Non-arbitrarily Expulsion of Foreigners and its Application under Cameroonian Law
Keywords:
Non-arbitrariry-Expulsion-Foreigners-Application-Cameroonian-LawAbstract
The protection of foreigners’ right in any given society is an essential factor in preserving and respecting the identity and dignity of such persons. In order to protect foreigners’ status and rights, there is that necessity for the country in question to implements its laws through the enhancement of it's competent institutions vested with powers in protecting these foreigners taking up residence in their respective territories. The State of Cameroon has contributed immensely in ensuring that laws enacted for the protection of foreigners entering,, staying, and exiting its territory should be offered some degree of implementation when dealing with foreigner’s rights and status. These respected laws put into place will not only be a ground for human right protection of foreigners’, but also act as a tool in enhancing proper implementation of such laws enacted even though some lapses can be identified in the laws. Enacting laws, conceiving policies, and creating institutions to enhance and protect foreigners is one thing, implementing, and enforcing these laws is another. The government of Cameroon is responsible for the protection of foreigners residing in their territory by providing the foreigners that maximum protection in all spheres of necessities. The foreigner should be able in enjoying a minimum protection while residing it the territory, and under no circumstance should such a person be expelled arbitrarily by the country of resident without any justifiable cause. This paper thus analyses that though the government of Cameroon has initiated and embraced laudable efforts in seeing that those residing in its territory are given that maximum protection and prohibiting all manners of expulsion of such persons, there are lots of discriminatory practices experienced which have thus provoked some aspect of arbitrarily expulsion of foreigners in Cameroon.
References
1. These are ordinary, diplomatic, service and special passports.
2. Law No. 68 -LF of 11 June 1968 organising the system of requisitioning provides in its section 13 the possibility of requisitioning persons and properties. Decree No. 68 -DF-417 of 15 October 1968 fixes modalities for its application. In this regard, persons and prope rties can be requisitioned under specific legal conditions. Besides, in case of illegal requisitioning, appeals can be taken and the possibility of obtaining compensation.
3. Order No. 3962 -A-MTPT of 23 July 1991 regulating the stopping and impounding of vehicles with specifies cases where the personnel of the Ministry of Transport can stop vehicles belonging to private individuals.
4. Judgment No. 337 -Cor of 21 February 1997.
5. Section 635 on the 2005 of the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code defin ing Extradition as a situation whereby a requested state hands over a foreigner found in its territory to a requesting state in order that he be prosecuted for one or more specific offences of ordinary law or to subject him toa term of imprisonment passed against him after a criminal trials for an offence of ordinary law.
6. Ibid, Section 645 (2) (a) of the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code
7. Ibid, Section 645(2) (b) of the Code
8. Section 645(d) of the Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code
9. On the 8 October 2012, 2 pol ice officers NDAM IBRAHIM and NDAM AMADOU illegally arrested a refugee from Equatorial Guinea and made him to return to his country. By Decisions No. 0000348/DGSN/CAB and No. 0000349 /DGSN/CAB of 17 October 2008, the Delegate general of National Security suspended the said officers for period of three months.
10. Section 8 of the Cameroon refugee Law
11. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration on Human Right, read alongside with article 13 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 12(3) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples right, Guiding Principle 2 and 15. And article 22(7) of the American Convention on Human Right.
12. Loizidou v. Turkey, ECHR, Judgment of 18 Dec. 1996 (Merits),Reports of Judgments and Decisions 1996 -VI, no. 26.the Court found that the claimant's loss of control over property in Northern Cyprus was imputable under Article 1 ECHR to the occupant power (Turkey). On the issue of jurisdiction, was seen and the court held that Loizidou have the right to own property because Turkey have an effective occupation over Northern Cyprus and Mrs Loizidou was a resident there.
13. This chaos or insecurity started in January 2013 which lead to the ousting of President Francoise Bozzize from power
14. BBC News on the 15 th of April 2013 at 18:00 GMT
15. Section 132(a) of the Cameroon Penal Code punishes torture. This section is complemented by other sections such as assault occasioning grievous harm (section 279); simple harm (section 280); slight harm (section 281); assault on woman with child (sec tion 338); indecency to minor between sixteen and twenty -one (section 347); assault on children (section 350); assault on ascendant (section 351); and act of violence (section 370 (1)).
16. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour as to the 2016 Country R eports on NJCL (2020) 8–16 © Law Journals 2020. All Rights Reserved Page 16 Human Rights Practices. Report February 27, 2016.
17. Report on the Country Human Rights Practices 2016
18. On the 8 October 2008, 2 police officers (NDAM IBRAHIM and NDAM AMADOU) illegally arrested a refugee from Equatorial Guinea and made him to return to his country. By Decisions No. 0000348/DGSN/CAB and No. 0000349/DGSN/CAB of 17 October 2008, the Delegate general of National Security suspended the said officers for period of three months.
19. Section 8 of the same law
20. Ibid, Section 33(1) of the 1951 Ref ugee Convention which talks about the principles of non-refoulement
21. September 2018, through a communiqué from the ministry of territorial administration demanding refugee residing in Cameroon to returned back to their country of origin
22. Article 9 International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, Article 5 European Convention on Human Right, Article 6 Africa Charter on Human and People Rights, Article 7 America Convention on Human Right, Articles I and XXV ADRDM, Article 14 ACHR.
23. Standard Minim um Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR), rule 38(1); Bangkok Rules, rule 53.
24. SMR, rule 38 (2); Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, UNGA RES.43/173 , 9 December 1988, Principle16.2.
25. Ordinance No 32/PR/2011, 4 October 2011, article 36 of Chad.
26. Law No. 2005/006 of 27 July 2005 relating to the status of refugees
27. The Human Right Reports on the Practice of Human Right in Cameroon, Chad, and Gabon, 2012.
28. These include Law No. 97/012 of 10 th January 1997 laying down the condition for foreigners to enter, stay and exit in Cameroon; Law No.97/010 of 10 th January 1997 amending and supplementing certain provisions of the law on extradition and Law No. 1999/14 of 22 nd December 1999 governing non-governmental organization. We equally have Law No. 2004/016 of 22nd July 2004 setting the organization and functioning of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedom and its enabling Instruments to law No. 2005/254 of 7th July 2005 and Law No. 2005/ 006 of 27th July 2005 relating to the status of Refugees in Cameroon.
29. Ibid, the 1990 Migrants Workers Convention Cite this Article Nana Charles Nguindip, Fon Fielding Forsuh. Non-arbitrarily Expulsion of Foreigners and its Application under Cameroonian Law . National Journal of Criminal Law. 2020; 3(1): 8–16p.
