Office of the Secretary for Human Rights
& Humanitarian Services (HHS), Buea
Ambazonia Governing Council
AGovC/HHS/No../12/18/2023
Statement by the Secretary for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of the Ambazonia Governing Council on December 17, 2023
The Secretary for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs of the Ambazonia Governing Council strongly condemns the egregious and horrifying actions of extrajudicial killings committed by the Cameroun occupation forces against innocent Ambazonian civilians in Bali on December 17, 2023.
On this date, in Bali, located in the Northern Zone of Ambazonia, the Cameroun occupational forces continued their perpetration of heinous and abhorrent human rights violations, disregarding every principle of international humanitarian and human rights laws. Our investigations revealed that the Cameroun military forces unlawfully entered a civilian establishment, specifically a bar, during the early hours of the day. They forcefully apprehended three Ambazonian civilians without cause and brutally executed them in the most horrendous manner in full view of others. One of the victims endured the inhumane and degrading act of having a limb forcefully amputated. These atrocities, along with many others committed by the Cameroun military on civilians within the Ambazonia national territory, defy all international principles and norms governing the protection and promotion of human rights, as well as the principles of various human rights treaties to which Cameroun is a signatory.
This brutal act, among many others including the Ngarbur Massacre—which claimed the lives of over 28 persons, including pregnant women and 14 innocent children, and involved the burning down of an entire community—reflects a reckless violation of fundamental principles upholding the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and every other human rights document aimed at systematically promoting and protecting human rights principles. This stands as a flagrant violation of numerous international laws and conventions:
- War Crimes: The execution of unarmed civilians constitutes a clear breach of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocol II, which strictly prohibit violence to life and person, particularly murder, cruel treatment, and torture.
- Genocide: The targeted nature of these attacks raises concerns under the United Nations Genocide Convention of 1948, specifically Article II, which prohibits acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.
- Extra-judicial Killings: The arbitrary and extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the Cameroun occupation forces violate Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which recognizes the inherent right to life and prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of life.
- Ethnic Cleansing: These atrocities are emblematic of a pattern of ethnic cleansing, a crime against humanity as outlined in Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, involving the forced expulsion or extermination of individuals based on their ethnic or national identity.
The Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Services (HHS) of the Ambazonia Governing Council vehemently condemns these egregious acts and calls upon the international community, human rights organizations, and all advocates of justice to hold the Government of Cameroun accountable for their systematic and gruesome violations of international law principles.
We urge:
Immediate intervention by the United Nations and relevant international bodies to investigate these crimes
- Immediate intervention by the United Nations and relevant international bodies to investigate these crimes and ensure justice for the victims of this heinous act and many others who have suffered the same fate at the hands of the Cameroun government.
- The enforcement of sanctions and punitive measures against those responsible for these atrocities.
- Swift and decisive action to end the ongoing human rights abuses and violence perpetrated against the people of Ambazonia by the Cameroun occupation forces.
- Invocation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) Ambazonians, as outlined in the United Nations General Assembly resolution in paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document, to prevent and halt atrocities committed by Cameroun occupation forces in Ambazonia, and to provide adequate assistance and protection to Ambazonian civilians.
The Ambazonia Governing Council remains resolute in its commitment to upholding human rights, justice, and the dignity of all Ambazonian citizens and every other human being resident in Ambazonia.
Signed.
Raymond Akoson
AGovC Secretary of the HHS
E-mail: [email protected] | +1-614-377-0445
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