Emergency regimes in Cameroon : derogations or failures of law?

Abstract

The article engages with the issue of emergency regimes in Cameroon and compliance with the international standards on that matter. Emergency regimes which entail human rights violation and infringement of the rule of law have become over the years an essential technique of government in Cameroon. Authorities are inclined to invoke such regimes more in times of democratic competition than in times of real external threat. With emergency regimes being organised by a set of international instruments mainly from a treaty-based system, the study focuses on the scale of compliance of the Cameroon emergency system with such international standards. These standards amount to a set of principles that states should comply with when confronted by emergency situations. For example, the UN Charter compels state parties to respect and protect human rights in all circumstances. With Cameroon being subject to international law and to its international commitments towards state and non-state actors, this article questions whether emergency regimes as currently designed in the country are mere derogations or failures of law.