Cameroon, Zimbabwe urged to end enforced disappearances

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

Amnesty International urged Cameroonian authorities on Tuesday to stop using its fight against Boko Haram militants to justify its blatant violations of human rights.

The rights watchdog also said the country’s authorities should provide answers about the whereabouts of 130 people still unaccounted for 20 months after they were arrested in a crackdown on suspected Boko Haram members.

In a statement made to mark the International Day of victims of Enforced Disappearances, Amnesty International West and Central Africa Regional Director Alioune Tine, said: “The government’s continued failure to reveal their whereabouts adds insult to injury to the families who have already waited a long time for news of their loved ones.”

Tine said the missing people were among more than 200 arrested during a cordon-and-search operation in villages in the Northern region of Cameroon two years ago.

“Of those arrested, at least 25 died in custody on the night of the arrests, with another 45 transferred to Maroua prison the day after. Three have died since due to dire conditions in detention,” he said.

The International Day of victims of Enforced Disappearances is marked annually on August 30, with the aim of drawing attention to the plight of people imprisoned in places unknown to their relatives or the public.

Zimbabwe

According to Amnesty, governments around the world are consistently using enforced disappearances to secure their power and silence opposition or critics.

“The enforced disappearance of government critics has become standard practice in Zimbabwe,” the rights group noted.

Amnesty said it was now over a year since they wrote to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe informing him about the disappearance of one of his prominent critics, Itai Dzamara.

“Amnesty International is renewing its call for the Zimbabwean government to establish a commission of inquiry into his case.”

The group said Dzamara had not been seen since last March while government was yet respond to the disappearance.

Kenya

Amnesty also said enforced disappearances have become commonplace in Kenya, where despite compelling evidence, authorities continue to deny the problem is systemic.

This month a Kenya High Court found that human rights lawyer Willie Kimani, his client and their taxi driver who were executed by police were subjected to enforced disappearances.

“Amnesty International has called for the formation of a judicial commission of inquiry to investigate cases of enforced disappearance and for the establishment of a comprehensive accountability framework consistent with international human rights standards."

* Felix Nkambeh Tih contributed to this story from Ankara.