On Prosecution of journalists in Cameroon, notably the cases of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior and Tsi Conrad

B100230/2025

Motion for a European Parliament resolution on Prosecution of journalists in Cameroon, notably the cases of Amadou Vamoulké, Kingsley Fomunyuy Njoka, Mancho Bibixy, Thomas Awah Junior and Tsi Conrad

(2025/2627(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to its previous resolutions on Cameroon,

– having regard to Rules 150(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

Whereas Cameroon’s counter-terrorism law is broad and open to abuse and often used to arrest, intimidate and sentence journalists in military courts notably for covering protests in English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West (NW/SW regions) ;

Whereas both security forces and separatist groups have committed serious abuses against civilians; whereas security forces bear particular responsibility for excessive use of force and voluntarily delaying accountability, notably in the village of Ngarbuh;

Whereas the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that the detention of English-speaking journalist Thomas Awah Junior was a violation of international law;

Whereas UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Cameroon to ensure an independent, effective, and impartial investigation into the murder of journalist Jean-Jacques Ola Bébé, who was killed while investigating the torture and murder of his former colleague, Martinez Zogo;

Whereas in the case of journalist Samuel Wazizi, the Cameroonian authorities had to admit his sudden death in the Yaoundé military hospital following revelations in the national press;

Calls for the immediate and unconditionally release of all arbitrarily detained individuals, including journalists, opposition members, and activists; urges Cameroon to ensure fair trials in line with international standards;

Reiterates its serious concerns over the arbitrary arrest and harassment of journalists ;

Recalls that military tribunals cannot try civilians under international law;

Calls on Cameroonian authorities to guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly for all;

Strongly recommends a comprehensive reform of the deeply flawed anti-terrorism law ;

Calls on Cameroon to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which Cameroon committed to do during the previous Universal Periodic Review;

Reiterates its call to Member States to support a UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission to Cameroon to determine the extent to which international human rights law and international humanitarian law have been violated and by whom since the last decade, in particular in light of the conflict in the NW/SW regions;

Further stresses that the culture of impunity has severe consequences, fuels systemic corruption, undermines Human Rights as well as encourages violence and social unrest;

Reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the use of the death penalty under all circumstances; calls on Cameroon to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Calls on the international community to question the characterisation of the conflict in the NW/SW regions as a full-blown "non-international armed conflict" (NIAC); underlines international humanitarian law applies only if a situation is recognised as a NIAC;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the VP/HR, Member States and authorities of Cameroon.