Cameroon

Cameroon

Updated March 12, 2019
Cameroon
Cameroon is a diverse, resource-rich, majority Francophone
to late 2019, and could serve as flashpoints for violence
country bordering the Gulf of Guinea. President Paul Biya,
amid an ongoing crackdown on civil space.
age 86, is one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders. He was
reelected in 2018 and has no clear successor. Cameroon
Figure 1. Cameroon at a Glance
faces security and humanitarian challenges on three fronts:
the Nigerian-origin Boko Haram insurgency in the north, a
separatist conflict in the Anglophone provinces in the west,
and cross-border threats from the Central African Republic
(CAR) in the east, where some 275,000 CAR refugees
reside. The state’s militarized response to Anglophone
unrest has inflamed that conflict, while an early 2019
crackdown on Biya’s top Francophone political rival may
spark a broader crisis. Cameroon also faces wildlife
poaching and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
U.S.-Cameroon relations came to emphasize
counterterrorism cooperation as the Boko Haram crisis
expanded regionally in 2014-2015. Cameroon has become a
major recipient of U.S. security assistance in Africa, and

U.S. military personnel have deployed there to conduct
Source: CRS graphic. Data from CIA World Factbook + IMF (2018).
regional surveillance operations. Since 2018, U.S. Africa

Command (AFRICOM) has signaled plans to withdraw
Cameroon’s opposition has long been fractious as the
some military personnel due to broader efforts to realign its
CPDM has co-opted or repressed political challengers. In
activities toward countering “great power competition” in
January 2019, authorities arrested dozens of members of the
Africa. U.S. officials also have curtailed some planned
opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) who
security aid for Cameroon, citing human rights concerns.
were protesting alleged electoral fraud. Among those
detained was MRC leader Maurice Kamto, a former state
Politics
minister who came in second in the 2018 election. Kamto
President Biya has been in office since 1982, having
and other MRC officials remain in detention on state
previously served as prime minister. Parliament removed
security charges; if convicted, they could face the death
constitutional term limits in 2008, provoking large protests
penalty. The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African
that state security forces violently suppressed. Biya won
Affairs, Tibor Nagy, has called for their release. Authorities
another seven-year term in October 2018 amid claims of
also have banned public rallies, including by the Social
fraud, voter intimidation, and irregularities as well as
Democratic Front (SDF), the largest opposition party in
violence and low turnout in the Anglophone regions. Each
parliament. Historically rooted in the Anglophone regions,
past contest has featured allegations of fraud, institutional
the SDF’s performance in the 2018 polls was likely
bias, street violence, and/or opposition boycotts.
hampered by low turnout in its traditional stronghold.
Boko Haram Insurgency
Cameroon’s political system endows the head of state with
Boko Haram has carried out hundreds of attacks in northern
strong executive powers, including the ability to appoint
Cameroon, which shares a porous border with the group’s
and dismiss the prime minister, cabinet, judges, generals,
stronghold in northeast Nigeria. The group appears to have
and governors. Numerous parties compete in elections and
used northern Cameroon as a rear base for years before
the local press is diverse, but opposition activism is
beginning to operate more openly there in 2013. As of early
constrained by restrictions on political freedoms and the
2019, Cameroon’s Far North hosted 245,000 internally
media. Repression has escalated in the context of the Boko
displaced persons (IDPs) and 136,000 refugees from
Haram conflict and the Anglophone crisis, as authorities
have detained journalists and imposed a “climate of fear”
Nigeria, according to U.N. agencies. Cameroonian
authorities allegedly have repatriated some Nigerians by
on the media, per Reporters Without Borders.
force, in violation of international refugee conventions. The
The ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement
crisis has devastated the local economy and contributed to
(CPDM, or RDPC in French), holds 148 of 180 seats (82%)
food insecurity in an already poor and remote region.
in the National Assembly. The CPDM also holds 90% of
Cameroon—along with Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Benin—
elected seats in the Senate, in which 70 out of 100 members
is a member of an African Union-authorized Multi-National
are indirectly elected and 30 are appointed by the president.
Joint Task Force (MNJTF) to counter Boko Haram and its
Local and parliamentary elections were delayed from 2018
Islamic State-affiliated splinter group. The MNJTF has
received U.S. and other donor support. The regional force
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Cameroon
has weakened Boko Haram’s territorial control, but the
The Economy
group continues to pose a threat in Cameroon. In late 2018,
Cameroon’s economy relies heavily on primary commodity
the government announced plans for the disarmament and
exports, notably crude oil and petroleum products
reintegration of Boko Haram members and Anglophone
(including Chadian-origin oil exported via the World Bank-
militants, but the way forward remains uncertain.
financed Chad-Cameroon pipeline), timber, aluminum, and
Anglophone Crisis
agricultural products such as coffee, cocoa, and cotton.
Current-day Cameroon was formed through the merger of
Cameroon ranked 151 out of 188 countries on the 2018
French and British colonial territories in 1961; in 1972, the
U.N. Human Development Index, above many African
central government unilaterally replaced a federal system
countries. Despite several large cities and developed
with a unitary state. Northwest and Southwest provinces
infrastructure in some areas, about 70% of the labor force is
(formerly UK-held “Southern Cameroons”) remain
engaged in agriculture. Annual economic growth has
predominantly English-speaking, with distinct educational
averaged 4.3% over the past decade, not consistently
and legal systems. In 2016, Anglophones protested over
outpacing population growth. Corruption, policy barriers to
state appointments of Francophone lawyers and teachers to
trade and regional integration, fiscal mismanagement,
English-speaking areas. The government granted minor
security threats, and volatile global commodity prices are
concessions but cracked down on unrest, arresting hundreds
key challenges. Growth has suffered due to the crisis in the
(including peaceful activists, some of whom were charged
Anglophone regions, a hub for commercial agriculture.
with terrorism) and deploying the military to affected areas.
U.S. Aid and Trade
In October 2017, protesters marked the anniversary of
Most State Department- and USAID-administered bilateral
Cameroon’s 1961 unification by symbolically proclaiming
aid to Cameroon is for health programs, accounting for $59
the secession of Anglophone areas. Some groups also took
million out of $83 million in total FY2017 funding. The
up arms in the name of an independent state of Ambazonia.
balance included $24 million in Food for Peace (FFP) aid
The ensuing conflict between government forces and a
(P.L. 480 Title II) and $607,000 in International Military
fractious array of rebel groups has featured widespread
Education and Training (IMET). The Administration
abuses against civilians. Security forces have been accused
requested $44 million for health aid and $700,000 for IMET
of torture, extrajudicial killings, indiscriminate arrests, and
in FY2019, and would eliminate FFP globally.
burning of villages. Armed groups have reportedly carried
These figures exclude security aid allocated on a regional or
out assassinations, kidnappings, mutilations, and attacks on
global basis, of which Cameroon has been a significant
schools and teachers. Attackers have targeted health
recipient in recent years. Cameroon participates in the State
facilities, spurring a mounting health crisis. As of late 2018,
Department-led Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism
at least 437,000 Cameroonians were internally displaced
Partnership (TSCTP) and the military has received other
due to the conflict, with a further 29,000 living as refugees
U.S. training and equipment in support of peacekeeping
in Nigeria, per U.N. agencies. Civil society-led efforts to
deployments to CAR. Internal security forces also have
convene talks to resolve the crisis have stalled amid a lack
received sizable assistance via the State Department’s
of support from government and armed secessionists.
Counter-Terrorism Partnerships Fund. The Department of
Defense (DOD) has provided further counterterrorism aid
“The last thing we need is for the radicals in Anglophone
under its global train-and-equip authority (currently, 10
Cameroon to just add to their numbers because of the overreaction
U.S.C. 333). Cameroon also benefitted from a 2014 Boko
of the Cameroonian security forces.. I fear that [the crisis] could get
Haram-focused Global Security Contingency Fund program
much, much worse.” – U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African
administered by the State Department and DOD.
Affairs Tibor Nagy, December 6, 2018
In February 2019, citing human rights concerns, the State
Human Rights Issues
Department stated it would withhold over $17 million in
The State Department’s
planned military aid, though some would continue. Some
2017 (latest) human rights report
affected aid had been subject to congressional “holds.”
cites torture and abuse by security forces, arbitrary
DOD also has rescinded plans for a National Guard State
detentions, and violations of freedoms of expression and
Partnership Program and withheld some counterterrorism
assembly. The Department also has expressed concern over
support. In early 2019, AFRICOM Commander General
the treatment of 47 Anglophone leaders forcibly repatriated
Thomas Waldhauser told Congress that “small engagements
from Nigeria in 2018. As of early 2019, ten had been
as well as exercises” would continue, asserting that the BIR
charged with crimes punishable by death. Their continued
“have been a good partner with us counterterrorism-wise,
detention may further hinder efforts to foster negotiations.
but you can’t neglect… alleged atrocities.”
Human rights groups have documented abuses by elements
U.S. imports from Cameroon totaled $213 million in 2018,
of Cameroon’s Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite
with U.S. exports totaling $192 million. Cameroon is
military corps that receives U.S. counterterrorism support.
eligible for U.S. trade benefits under the African Growth
Amnesty International has accused the BIR of torture and
and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The two countries have a
extrajudicial killings, including at a facility in northern
bilateral investment treaty, but U.S. foreign direct
Cameroon where U.S. military personnel were reportedly
investment has fallen in recent years.
present. AFRICOM has asserted that no U.S. personnel
were implicated. Reported abuses and troop redeployments
Tomas F. Husted, Analyst in African Affairs
to the Anglophone region pose potential challenges for U.S.
Alexis Arieff, Specialist in African Affairs
security assistance, including for end-use monitoring and
congressionally mandated human rights vetting.
IF10279
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Cameroon

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