Mr. Chair and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to testify before you regarding the ongoing armed conflict in Cameroon and the possible contribution that Canada could make towards ending the conflict while tackling the real and legitimate grievances of anglophones.
I'll be making my opening statement in English, but I would be happy to answer questions in English or French, as needed.
I just want to connect to the presentation by Professor Garry and update with regard to the number of children who are now out of school. The number as of today has gone up from 800,000 kids to 1.1 million kids.
Because she spoke about the status report, I'll go straight to the causes. The root causes of this crisis can be summarized in the botched reunification on October 1, 1961, of the former British Southern Cameroons with the Republic of Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Over the years, this has been aggravated. In fact, during the past 60 years by a bad-faith effort by the francophone-led central government to assimilate the anglophone minority into the francophone majority. Since October 1, 1961, Cameroon has known only two presidents, both francophones and strong proponents of a highly centralized Jacobin system of government.
Hence, the frustration and disaffection of anglophones has grown for decades, driven in large part by government actions, including, first, the May 1972 abolition of the Federal Republic of Cameroon and adoption of the United Republic of Cameroon. Second is the February 1984 reversion of the country's name from the United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon, which coincides with the territory that obtained independence from France on January 1, 1960. Third is the October 1992 first competitive presidential election in Cameroon's history, with a contested outcome in which an anglophone was declared the runner-up whereas he and many of his supporters felt that he had won the race. Fourth, the April 2008 constitutional amendment undid presidential term limits and allowed the current President Paul Biya to serve as president for life.
What are my major concerns today? I have three.
I would like to draw the committee's attention to those concerns. One is the government's inclination to use the military and brute force to resolve the otherwise genuine, legitimate political grievances of anglophones. Two is the continuous poisoning of minds and furtherance of disaffection and polarization because of the killings and atrocities currently being perpetrated in former British Southern Cameroons. Three is the lukewarm attitude of the international community, beyond a few declarations and now Senate Resolution 684 of the United States, adopted on January 1, 2021.
I have recommendations.
Honourable Chairman, members of the committee, Canada is in a unique position to contribute to an end to the armed conflict and the search for a negotiated solution that addresses the root causes. Canada has a proud history of managing cultural diversity and heritage, and peacemaking. Canada is the only country that, like Cameroon, sits on both the Commonwealth of Nations and the Francophonie. It has mutually respectful relationships across Africa and with European countries that it could leverage and galvanize to help end the killings and atrocities being committed today in Cameroon.
I therefore submit the following recommendations for your consideration.
First, call for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, and a public commitment by the Government of Cameroon and non-state actors to negotiations with third party facilitation.
Second, use your good offices to engage France so she can leverage her privileged position with the Government of Cameroon to get them to commit to peace negotiations to bring an end to the conflict and address its root causes.
Third is to adopt targeted sanctions against the perpetrators of mass killings, torture and other atrocities in the ongoing conflict.
Fourth is to use Canada's position on multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the African Development Bank and even NATO to ensure that resources granted to Cameroon for development purposes are not diverted to execute a war against a people whose only crime is to be a minority with a distinct history and genuine political grievances.
Thank you for your time and attention.