Some national and international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International wrote an open letter to the President of Cameroon, His Excellency Paul Biya, expressing “serious concern” about the use of criminal laws to p
unish consenting adults who engage in same-sex relations.
The Open letter to the president states that Section 347(a) of the Cameroon Penal Code violates Cameroon’s obligations under international law and obstructs health initiatives from
reaching vulnerable groups.
Many individuals arrested under Section 347(a) are tortured and subjected to other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment in custody.
The rights groups urge the government of Cameroon to immediately and unconditionally release all persons held under Section 347(a) of the Penal Code, drop all charges against them; end arrest, detention and prosecution of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders; repeal laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adults and kill a proposal to increase
punishment for same-sex sexual relations to 15 years imprisonment and a fine of two million CFA francs.
The open letter to the president of Cameroon on laws criminalizing Same-sex conduct was published on 30 September 2011 by Human Rights Watch.
