613- Activities prohibited in some conventions adopted under the auspices of the International
Maritime Organization (IMO)361 were integrated into the national law as per Law No.
2017/12 of 12 July 2017 to lay down the Code of Military Justice. In addition to sanctions, the
law also consolidated the rules of procedure on counter-terrorism. The normative mechanism
also took into account the circulation of arms. In this regard, in addition to the Kinshasa
Convention already referred to above, Law No. 2016/15 of 14 December 2016 to lay down
general weapons and ammunition regulations in Cameroon was enacted. Besides, there is
Regulation No. 1/CEMAC/UMAC/CM of 11 April 2016 on prevention and suppression of
money laundering and financing of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction in Central Africa.
B: Operational Dimension of Guaranteeing Peace and Security
614- In a bid to respond to the nature of security challenges already discussed above, the State
reorganised the military and security mechanism with regard to territorial coverage (territorial
command) and staff deployment. The Decrees signed by the President of the Republic in 2018
to reorganise the national army and to appoint officials in the Ministry of Defence amended
Decree No. 2014/308 of 14 August 2014. The said decrees organise the Cameroon Armed
Forces in the following 5 Military Regions: Douala, Maroua, Garoua, Bamenda, and
Yaounde, the command post.
615- The deployment of Defence and Security Forces on the field helped reduce the
destructive capacity of Boko Haram. The results obtained were first, the fruits of collaboration
with the people especially within the framework of the Vigilante Committees. Second, they
were the fruits of combined efforts with other States of the Subregion as part of police
cooperation or within the framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC). In this
regard, the Multinational Joint Task Force was established under the auspices of the LCBC
and with the support of the African Union, the United Nations and other partners. As part of
bilateral cooperation, Cameroon received support in terms of military equipment, operational
capacity development of her Defence Forces especially from the United States of America,
China, France, Russia and Germany.
616- In a bid to recognise such efforts, a Delegation comprising Ambassadors from 15
member countries of the UN Security Council visited Cameroon from 2 to 7 March 2017 as
part of an evaluation mission of the situation on the ground, including progress made and
challenges in combating Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin. The mission recommended a
global counter-terrorism approach.
617- With regard to the crisis in North West and South West Regions, the deployment of
Defence and Security Forces also helped contain attacks from secessionist groups that
gradually resorted to armed violence as a mode of advocacy.
618- In all the cases of insecurity management, orders were constantly and regularly given by
the Minister of Defence to respect military discipline and Human Rights as part of the
response of Defence and Security Forces. Allegations of Human Rights violation reported to
the authorities were investigated and in some cases resulted in the prosecution of their authors
before the courts as mentioned above (right to life, § 28 et al.).
Convention on the marking of plastic explosives for the purpose of detection adopted on 1 March 1991. It
entered into force on 21 June 1998, and Cameroon ratified it on 3 June 1998
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Convention for the suppression of unlawful acts of violence against the safety of maritime navigation adopted
on 10 March 1988. It entered into force on 1 March 1992. It was amended by a Protocol adopted on 14 October
2005. Cameroon is still to ratify the Convention and its Protocol.
Protocol for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the continental
shelf, adopted on 10 March 1988. It entered into force on 1 March 1992. It was also amended by a Protocol on
14 October 2005. Cameroon has not yet ratified the Protocol.
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