The government increased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. The 2011 anti-trafficking law criminalized some forms of sex trafficking and all forms of labor trafficking. Inconsistent with international law, Cameroon’s legal framework continued to require a demonstration of force, fraud, or coercion to constitute a child sex trafficking crime, and therefore did not criminalize all forms of child sex trafficking. The law prescribed penalties of 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 1 million Central African francs (CFA) ($84 to $1,690), which were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to some forms of sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. If the trafficking crime involved a victim who was 15 or younger, the penalties increased to 15 to 20 years in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 10 million CFA ($170 to $16,850). The law prescribed separate penalties for debt bondage, which ranged from five to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 to 500,000 CFA ($17 to $840) and were also sufficiently stringent. The law was published in French and English, the two official languages of the government. The English version conflated trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling crimes by referring to trafficking in persons crimes, as defined under international law, as “slavery in persons,” while referring to migrant smuggling-related offenses as “trafficking in persons.” Increasing the potential for conflating migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons, Article 342-1 of Cameroon’s 2016 Penal Code prohibited both “trafficking in persons” and “slavery in persons.” Legislation drafted in 2012 to address victim and witness protection and correct inconsistencies with international law remained pending for the eleventh consecutive year.
Although law enforcement officials investigated and prosecuted trafficking crimes, the government did not maintain a centralized law enforcement data collection system on trafficking crimes. The lack of synchronized law enforcement efforts between the national police and the gendarmerie continued to hinder the government’s ability to disaggregate national human trafficking statistics, and likely resulted in underreported anti-trafficking statistics. The government investigated 392 cases. This compared with 44 cases investigated in 2022. The government reported initiating prosecutions of nine alleged traffickers in seven cases. This compared with prosecuting 19 alleged traffickers in an unknown number of cases in 2022. Courts convicted four traffickers with sentences ranging from three to 25 years’ imprisonment. This compared with three convictions under Section 342 (1) in 2022; all three convicted traffickers were sentenced to 20 years in prison. The national police and the gendarmerie were responsible for investigating trafficking crimes; the government did not have a dedicated unit responsible for investigating trafficking crimes. Observers assessed a dedicated unit could help strengthen law enforcement efforts and increase the number of trafficking cases referred for prosecution. In partnership with an international organization, the government established “child desks,” staffed by police trained by an international organization to respond to trafficking and related crimes involving children, in local police stations in the Northwest and Southwest regions. In addition, observers reported some police and gendarmerie stations have designated “gender desks,” staffed by officers with similar training, to identify victims of gender-based violence (GBV), including trafficking victims. Authorities continued to report ongoing insecurity in the Far North Region, as well as armed violence in the Northwest and Southwest regions, impeded law enforcement’s ability to comprehensively investigate trafficking crimes. Officials continued to report some potential cases did not move forward to prosecution because victims chose not to participate in court proceedings due to the lack of available victim-witness assistance and fear of reprisal. Due to the lack of protections and the protracted nature of criminal justice proceedings, some victims chose to settle potential trafficking cases outside the formal court system. Additionally, funding and resources for law enforcement officials remained insufficient, hindering overall anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts.
The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action. Cameroonian Armed Forces recruited and used child soldiers in support roles, including children younger than the age of 15. The government did not report efforts to investigate prior allegations of government security forces sexually exploiting women in the Southwest Region or forcibly recruiting community members in the Far North Region to stand watch against Boko Haram incursions. However, observers reported the government took some disciplinary actions against security forces accused of sexually assaulting children, which may have included sex trafficking victims, resulting in one prosecution. In June 2021, the Department of State suspended for five years the A-3 visa sponsorship privileges afforded to Cameroon bilateral mission members because the government declined to waive diplomatic immunity for U.S. criminal proceedings involving mistreatment of a domestic worker and has not initiated its own prosecution. Between 2017 and 2019, a Cameroonian diplomat posted in the United States engaged in alleged criminal violations related to human trafficking. Because of diplomatic immunity, the United States could not commence prosecution, and the Government of Cameroon declined to waive immunity to allow the case to proceed. The government did not report taking any action to hold the diplomat accountable for the fourth consecutive year. The diplomat left the United States in 2021. Additionally, between 2015 and 2017, a Cameroonian diplomat posted in the United States allegedly engaged in visa fraud related to a child domestic worker. Because of diplomatic immunity, the United States could not commence prosecution, nor did the government report taking any action for the seventh consecutive year to hold the diplomat accountable. The diplomat left the United States in 2018.
The government trained police and gendarmerie officers, magistrates, social workers, and lawyers on investigations and identification and referral to care of child victims of crime, including human trafficking. The government participated in FLASH-WEKA, an international law enforcement operation led by INTERPOL and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) to investigate trafficking crimes. Officials collaborated with the Governments of Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria on cross-border trafficking investigations.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
