BHRC statement on Cameroon

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales has issued the following statement on the use of military courts in Cameroon:

BHRC today welcomes the release from detention in Yaounde of 54 Cameroonians from the South West and North West Anglophone regions. The individuals were on trial for alleged crimes associated with terrorist actions against the State, to which BHRC and other organisations have raised concerns. All charges have been dropped against them following a 30 August order of President Paul Biya. 

On 30 August the President of the Republic of Cameroon issued a statement discontinuing the proceedings against those who have been detained in connection with peaceful protests at the imposition of French-speaking judges and the civil law system on Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, in areas governed by Anglophone common law, as well as the French educational system. The President’s decision was said to be in line with numerous measures taken to address concerns raised by the Anglophone region and to seek a peaceful solution to the crisis, which began in October last year. 

BHRC treasurer Jodie Blackstock observed the trial of 28 accused in April, due in particular to the proceedings against leaders of the Anglophone reform movement Felix Agbor-Balla (a human rights barrister), Fontem Neba (an academic) and Mancho Bibixy (a journalist). She identified a number of serious breaches of the defendants’ fundamental rights to due process and a fair trial, including the use of military tribunals and accusations of abuse by the police. 

The prosecution has entered formal notice of abandonment of prosecutions in respect of these individuals. However, the Military Tribunal retains jurisdiction in respect of Mancho Bibixy and other individuals arrested in connection with the protests. Moreover, it has asserted the power to recommence proceedings if any new evidence is found. 

While BHRC is encouraged by the release of the detainees, we urge the President to ensure that all those connected with peaceful protest are released as soon as possible, and in the interests of finality and certainty, refrain from the threat of further proceedings for all who have been held in detention in the capital since January, many hours travel away from their families. 

Trial Observer Jodie Blackstock said, 

“These individuals have for many months been detained in poor conditions and on trial in a process unfair by international standards. We welcome their release and a return to peaceful dialogue with the Cameroonian Government towards equality of treatment in the Anglophone regions.”

Human rights jurisprudence strongly disfavors the trial of civilians by military courts. 

Labor Day Weekend 2017

UCMJ approved by Liberian Senate

The Liberian Senate has joined the lower house in approving the Uniform Code of Military Justice for the Armed Forces of Liberia, according to this report.

Australia in Afghanistan -- continuing inquiries

Liesbeth Zegveld

The Saturday Paper reports on newly available redacted documents indicating Australian authorities and the International Criminal Court have been in communication in the past over civilian deaths in Afghanistan. Thus far criminal proceedings -- which proved highly controversial -- have not been pursued, but an IG inquiry led by a civilian judge (who is also a reserve major general) is underway. Excerpt:

That military personnel and the states they serve should be properly held to account for their conduct in war zones is a driving force for Amsterdam-based human rights lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld. She has led successful criminal and civil litigation against Dutch authorities, on behalf of, among others, survivors of the 1990s Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, and the widows of Indonesian men killed by Dutch soldiers during the 1940s war of independence. 

Zegveld is currently representing a group of Afghan men whose wives and children were killed during Dutch military attacks directed against the Taliban in Uruzgan province in 2007. They allege they were told by the Dutch army to remain in their homes, which were then bombed. 

Zegveld argues that it is often not a satisfactory process to test alleged misconduct by troops against civilians through courts martial because effectively this involves “conducting a case, ruling on a case, litigating a case by peers”. 

“You have people on the bench who have similar experience and know what military are dealing with and have to deal with in a split second,” she says. “In a way that’s understandable, but if you are at the end of the day, after so many years, with no conviction you must conclude that there is a factual immunity that we are dealing with for the military. 

“I cannot believe that in all these cases, in all this use of military force, there’s never any form of criminal misbehaviour.”

The ADF has asked the public to report any information on possible Australian war crimes. Details here. 

Retaliation claim filed in Australia

According to this article in the Brisbane Times, "[t]he lawyer who led the first major review into widespread sexual and physical abuse in the Australian military says he was sacked after publicly pleading for justice for victims." Dr. Gary Rumble's case has been filed in Federal Court in Canberra.