International Mechanism Submissions

This report addresses Cameroon’s compliance with its human rights obligations concerning people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTIQ+) individuals. The Government of Cameroon criminalizes same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults and criminalizes communications regarding sexual propositions of individuals of the same-sex.1 The Government of Cameroon has not taken concrete steps towards repealing the articles criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults from the Criminal Code, nor has to the Government called for a moratorium on its enforcement.

LGBTIQ+ people face violence from State actors. Police continue to arbitrarily arrest, harass, and threaten members of the LGBTIQ+ community. There is no evidence that the Government investigates reports and allegations of torture by law enforcement on the LGBTIQ+ community. The police participate in or condone attacks on LGBTIQ+ people.

LGBTIQ+ people also face violence from non-State actors. Community members subject LGBTIQ+ people to manhunts and group attacks. They threaten, harass, and attack LGBTIQ+ people with physical and sexual violence. While there was a case of the Government of Cameroon upholding a conviction for an attack of an intersex person, there appear to be no other cases of the Government investigating and holding non-State actors criminally liable for attacks against LGBTIQ+ people. Many LGBTIQ+ people who experience violence do not report it for fear of being arrested and further victimized.