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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country Summary

The Republic of Cameroon originally declared that there were no mined areas under its jurisdiction or control, and its first Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline expired in 2013. However, since 2014, victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have caused casualties, particularly in northern districts along the border with Nigeria. The extent of contamination is unknown, but is believed to be small. Cameroon has yet to report and clarify on the extent of contamination from improvised mines.

Since 2016, Cameroon has experienced a protracted conflict, opposing anglophone separatists in the Northwest and Southwest regions and the francophone government. The conflict intensified in 2020, causing the displacement of 560,000 people, and impeding access to basic services and the provision of humanitarian assistance.[1] Increased use of IEDs in both regions has been reported.[2] The Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria has also spilled over into Cameroon’s Far North region, mainly due to proximity and the porosity of borders between the two countries. The United Nations (UN) has reported indications of the transfer of components and methodologies in the use of IEDs between the two countries.[3]

The total number of casualties from mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) in Cameroon is not known. From 2014–2020, the Monitor recorded 193 casualties. The majority of casualties were caused by improvised mines, though media reports generally did not specify the initiation mechanism of the devices, which could clarify whether they were in effect antipersonnel mines.

Cameroon does not have a functioning mine action program, but state security forces have been trained in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) by France, Russia, and the United States (US). Cameroon did not report any risk education activities in 2020. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) continued to support the only hospital providing surgical services in Logone-et-Chari department, Far North region.

Treaty Status

Treaty status overview

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty, Cameroon was required to destroy all antipersonnel landmines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 March 2013. Despite reports of improvised mine incidents in recent years, Cameroon has not reported on the contamination nor requested an extension to its Article 5 deadline.

Cameroon is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions. In its initial Article 7 transparency report, it stated that there were no areas contaminated by cluster munition remnants in territory under its jurisdiction or control.[4]

Cameroon signed, but did not ratify, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2008.

Management and Coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Cameroon does not have a functioning mine action program. According to the 2021 report of the UN Secretary-General on “Assistance in Mine Action,” the in-country Protection Cluster coordinator requested the establishment of a Mine Action Area of Responsibility in Cameroon in response to the escalating threat to civilians and humanitarian workers posed by IEDs.[5]

In June 2021, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) highlighted the “urgent need for awareness raising on risk education in schools, and sensitization of community members particularly school children and caregivers, on improvised explosive devices (IED) risk and mitigation measures.”[6]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview

Note: IED=improvised explosive device.

Landmine contamination

The extent of mine contamination in Cameroon is unknown. There are no legacy minefields in Cameroon, and incidents related to ERW were reported infrequently.[7] Since 2014, improvised mines have caused casualties, particularly in the Northwest, Southwest, and Far North regions. Yet it is not clear whether these devices meet the definition of improvised antipersonnel mines. Cameroonian military officials reported in 2015 that “huge” numbers of landmines had been planted by Boko Haram along Cameroon’s border with Nigeria, posing a threat to civilians, livestock, and soldiers. They also reported recurrent use of landmines along the road between Kerawa and Kolofata, targeting military vehicles.[8] The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) has identified use of improvised mines in Cameroon since 2016.[9]

In 2020, there continued to be reports of casualties from mines of unspecified types, improvised mines, and ERW in Cameroon.[10]

Reports for 2020–2021 by media and humanitarian organizations showed that the IED trigger mechanisms used were diverse and included body-borne IEDs carried by women and children, command-detonated IEDs, and antivehicle and antipersonnel improvised mines.[11]

The use of IEDs in Cameroon has resulted in military, police, and civilian victims, and poses a risk to humanitarian personnel. IEDs and improvised mines impede access to basic services and livelihoods, and posed a particular threat to internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and returnees, who had fled to unfamiliar areas or returned to their areas of residency without being aware or informed about contamination.[12]

Cross-border contamination

Between August 2019 and July 2021, there were “indications of the transfer of components and methodologies for the usage of improvised explosive devices across borders and regions between Cameroon and Nigeria which underscored the need for a regional and multidisciplinary response.”[13]

Casualties

Casualties overview[14]

Note: ERW=explosive remnants of war.

Casualties in 2020: details

The Monitor recorded 32 mine/ERW casualties in Cameroon in 2020, down from 43 in 2019. In 2020, civilians represented 78% of annual casualties, up from 48% in 2019.

There is no data on total mine/ERW casualties in Cameroon. Since 2014, the Monitor recorded 193 casualties (81 killed, 112 injured). While most media reports did not specify the mine type involved in each incident, several incidents caused by improvised mines were reported in 2014 and from 2017–2020.[15]

Addressing the Impact

Mine action

Operators and service providers

Cameroon has two national clearance operators: the Military Engineer Corps, and the military police or “gendarmerie,” which was reported by UNMAS in April 2017 to be developing EOD capacity. A capacity for battle area clearance and spot tasks was also reported to be required.[16]

From June 2018 to June 2019, more than 1,400 members of Cameroon’s security forces were trained in EOD by the Francophone International Police Training Network (Réseau international francophone de formation policière, FRANCOPOL).[17] This followed the earlier training of 25 Cameroonian soldiers by the French and the US militaries in Level 4 EOD, from March–April 2018.[18] Since 2015, Cameroon was reported to have received demining and EOD training and equipment from Russia and the US.[19]

In June 2021, 14 military sappers, including one woman, completed training in IED disposal.[20]

Clearance

Land release overview

Cameroon must clarify the nature and extent of landmine contamination, including improvised mines, and may be required to request an extension to its clearance deadline in line with its Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 obligations.

It is not known if, or to what extent, clearance or EOD has been undertaken in affected areas. At the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, also known as the Fourth Committee, of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in October 2019, Cameroon appealed for international support to increase its mine clearance and technical survey capacity.[21]

In May 2021, following an increase in IED incidents in the Northwest and Southwest regions, Cameroon’s Minister of Defense said special troops were being deployed to detect and destroy IEDs.[22]

Risk education

Cameroon did not report any risk education activities in 2020.

In its 2016–2017 Protection Strategy, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identified the need to assess the situation related to mines—including improvised mines—and develop a risk education strategy for the Far North region to benefit refugees and displaced populations, as well as host communities.[23] The total number of displaced persons in Cameroon increased from 60,000 in December 2014 to 560,000 in October 2020.[24] In June 2021, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which was leading the Child Protection Area of Responsibility under the Protection Cluster for Cameroon, called for the prioritization of risk education in schools and communities.[25]

Local and host communities were exposed to the risk of explosive ordnance in conflict-affected areas, while internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees were either moving in areas they were unfamiliar with or were unaware of new contamination. IDPs and refugees were difficult to reach due to the unpredictability of their movements, including to areas which could not be easily accessed by humanitarian operators due to insecurity.[26]

Victim assistance

There is no victim assistance program in Cameroon. In 2020, ICRC continued to support health structures; but insecurity, a government-imposed curfew, and the COVID-19 pandemic limited access to health services.[27] The Mada Hospital was the only facility providing surgical services in Logone-et-Chari department, Far North region. ICRC supported the hospital with training, supplies, equipment, and by covering the cost of surgery for patients. ICRC also provided technical and material support to six primary healthcare centers in the Far North region, despite ongoing insecurity.[28]