TOPIC: A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF

WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN CAMEROON

Our common humanity demands an acceptance of a duty of care by all of us who live in safety
towards those who are trapped in zones of danger. In the vacuum of responsibility for the safety
and security of vulnerable persons at the risk of mass atrocities, the protection of women and
children by the national and international community becomes imminent 1. In recent decades,
armed conflicts have taken the lives of millions of civilians most especially women and children.
Serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are common in many
armed conflicts. In certain circumstances, some of these violations may even constitute genocide,
war crimes or crimes against humanity. In modern wars and armed conflicts, children are
extensively affected and also actively involved. Considering the vulnerable nature of children,
they are highly likely to be deeply affected by armed conflicts. They are exposed to challenging
circumstances as well as they become the direct victims of conflicts. Women and Children
suffer not only from the lack of basic needs, such as food and shelter, but also from violence and
exploitation. The lack of effective protection of children and women is one of the most common
violations of the international human rights law during armed conflicts. Children’s rights were
first recognized worldwide by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Children
(1989) as well as women in armed conflict.

The violations of the rights of women and children especially have been remarkable during the
Anglophone crisis. It is worth noting that the rights of these set of people have been guaranteed
by several international instruments as well as National instruments.

The unrest in the two Anglophone regions of Cameroon has also led to the displacement of over
half a million people with children suffering the most. Despite Cameroons adherence to several
Human Rights treaties and inculcation of Human Rights principles in the Preamble of the 1996
Constitution and its amendments, violations of Human Rights in general and rights of women
and children has rather been on the increase, especially in the North West region of Cameroon.

To this effect, this research seeks to examine the effectiveness of the laws on the protection of
women and children in Cameroon. How effective is the Law on the protection of women and
children in Cameroon? To answer this question, this research is carried out under the
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presumption that the laws on the protection of women and children in Cameroon are ineffective.
To confirm this hypothesis, this research adopts a mixed designed, using both exploratory and
descriptive design. This is because it involved investigating previous studies (doctrinal) and
getting information from key victims of Human Rights violations in the field (empirical).
Findings of the research reveal that the protection of women and children during the Anglophone
crisis has been escalated by the fact that there is Deepening Insecurity and Inaccessibility to the
conflict driven areas in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Displacement of the vulnerable
population making identification of actual situation very difficult, Ineffective Accountability by
the Government for Human Rights Violations, as well as Government clamp down on Human
Rights Organizations. This has greatly hindered the effective protection of women and children
while guaranteeing their basic rights as per the Law. It is therefore recommended among others
that, there is need for the Reformation of the Legal Framework for Effective Implementation of
Human Rights Instruments, Accountability and Ending Impunity for Human Rights Violations of
women and children, and Forming strategic partnerships to enhance practical protection, while
visualizing proactive instead of reactive protection of women and children.