Torture under Cameroonian Law: An appraisal of the prison sector

Torture is universally prohibited under international Human Rights law, Humanitarian law and has attained the status of customary international law. As such, all states are under an obligation to prevent its occurrence. It is on this premise that the state of Cameroon in 2019 commissioned the Cameroon Human Rights Commission with a third mandate to prevent acts of torture in places of detention and there are equally the constitutional prohibitions on torture. Ironically, the state of Cameroon remains the principal perpetrator of acts of torture in places of detention, thus questioning her responsibility in preventing such acts and her efforts of accountability for individuals who commit acts of torture. This paper makes a perusal of the practice of torture in Cameroon with attention of prisons. It attempts to present perspectives on the prohibition of torture, the forms it takes in detention places, and analyses different legal frameworks prohibiting torture in Cameroon. The paper opines that where states are primary perpetrators of acts of torture, most acts of torture go undocumented and unaccounted for. That the state restricts access to detention places where torture is practice and very little or no investigations are carried out. This is a clear characteristic of societies where there is no rule of law, coupled with barbaric human rights violations. The paper recommends that Cameroon must not only assume her human rights obligations in preventing torture but must hold individuals accountable for committing acts of torture in prisons.