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Prevention, by raising awareness among women who practise FGM, about
violation of the rights of their victims as well as their physical integrity; also,
among traditional and religious leaders through workshops;
Care for victims by providing - psychosocial, financial and material support to
help in their rehabilitation and enable them to engage in an income-generating
activity;
Punishing perpetrators of FGM. To this end, the Ministry of Justice had
proposed an amendment to the Penal Code to introduce punitive measures
against FGM; this has still not taken effect.
F. Children from Minority Groups (Article 26)
1. Indigenous Populations and Communities
In Cameroon, instead of the terms “indigenous peoples or tribes” used
internationally to refer to categories of people whose way of life is different from that of
most people, the concept of “marginal populations” is increasingly becoming the preferred
term of the Ministry of Social Affairs‟, department responsible for providing support to
vulnerable classes and combating social exclusion.
Practically, there is currently no consensual definition of the notion of so-called
marginal populations. They are part and parcel of the Cameroonian population. However,
they are set apart by their peculiar history, culture and essential and existential cultural
patterns.
Their cultural practices, mobility and social distribution are making these people lag
behind the institutional way of life. Their social status is due to their departure from the
normal way of life, their dogged attachment to their own age-old way of life, which is out of
sync with modernity.
While there are several socio-anthropological categories considered as marginal
peoples, the pygmies (Baka and Bakola/Bagyéli) and the Mbororos appear principally to
be indigenous to Cameroon as defined by the United Nations.
However, the reconstruction and development association of the Moko-oh, a
minority people of the North-West, has become affiliated with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC) to advocate for status as an indigenous people.
The social needs of the marginal populations can be summed up under seven main
areas: