and an initiative called “INJS Sports, Leisure, Holidays” that
promotes
sociocultural and leisure activities.
209. Different entities
also exist to support the care of young people in their leisure, sporting,
sociocultural and artistic activities.
They are both public and private and
include:
(a) The National Youth and Sports Institute, whose task is to
train supervisory staff for youth and sports;
(b) National Youth and
Sports Centres for the training of middlelevel supervisors for youth and sports;
there are three of these,
in Dschang, Garua and Kribi;
(c) Youth and
community activity centres, which are nonformal educational establishments
offering their members opportunities to
develop their creativity and business
sense with a view to sociooccupational integration; these centres are for young
people aged
at least 12 years who have been rejected by the formal
education system; there are about 317 such centres (11 provincial,
56 departmental
and 251 district centres);
(d) Mobile urban
community development teams formed in the main towns of the administrative
districts; their task is to initiate
young people and adults into integrated
development activities;
(e) The Mbalmayo Art Institute.
210. Side by
side with these State entities, there are private initiatives that support the
work of the authorities. Examples are:
(a) Youth movements and
associations. These are organizations sponsored by religious denominations that
work for the moral, spiritual
and civic education of their members, while also
promoting leisure and cultural activities; there are about 405 of these
registered;
(b) Private leisure and reeducation centres offering leisure
activities and sociocultural education; they also offer their members
appropriate technical training to enable them to join the workforce. Examples
are the René Durand Centre in Mbalmayo, the
Jean Bosco Centre
in Yaoundé and the guides’ headquarters;
(c) The project
for the mobilization of youth through sports (MOJAS), launched as part of
cooperation between the Mission française
de coopération (French
voluntary service overseas) and the urban communities of Yaoundé and
Douala; this project aims
to help young people through sports activities, with a
view to fuller social and economic integration. Thus, in addition to the
holiday championships organized for them, young people can also join cooperative
associations where they are taught to make sports
equipment.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Children in emergency situations
211. Under
article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States parties
undertake to respect and ensure respect for rules
of international humanitarian
law in cases of armed conflict. They agree to take all feasible measures to
ensure that persons who
have not attained the age of 15 years do not
take a direct part in hostilities.
212. It must be stated that Cameroon
has ratified the Geneva Conventions of 12 August l949 and the
Additional Protocols of 1977 and,
according to the rules in force, no child
under 18 years of age may be recruited into the national defence forces
(the army, the
gendarmerie and the police). In response to these requirements,
Cameroon holds various seminars for Cameroonian officers and higher
echelons one
of whose aims is to make them aware of the application of international
humanitarian law in situations of armed conflict
or internal disturbance. It
should also be pointed out that the Red Cross and Red Crescent freely carry out
their activities in
Cameroon. The International Committee of the Red Cross was
thus able to visit prisoners in the border conflict with Nigeria in
Bakassi.
213. On the subject of refugees, article 22 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child provides that States parties will take
appropriate
measures to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status or who
is considered a refugee will receive protection and humanitarian
assistance.
214. In this regard, Cameroon ratified the Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees on 23 October l961 and the Protocol relating
to the
Status of Refugees on 19 September 1967. Pursuant to the provisions
of that instrument, Cameroon has, in cooperation with
UNHCR, taken in refugees
from Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, Sudan and Chad.
215. According to
the UNHCR report (1998), the number of refugees living in
Cameroon is estimated at 47,057, of whom 6,007 are assisted
by UNHCR, namely: 3,053 Chadians, 1,227 Rwandans,
332 Burundians, 182 (Kinshasa) Congolese, 230 (Brazzaville)
Congolese, 180 Sudanese,
167 Liberians and 636 other
nationalities.
216. In the border conflict in the peninsula of Bakassi
between Cameroon and Nigeria, the President of the Republic has, by
Decision
No. 001 of 17 January 1997, set up a committee to
give State assistance to the displaced civilian populations in combat zones.
The
committee has prepared a programme of immediate, shortterm and mediumterm
action.
Immediate action
217. The immediate action for which the
Government has released CFAF 205 million is basically fourfold and
concerns (a) food security;
(b) health (essential medicines and the
prevention of epidemics); (c) education (school fees, school supplies and
uniforms); and
(d) essential goods.
Shortterm action
218. Shortterm action, estimated at
CFAF 462 million, is about to begin and involves (a) the building
of huts out of temporary materials
for the resettlement of 200 families,
with wells and latrines; (b) the construction of a bilingual school
comprising all levels (nursery,
primary and secondary); (c) the purchase of
mattresses, sheets and blankets; (d) the construction of a dispensary;
(e) the provision
of fishing supplies and seeds; (f) the procurement
of five light vessels for the use of the administrative and municipal
authorities;
and (g) the completion by military engineers of the
MundembaIsangele road.
Mediumterm action
219. Three types of action are planned for the
medium term, namely: (a) the construction of an allseason, preferably asphalt,
road
for vehicular traffic between KumbaEkondo Titi and Mundemba; (b) the
development of a centre for seafisherieslinked occupations at
Isangele (repair
of vessels and outboard motors, swimming); and (c) the creation at Isangele of
socioeconomic infrastructure to encourage
the return of displaced persons and
the settlement of the whole Bakassi area.
220. Throughout the first phase
of this programme and without minimizing the other aspects, special emphasis has
been placed on education.
All school costs for the children of all the
administrative units making up the Bakassi area have thus been assumed by the
State
for the 1996/1997, 1997/1998 and 1998/1999 school years.
B. Children in conflict with the law
1. Administration of juvenile justice (art. 40)
221. Since the Decree
of 30 November 1928 establishing special courts and the probation system for
minors, Cameroon has adopted the
principle of the criminal responsibility of
certain juvenile delinquents; they are not, however, indiscriminately penalized.
Act
No. 65/LF/24 of 12 November 1965 instituting a penal code and
Act No. 67/LF/1 of 12 June 1967 containing the Penal Code introduced
that
colonial decree into the law applicable in independent Cameroon and established
a classification of juvenile delinquents. They
receive differentiated treatment
according to whether they are below 10 years of age, between 10 and 14 years or
between 14 and 18
years.
222. Minors below the age of 10 are
considered as totally without responsibility; they can therefore not be tried
for the acts they
have committed. Cameroonian legislation considers this
category of minors as completely lacking in discernment. They can therefore
never be handed over to the Public Prosecutor’s Office or brought before a
judge for sentencing. The parents alone can be
sentenced to provide
compensation for the harm caused to the victim pursuant to the rules relating to
civil liability.
223. A child between the age of 10 and 14 is criminally
responsible; however, only one of the special measures provided for by the
law
can be imposed on him. Only the Public Prosecutor can decide to institute
public proceedings. If the charges against him are
sufficient, the minor is
referred directly to the council chamber of the civil court in semiprivate
session. The decision is handed
down in public session. If the minor is found
guilty, the court has the choice of three measures: (a) to return him to
his family;
(b) to put him on probation; or (c) to place him, for a period not
extending beyond the attainment of his civil majority, in the
home of a
trustworthy person or in an appropriate boarding school or charitable
institution.
224. For minors between the ages of 14 and 18 years, the
Penal Code provides for parallel measures. In addition to the possibility
of
imposing on them the lenient measures provided for those between ages 10 and 14,
the Code also provides for their possible sentencing.
The measures and the
sentence can run consecutively.
225. In addition to this classification
of minors, the purpose of which is to exclude certain categories of children
from prosecution
or from sentencing, article 80 of the Penal Code provides for
an automatic ground for mitigation in favour of any minor liable to
a sentence.
The effect is substantially to reduce the penalty provided for by law and to
avoid, as far as possible, imprisoning
young children. The consequences for
minors of the ground for mitigation are set forth in article 87 of the Penal
Code, which stipulates
that, when the law provides for mitigation, the penalties
are reduced as follows:
(a) If the death penalty or life imprisonment
has been incurred, the penalty is reduced to loss of liberty of from 2 to 10
years;
(b) If a period of imprisonment has been incurred in the case of
a felony, the penalty is reduced to loss of liberty of from one
to five
years;
(c) In the case of a misdemeanour, the maximum loss of liberty or
maximum fine is reduced by half and the minimum is brought down
to five days or
a fine of one franc. Moreover, the child may be sentenced to one of the two
penalties alone.
226. The law in Cameroon therefore excludes any death
sentence or even life imprisonment for a child under 18 years. As indicated
above, the maximum sentence that can be imposed on such a child is 10 years; if
the defendant has the benefit of extenuating circumstances,
the penalty may be
reduced to five days and a suspended sentence is also possible. But the
judiciary is not obliged to sentence
a juvenile delinquent. The
abovementioned decree of 30 November 1928 provides, in addition to the
special measures of guardianship,
supervision, education, reform and assistance
that are ordered by the presiding judge of the civil court, for a particular
measure,
namely, probation. This measure, ordered by the judge, involves
maintaining the child in his natural environment, whether his family
or a
substitute, for the purpose of his education, under the supervision either of a
judge or of a social worker appointed by the
juvenile court. The child remains
in his family and continues to pursue his usual occupations. The judge and the
social worker
merely stand in for the family because the latter has been unable
to ensure the child’s socialization.
227. The judge may also decide
that the child should be placed in an institution. Such placement may be in a
rehabilitation centre
in the case of a boy or a homeworkshop in the case of a
girl. The initiative for the placement is taken by the court itself. The
examining magistrate before whom a minor accused of an act defined as an offence
is brought may decide to place the minor in temporary
rehabilitation. The
sentencing court that declares the minor guilty of an offence may also adopt a
placement measure in his favour.
The purpose of institutional placement is to
remove the child from his natural environment because it has proved incapable
of ensuring
his social integration, in order to place him in the care of
social workers.
228. The judicial procedure itself has specific features.
The aim is to protect the child either from public notice which might be
harmful
to his future or from the everpresent possibility of an error in the weighing of
the evidence or even in the assessment of
the delinquent’s character .
The minor is not brought before the court for sentencing by the summary means of
arrest in flagrante
delicto or by direct summons. A judicial inquiry is
compulsory. During the preliminary phase of the inquiry, a social investigation
must be carried out, its purpose being to discover the personality of the
delinquent, to determine how much discernment he has, what
the family situation
is, what the circumstances surrounding or inciting to the commission of the
crime were and what the chances
of his rehabilitation are.
229. The major
principles that underlie sound justice have been introduced into Cameroonian law
thanks to Cameroon’s ratification
of the relevant international
instruments, but also to the adoption of national laws on the subject. They
redound to the benefit
of delinquent children. The right to a fair hearing,
equality before the law, the right to equitable justice, nonretroactive criminal
law, the presumption of innocence and the right to have the delinquent’s
character taken into consideration at the time of
sentencing are among the
fundamental freedoms which are recognized as belonging to each citizen and which
have been incorporated
into the Cameroonian legal system. The Constitution of
the Republic lists them all. The Act of 18 January 1996 amending the
Constitution thus recognized that all human beings possess the fundamental
freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Charter
of the United Nations, the African Charter of Human and
Peoples’
Rights and all other international instruments ratified on the
subject.
230. In its preamble, the Constitution recalls the Cameroonian
people’s attachment to various principles, some of which relate directly
to the administration of justice.
It affirms thus that:
(a) No person
may be prosecuted, arrested or detained except in the cases and according to the
manner determined by law;
(b) The law may not have retroactive effect.
No person may be tried and punished, except by virtue of a law enacted and
published
before the offence committed;
(c) The law ensures the right of
every person to a fair hearing before the courts;
(d) Every accused
person is presumed innocent until found guilty during a hearing conducted in
strict compliance with the rights
of defence;
(e) Every person has the
right to life, to physical and moral integrity and to humane treatment in all
circumstances. Under no circumstances
may any person be subjected to torture or
to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
231. The foregoing provisions
of the Constitution are to be found in the legislation, such as article 3 of the
Penal Code, which prohibits the trial under criminal law of acts committed
before it entered into force or acts which were not tried before it was
explicitly or even tacitly repealed. Article 17 of the Code
stipulates that
penalties and measures are determined by law and are imposed only for offences
that are provided by law. Torture,
which is the subject of Act No. 97/009
of 10 January 1997 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Penal
Code, is henceforth
punishable by the explicit provisions of article 132
bis.
232. Procedural legislation, particularly the Code of
Criminal Investigation, ensures the right of all to a fair hearing and
prescribes
a procedure that safeguards the presumption of innocence. It also
requires that the accused person should be informed of the charges
against him
as soon as he is brought before the prosecutor in the AttorneyGeneral’s
Office.
233. The adversarial principle is embodied in Cameroonian law as
part and parcel of the right to a defence and necessary to the discovery
of the
truth. A sentence in absentia can be challenged by a party who was unable to
appear at the hearing.
234. The right of appeal is granted to any party
who considers himself injured by a legal decision; this right is applicable to
all
cases, whether misdemeanours, offences or crimes. The principle of the
right of appeal to a higher court is provided for in Ordinance
No. 72/4
of 26 August 1972 on the organization of the judiciary and its
subsequent amendments. The Ordinance establishes the firstdegree
jurisdiction
of the Court of First Instance, while the Court of Appeal has jurisdiction to
hear any appeal of a decision handed down
against a minor.
235. In the
courts of the Republic, the presence of an interpreter is justified for several
reasons. Cameroon is composed of a multitude
of tribes speaking a multitude of
languages. Although French and English are recognized as official languages, a
large part of the
population, sunk in illiteracy, is not yet able to use them
correctly. To remedy this shortcoming, in the interests of justice and
in
application of the adversarial principle, the law has made recourse to
interpreters the rule in the courts of the Republic. The
assistance of an
interpreter is free of charge.
236. Legal action can involve an invasion
of privacy only under the conditions determined by law. These conditions relate
to investigations
carried out in cases of arrest in flagrante delicto or by
virtue of various warrants issued with the sole purpose of discovering
the
truth. Except in such cases, a person’s home and correspondence are
inviolable. These provisions apply even where there
has been a
conviction.
237. The provisions of article 40, paragraph 3, of the
Convention concerning the obligation of States parties to seek to promote the
establishment of laws, procedures, authorities and institutions specifically
applicable to children alleged as, accused of, or recognized
as having infringed
the penal law are beginning to receive attention through the establishment of
institutions to accommodate delinquent
children or those at risk. In addition
to such institutions, for children under sentence of imprisonment, there are
sectors for
minors in prisons. Moreover, article 7 of Decree No. 92/52 of
27 March 1992 on the penitentiary system establishes special prisons
for minors
and prison schools. These facilities are not yet in existence. Juveniles
normally take part in prison labour only inside
the prison or in the fields
belonging to it. In all cases, they work in groups separated from the other
categories of prisoners.
238. Monitoring and supervision measures are
provided for in the Decree to guarantee the implementation of the favourable
provisions
it contains. Apart from the constant vigilance of the administrative
authorities and prison inspectors, public prosecutors, attorneysgeneral
and
judges in charge of public cases or investigations are authorized to visit the
prisons within their purview during opening hours.
They submit the report of
their visit to the Minister for Prison Administration.
239. A prison
surveillance commission is set up in the main town of each department. It has a
chairman, who is the prefect or his
representative, a vicechairman, who is the
presiding judge of the Court of First Instance and three members: the
departmental head
of public health, the departmental head of social affairs and
a rapporteur appointed by the chairman of the commission. The commission
is
required to visit all prisons in the department at least once a year; its
observations concern any necessary alterations, the
upkeep of premises, the
state of sanitation, the prison diet and the treatment of detainees. The
comments and proposals of the commission
are included in a report addressed to
the Minister for Prison Administration.
240. In addition, the prison
superintendents are required each month to send summary lists of permanent
prisoners and those on remand
to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Ministry
of Justice. A separate list is drawn up in the case of children. The
AttorneyGeneral,
who is the judicial official in charge of judicial
investigations, sends in a detailed report each month on the cases under
consideration,
specifying the situation of any minors.
241. An
administrative unit has been set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Social
Affairs to tackle cases of social maladjustment.
It acts to prevent and to
treat behavioural problems and to provide for the rehabilitation of juvenile
delinquents and children
at risk. Two types of strategy are used: residential
rehabilitation, which has already been described, and community
education.
242. Community education is a technique for social
intervention which uses the facilities of the Ministry itself and of the
child’s
own environment, as well as concrete action and precept, to
improve the behaviour of minors and bring about their readaptation to
their home
environment and vice versa. It also involves some observation of juvenile
delinquents and children at risk in their homes
and some educational assistance
to the families whose many shortcomings may have caused or been at the root of
their children’s
behavioural problems. When education is organized in a
community environment, it provides the best setting for the legal measure
of
putting the child on probation. This measure, decreed by the judge in the case
of a juvenile delinquent, involves keeping the
child in his natural setting,
whether his family or a substitute, for the purpose of his education, under the
supervision of a judge
and a social worker appointed by the juvenile
court.
243. With the aim of decriminalizing a large part of the
antisocial behaviour of young delinquents, the Minister of Justice has sent
circular No. 0007/7128/DAJS of 27 January 1995 to all attorneysgeneral and
public prosecutors expressing concern about the overcrowding
of prisons and the
lack of special quarters for juvenile detainees in many penitentiaries. Noting
the shortage of social and educational
support in those establishments and the
difficulties the Cameroonian prison system has in satisfactorily discharging its
mission
to return young delinquents to society, he invites judges to resort to
imprisonment only after the most careful consideration. He
strongly recommends
that, whenever possible and desirable, they should adopt measures to deal with
children without resorting to
legal proceedings and, when that does prove
necessary, that they avoid, as often as possible, putting them on remand and
that they
respect human rights and put in operation all guarantees provided for
by law to protect juveniles. He particularly urges them to
resort to the
special protection measures provided for in the special legislation on
juvenile delinquents, particularly the provisions
of the decree
of 30 November 1928 as amended by Act No. 67/LF/1 of 1 June 1967
instituting the Penal Code.
244. The training of professionals in the
administration of juvenile justice regarding the provisions of the Convention
and other
international instruments applicable to juvenile justice is something
quite recent. Since August 1997, the Ministries of Justice
and Social Affairs
have, with the cooperation and financial support of UNICEF, been organizing
training seminars on the rights of
the child for judges, police officers, prison
governors and social workers. These seminars will be extended to the whole
country,
but have so far been held only in 3 out of 10 provinces.
They will reinforce the work done on a smaller scale by some NGOs and
associations
involved in the protection of the rights of the child. The
Ministry of Justice and the National School of Administration and the
Judiciary
are preparing a cycle of seminars, the first of which already took place in
December 1998; they will be funded through
Canadian cooperation.
245. The results of the different activities undertaken in recent years are
still difficult to assess, however, both from the viewpoint
of juvenile justice
professionals and from that of the general social conduct of children. It is
true that greater attention is
being paid by the judicial authorities to matters
concerning juveniles, since the number of children on remand does not seem to
have
followed the same rising curve as delinquency in general and juvenile
delinquency in particular over recent years. Nevertheless,
long remand
sentences are still being handed down, the duration of such custody not having
been limited by law.
2. Treatment of children deprived of liberty, especially child
detainees
and prisoners or those in establishments under
supervision
(art. 37 (b), (c) and (d))
246. The
treatment of children deprived of liberty is defined by the laws and
regulations.
Children in police custody, in detention or in rehabilitation
centres continue to enjoy all other rights compatible with their situation.
Chapter 8 of Decree No. 2/052 of 27 March 1992 on leisure, cultural activities
and social assistance in the Cameroonian prison system
sets aside a part of the
detainees’ timetable for physical exercise, recreation and cultural
activities. Each establishment
must organize classes for minors and provide
detainees with the books or other material necessary for their intellectual
development.
Recreation periods can be organized in the prison, possibly with
the help of outside persons on the prior written authorization
of the prison
superintendent.
247. Social assistance is given to detainees, under the
superintendent’s authority, by specialized services of the Ministry
of
Social Affairs. Its aim is to get the prisoners back on their feet and enable
them to return to society on their release. At
the end of each quarter, prison
social workers submit a report on their activities to the Minister of Prison
Administration and the
Minister of Social Affairs.
248. At present
certain prisons, such as those of Yaoundé and Douala, organize
educational, social and cultural activities
for the minors detained there;
sports are an ongoing activity. Children undergo schooling and sit for
examinations in the normal
way in order to obtain the official
diplomas.
249. Rehabilitation centres aim to provide children in conflict
with the law with training that will ensure their reintegration into
society.
The children board at such centres. In general, their training takes place in a
natural and open environment, since, with
the exception of those built in towns,
rehabilitation centres are not walled. Contact with the world outside is
encouraged to prepare
the young people to return to society. Parents are
required to visit their children as often as possible. The centres give the
children psychological and social support as well as schooling or vocational
training. To foster contact with the outside, the schools
set up within the
rehabilitation centres take in children from elsewhere.
250. Where
children are deprived of liberty, health care is given free. In prisons and
rehabilitation centres, there are infirmaries
for the sick, who are taken care
of in public hospitals if their case involves any particular
problems.
251. The duration of imprisonment is defined by the court
sentence and is known in advance. The time spent in a rehabilitation centre
is
also fixed in advance and cannot extend beyond the child’s coming of age,
which is still set at 21 years.
252. The conditions of placement in a
rehabilitation centre are defined in the rules and regulations of each
establishment. Those
rules take account of constitutional guarantees, even if
economic difficulties mean that it is not always possible to provide the
children with the conditions most conducive to their reintegration into
society.
3. Exclusion of torture or cruel, inhuman or
degrading
treatment or punishment (art. 37 (a))
253. Article 37 (a)
requires States parties to ensure that no child is subjected to torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment. Cameroon has endorsed that
principle by ratifying, in Decree No. 97/079 of 25 April 1997, the United
Nations Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment of 10 December 1984. In application of the
Convention,
Act No. 97/009 of 10 January 1997 amends and supplements certain
provisions of the Penal Code. Pursuant to that Act, article 132
bis,
entitled “Torture”, has been inserted between articles 132 and 133
of the Code.
254. This article reads as follows:
“(1) Anyone who, by torture, involuntarily causes the death of another person shall be liable to life imprisonment;
(2) When the torture permanently deprives the victim of the use of all or part of a limb, an organ or a sense, the penalty shall be 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment;
(3) When the torture causes the victim’s illness or incapacity for work for more than 30 days, the penalty shall be 5 to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of CFAF 100,000 to CFAF 1 million;
(4) When the torture causes the victim to be ill or unfit for work for 30 days or less or to suffer pain or mental or psychological distress, the penalty shall be two to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of CFAF 50,000 to CFAF 200,000 francs;
(5) For the purposes of implementing the present article:
(a) The term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical, mental or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind;
(b) The term “torture” thus defined does not apply to pain or suffering arising from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions;
(c) No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture;
(d) An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture;
(e) The conditions set forth in article 10, paragraph 1, of the present Code are not applicable to torture.”
255. These recent provisions are strictly applied, particularly through
the increasingly effective involvement of law enforcement
officials. They are
implemented both within police units and anywhere else where torture may be
practised.
256. What is more, torture is ever more openly condemned by
public opinion, for example, in recent publications such as the study
by Mr.
Alexis Dipanda, President of the Supreme Court of Cameroon and former Chairman
of the United Nations Committee against Torture,
entitled “Torture, the
Barbarity of Mankind”, and that by the International Federation of Action
by Christians for the
Abolition of Torture entitled “Your Rights in
relation to Torture and Arbitrary Arrest”.
4. Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration (art. 39)
257. Under the provisions of Decree No. 92/052
of 27 March 1992 on the prison system in Cameroon and pursuant to
Ministerial Instruction
No. 93/00726/MINASCOF/SG of 1 April 1993
determining the functions of the prison social welfare officer, the
minors’ section
in a prison functions as a rehabilitation unit with three
basic tasks: (a) to influence the minor’s behaviour by education
or
psychological means; (b) to provide schooling or vocational training; and (c) to
work towards the minor’s reintegration
into society so as to prevent him
reoffending after his release. The prison social welfare officer also has the
task of establishing
relations with religious and philanthropic partners to
mobilize different forms of assistance for minors in detention. In his work
he
has the cooperation of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, which appoints youth
and community activity counsellors to the unit to
organize leisure, recreation
and cultural activities.
258. Ministerial Instruction No. 87/0085 of 14
July l987 on vocational training programmes in residential rehabilitation
centres allows
social workers to plan not only for the psychological and social
care of minors but also for their socioeconomic reintegration.
At present, six
central prisons have social units with qualified and stable staff, while the
others are supervised by a social worker
who is at the same time in charge of
community education.
259. NGOs and religious associations also work both
in prisons and in private rehabilitation centres; they specialize in the care
of
minors and women, through prison visits, counselling, help with psychological
and emotional problems and work with families.
In 1995, for example, in the
socioeducational centre for juvenile remedial teaching in the central prison in
Yaoundé, five
candidates passed their “brevet
d’études du premier cycle” (examination taken at age 16)
and two their “certificat d’études primaires
élémentaires” (primary leaving certificate). Although
there are special sections for minors with socioeducational training centres,
there
is still a discrepancy in the treatment of girls and boys: in the central
prison in Yaoundé or that of Mfou, for example,
girls inevitably find
themselves placed in the women’s section with adult detainees, while boys
are sent to the special minors’
section. As a result, the specific
modalities of the interaction between the social services, the judiciary and the
prison administration
have been discussed and formulated in seminars which were
organized by the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNICEF in 1997 and 1998
in three
provinces and are scheduled for extension to the entire territory. Their
recommendations are to be implemented shortly.
C. Children subjected to exploitation, including physical
and
psychological recovery and social reintegration
1. Economic exploitation, including child labour (art. 32)
260. According
to article 32 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the child has the
right to be protected from performing
any work that is likely to be harmful to
his health, education or development; the State provides for minimum ages for
admission
to employment and regulates conditions of employment.
(a) The legal framework
261. In Cameroon, conventions have been
ratified and laws adopted to ensure compliance with the abovementioned article
32. At the
international level, Cameroon has ratified the seven basic ILO human
rights conventions (see Cameroon’s core document, HRI/CORE/1/Add.109,
sect. III. General legal framework within which human rights are protected),
including ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age
for Admission to Employment
(1973), which it ratified on 14 April 1998.
262. Domestic
legislation on child labour consists of:
(a) Act No. 92/007 of 14 August
1992 containing the Labour Code;
(b) Decree No. 68/DF/253 of 10 July
1968 on general conditions for the employment of domestic and household
workers;
(c) Decree No. 69/DF/287 of 30 July 1969 on apprenticeship
contracts, particularly insofar as it requires a minimum age of 14 years
for
admission to apprenticeship and prohibits a female apprentice from being lodged
with an unmarried master;
(d) Order No. 16/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May 1969 on
female labour, with an annex listing work prohibited for women and
children;
(e) Order No. 17/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May l969 on child
labour.
263. With regard to the minimum age for admission to employment, the
abovementioned legal framework sets that age at 14 years for
work that does not
involve any particular risks (arts. 2 of ILO Convention No. 138 and 86 of
the Labour Code) and at least 18 years
for dangerous, difficult or unhealthy
work likely to undermine the health or morals of the child.
264. Work
prohibited for children is:
(a) Work that is beyond a child’s
strength, such as the transport and handling of goods over a certain weight
calculated in
relation to the sex and age of the child and the transport of
goods by truck or similar vehicle;
(b) Dangerous or unhealthy work, such
as work underground in mines or in quarries or foundries and the manufacture,
handling or manipulation
of explosives;
(c) Work harmful to the morals
of children, such as the fabrication and sale of written or printed products
(posters, drawings, sculptures)
which may have an adverse influence on the moral
and psychological development of children, even if such work is not prohibited
by
criminal law.
265. In determining the conditions for children’s
work, Cameroonian laws and regulations prescribe affirmative action measures,
including:
(a) The ban on night work for women and children (art. 81 of
the Labour Code). The maximum duration of daytime work cannot exceed
eight
hours, with a compulsory break of at least one hour for children (Order No.
17/MTLS/DEGRE of 27 May 1969);
(b) Compulsory rest time of at least 12
consecutive hours (art. 82 of the Labour Code);
(c) Compulsory
granting of leave on the basis of two and a half days per month instead of one
and a half days for adults.
266. The competent labour inspector monitors
the implementation of these legislative and regulatory measures (arts. 104 to
109 of
the Labour Code). To facilitate the inspector’s monitoring of
child labour, any employer who recruits a child, even for a
trial period or
without an apprenticeship contract, must so inform the labour inspector in the
ensuing days or nights. A duly completed
form must accompany the medical
certificate of the child concerned.
267. Criminal penalties are provided
for in articles 167, 168 and 190 of the Labour Code against anyone who
contravenes the provisions
of articles 82, 86 and 90 of that Code concerning,
inter alia, children’s working conditions.
268. It should
also be pointed out that Cameroon has established the principle of equal pay,
without distinction as to age, for equal
work.
269. Tables 11 and 12 in
the annex recapitulate the situation of children in
agriculture.[*]
270. To sum up, any work
performed by children in conditions that fall short of those provided for in the
legal framework described
above qualifies as economic exploitation.
(b) Child labour problems and suggested administrative measures
271. Before 1986, the Government of Cameroon
had adopted a series of measures to prevent child labour. They basically
involved combating
illiteracy, raising school enrolment rates and promoting
vocational training and apprenticeships as a strategy for fostering employment.
The following are examples:
(a) The establishment of school
programme incentives such as the free pilot centres in regions with low school
enrolment like the
provinces of Adamaoua, Est. Extrême Nord
and Nord;
(b) The creation of postprimary institutions: rural
crafts and domestic science sections;
(c) The creation of youth and
community activity centres.
It must be admitted that the measures adopted
prior to 1986 had only limited effects because of the economic crisis and
the high demographic
growth rate, which was of the order
of 2.9 per cent, according to the 1987 population
census.
272. Because of the economic crisis, which has lasted more than a
decade and the consequent impoverishment of households, between
1987 and 1994,
the Ministry of Labour and Employment recorded 76,187 cutbacks and layoffs of
personnel and 1,040 businesses closed
down, all of which meant 105,199 job
losses and 32,555 workers claiming wage arrears.
273. According to the
1987 general population census, the number of working children between 6 and 14
years was about 227,337 out
of a total population of 10,493,655, excluding the
agriculture sector. Assuming a constant activity rate and a constant active
population,
there were an estimated 590,000 working children in 1997 for an
estimated total population of 14,045,000.
274. Consequently, the problem
of child labour may, on the one hand, be seen as part of the struggle for
survival waged by poor families
exposed to economic insecurity and, on the
other, be explained by the thorny question of remuneration, which leads
employers to seek
workers who are cheap, docile, ignorant and ready to waive
their rights. To this should be added other factors contributing to child
labour, such as family structure, customs, educational factors and armed
conflicts.
275. Experience shows that child workers are employed in
several types of activity (from light tasks to dangerous work) and in several
sectors of the economy (primary, secondary and tertiary), such as trade,
domestic service, agriculture, fisheries, livestock raising
and mining. They
also have jobs in the informal sector. The situation is at its most serious in
the agricultural sector.
(c) Policies and programmes
276. In Cameroon, the situation of children in
general and child labour in particular is taken into account in of the overall
policy
for the protection and promotion of the child. As a result of the
orientation of this government policy, the strategies outlined
aim in
particular:
(a) To sensitize and mobilize the community regarding
questions of child labour;
(b) To promote both standard and informal
education and apprenticeship;
(c) To improve and strengthen legislation
on child labour;
(d) To coordinate and pursue activities to combat child
labour.
These major strategic goals have been included in the draft plan
of action to combat child labour, the chief obstacles to the implementation
of
which are financial constraints.
(d) Technical cooperation and international assistance
277. Cameroon cooperates with the ILO
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). In that
context, IPEC has
conducted a survey in Cameroon of children below the age of 14
years in extreme work situations. Cameroon would like to step up
this kind of
cooperation with a view to ensuring the implementation of operational strategies
to abolish the worst forms of child
labour.
2. Use of narcotic drugs (art. 33)
278. According to article 33 of the Convention,
“States parties shall take all ... measures, including legislative,
administrative,
social and educational measures, to protect children from the
illicit use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances ... and to
prevent the
use of children in the illicit ... trafficking of such substances.” Well
before the Convention, Cameroon had joined
the international community in
ratifying other international legal instruments on narcotic drugs (1961),
psychotropic substances
(1971) and drug trafficking (1988).
279. At the
domestic level, article 11 of the Penal Code provides that the criminal law of
the Republic applies to narcotic drug trafficking
even if carried on outside the
national territory. Decree No. 92/PM of 24 November 1992 set up the National
Committee to Combat
Drug Abuse. This is an advisory body to the Ministry of
Health whose task is the coordination and consideration of all problems
of
illicit drug use and drug abuse. Recently, Act No. 97/019 of 7 August
1997 was promulgated on the control of narcotic drugs,
psychotropic substances
and precursors and on extradition and judicial assistance in connection with
trafficking in narcotic drugs,
psychotropic substances and precursors. It
breaks new ground in that it contains provisions specific to children. Its
Article 104
thus makes anyone who knowingly supplies a minor with toxic chemical
inhalants liable to one to five years’ imprisonment and
a fine of between
CFAF 25,000 and CFAF 500,000. Pursuant to article 105, the penalties
provided for in articles 91 to 99 are doubled
when a minor takes part
in the offences concerned (cultivation, production, fabrication, international
trafficking, money laundering).
Those penalties are also doubled if the
offence has been committed in a penitentiary, in a military establishment, a
teaching or
educational establishment, a hospital or healthcare establishment, a
social services centre or any other place where pupils or students
engage in
educational, sports or social activities or in the immediate vicinity of such
establishments and such places.
280. Much work is done by NGOs and other
associations, which have formed a network, under the impetus of the National
Committee to
Combat Drug Abuse and the International Institute for Prevention of
Drug Abuse based in Paris. During the International Day celebrated
on 26 June
1997, a radio and television message on the theme “Let’s mobilize
our communities to fight drugs” was
broadcast widely on national stations.
D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group (art. 30)
281. Article 30 of the Convention provides
that, in States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons
of indigenous
origin exist, those States must guarantee to the child belonging
to such a minority or who is indigenous the right, in community
with other
members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to practise his or
her own religion and to use his or her
own language. The preamble to the
Constitution of Cameroon similarly affirms that “The State shall ensure
the protection of minorities and shall preserve the rights of indigenous
populations ...”.
282. Different types of action have been taken as
part of the programme for the socioeconomic integration of indigenous and
marginal
populations to ensure:
(a) Their legal protection by drawing up
or reconstituting official civil register certificates and by facilitating their
access
to education, to the labour market, to primary motherandchild health care
and to landed property;
(b) The preservation of their cultural identity
and their natural environment, particularly by the promotion of cultural values
and
the acquisition of community forests;
(c) Their socioeconomic
reintegration, through community networks within the spheres of competence of
the public administration.
[1] Public funding for
layettes for newborns of indigent families dropped from
CFAF 23 million in 1985/1986 to CFAF 3.5 million in 1990/1991,
i.e. from 100 per cent to 14 per cent (MINASCOF, General Inspection
Department, 1991 inspection report).
[*] The
statistical tables may be consulted in the secretariat of the Committee on the
Rights of the Child.
[*] The statistical
tables may be consulted in the secretariat of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child.
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