The Protection of the Rights of Juveniles under Cameroon Criminal Procedure Code: The Case of the Borstal Institute of Buea

Abstract

Protecting the rights of a Juvenile is a very sensitive area as far as the juvenile justice is concerned. The aspiration to protect the human dignity of all human beings is at the core of the human right concept. After political independence and reunification, differences continued to exist in the administration of juvenile justice in Cameroon until the enactment of the CPC in 2005. More than 40 years after the creation of reformation centers for juvenile offenders in Cameroon, there have been an increase in the number of juvenile offenders in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. However, the Borstal Institute Buea remains the only reformation Center for juvenile offenders in the Region. With dedicated juvenile justice systems absent in Cameroon, young people caught breaking the law often end up in detention centers inappropriate for their ages and development and as such, will not increase the likelihood of their reintegration into society. Our main objective will be to examine the effectiveness of the Borstal Institute of Buea in protecting the rights of juveniles. In order to attain this objective, the following questions are posed to wit; How effective are the rights of juveniles protected in the Borstal Institute of Buea? What are the mechanisms adopted to protect the rights of juveniles in the Borstal Institute of Buea? What are the difficulties encountered by the Borstal Institute of Buea in protecting the rights of juveniles? What recommendations could be advanced to help guarantee a better protection of the rights of juveniles in the Borstal Institute of Buea? The paper assumes that, a good juvenile justice system with a well-equipped Borstal Institute would ensure an effective protection of the rights of the juveniles. We will make use of a combination of methodologies of doctrinal and empirical research methods. Relevant laws, books and articles of some authors will be examined to better elucidate on our topic. A field work will be carried out at the institute to identify the mechanisms used and problems faced in the protection of the rights of the inmates. Some of the problems affecting the effective and efficient protection of the rights of juveniles in the Borstal Institute of Buea discussed are; lack of juvenile courts and COVID 19. Also, we will see problems such as; lack of adequate follow-up, the Anglophone crisis, lack of equipment, old and dilapidated infrastructures, just to name a few. Our paper recommends inter alia that the respect of international standards in the protection of the rights of juveniles deprived of their liberties should be respected and that the government should try to put an end to the Anglophone crisis and renovate the structures and equipment of the institute to improve on the protection of the rights of juveniles in the Borstal Institute of Buea.