The Protection of Civilians in the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: An Overview of the Responsibilities of State and Non-State Armed Groups

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue II, February 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Protection of Civilians in the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: An Overview of the Responsibilities of State and Non-State Armed Groups

Johnson Sambitla Tita Fangmbung¹, Teke Johnson Takwa², Monjowa Christiana Lyonga^3
 1PhD student in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building, Atlantic International University Honolulu, USA
²Central Bureau for Censuses and Population Studies, P.O. Box 12932 Yaounde-Cameroon
³Pan-African Institute for Development West-Africa (PAID-WA), Buea

Abstract:- This study examines the protection of civilians in the armed conflict hit Anglophone regions of Cameroon taking into cognizance the laws, principles and customs that protect civilians and/or civilian property during situations of armed conflicts. The study seeks to identify the extent to which the belligerents have violated international laws, principles and customs in the conduct of hostilities vis-à-vis the protection of civilians and civilian property. It equally involves a review of the historical processes that caused what could have possibly passed on as peaceful protests by lawyers and teachers in 2016 into protracted armed hostilities between government forces and an emerging loosely connected network of non-state armed groups popular called the Amba boys. Hostilities between the government forces and the Amba boys have seen thousands of lives lost, people injured, populations displaced, properties destroyed, and countless human right abuses. Information for the study was collected from primary and secondary sources and analyzed descriptively. It was found out that commitment to protect the civilian population or non-combatants in the North West and the South West regions of Cameroon fall short of what is stipulated under International Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. However, while some of the harm caused to the civilian population from both sides appear deliberate, it is true that a lot more is being lost in terms of lives and property unintentionally because the Amba boys live and operate within communities with civilians. Therefore, it is mandated in humanitarian law among other things that, civilians should be distinguished from combatants and protection of civilians and/or civilian property should be primordial to belligerents in the conduct of hostilities.

Keywords: Protection of civilians, civilian casualty, Anglophone crisis, armed conflict, human rights, humanitarian law.

I. INTRODUCTION

Protection of civilians is the quintessence of international humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the law of armed conflicts, the law of war or simply, humanitarian law. It is a core component of public international law which comprises of rules that seek to restrict the means and method of warfare and as well protect people who are not or no longer taking part in hostilities such as prisoners of war (POW), camp workers, former combatants or wounded/sick combatants who are categorized to be hors de combat.

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