Memoire Online - International humanitarian food aid in the north-south cooperation: the case of cameroon

As previously said, in the Central African sub-region, Cameroon is surrounded by countries which are facing political and military troubles. Particularly, refugees in Cameroon who benefit of international assistance especially food aid come from Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad.

The political situation in CAR has been unstable since its independence from France in 1960, marked by five coups d'état and many more failed attempts. The most recent coup occurred in March 2013 when Michel Djotodia seized power from Francois Bozizé. In the recent past, Patassé had won multiparty presidential elections in 1993. His presidency, however, was marked by a series of military coup attempts prompting the involvement of a small UN force. In 1999, Patassé was reelected but failed to unite the various armed groups and political factions, opening the path for a new wave of violence. In 2001, former President Kolingba⁴⁸ tried to seize power, prompting Patassé to seek assistance from Jean-Pierre Bemba, leader of the Ugandan-backed rebel group, the «Mouvement de Liberation du Congo» (MLC). The MLC had been active in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo, occupying most of the northern part of the country bordering CAR. Ultimately, the coup failed. In the aftermath, Patassé accused his chief of staff Bozizé of disloyalty. Bozizé then fled to Chad but returned a year later to oust Patassé. Bozizé's troops quickly reached the capital Bangui resulting in heavy fighting. In order to contain the invading forces, Patassé again requested help from Jean-Pierre Bemba. Bemba's Banyamulenge troops pushed the rebel back to the north, but in the process committed mass atrocities against civilians. Ultimately, however, Bozizé was successful and seized power in 2003. Bozizé held power in a transitional

48 Kolingba was president of CAR between 1981 and 1993. He seized power from Dacko through a coup and lost it to Patassé in the 1993 presidential elections.

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

government and was then elected president through general elections in 2005 in a contentious political process.

Soon after the 2005 elections, violence broke out again in the northwest of the country, causing the displacement of more than 100,000 civilians.⁴⁹ Among the armed groups involved, the Popular Army for the Restoration of the Republic and Democracy (APRD) was the most prominent, with members of Patassé's former presidential guard and local self-defense groups seeking security for their communities. CAR's presidential guard responded by carrying out a dirty war against the rebels, which have resulted in attacks on the civilian population, burning thousands of civilian homes, and summary executions.

In 2006, violence in the northeast of the country broke out as a second rebellion was led by another former associate of Patassé, Damane Zakaria, now chief of The Union of Democratic Forces for Unity's (UFDR). The UFDR seized several towns, as the government of CAR accused Sudan of being behind these attacks. The violence made hundreds of civilian deaths and led to widespread house burning, looting, summary executions and the widespread use of child soldiers. After years of continuous fighting, the country saw signs of progress toward ending the conflict in June 2008 when UFDR and APRD signed a peace agreement with the government to disarm and demobilize their soldiers. Parliament approved amnesty legislation later that year, which covers violence from 15 March 2003.

But in 2012, another crisis erupted, precisely the 10th of December 2012, between the Government of the CAR and Seleka, a coalition of rebel groups, many of whom were previously involved in the Central African Republic Bush War. The rebels accused the government of president François Bozizé of failing

49 Peter Bouckaert, Olivier Bercault and Human Rights Watch, (2007) State of Anarchy: Rebellion and Abuses Against Civilians, New York, Human Rights Watch. UN OCHA Central African Republic Fact Sheet, June 2007.

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

to abide by peace agreements signed in 2007 and 2011. Rebel forces known as Seleka (Séléka means "union" in the Sango language) captured many major towns in the central and eastern regions of the country. Seleka comprises two major groups based in north-eastern CAR: the Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) and the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), but also includes the lesser known Patriotic Convention for Saving the Country (CPSK). Two other groups, the FDPC as well as the Chadian group FPR, both of which are based in northern CAR, also announced their allegiance to the Seleka coalition.

According to the Human Rights Watch, hundreds of civilians were killed, more than 10,000 houses burned, and approximately 212,000 persons fled their homes to live in desperate conditions deep in the bush in northern parts of the Central African Republic. Additionally, rebel groups say that Bozizé has not followed the terms of the 2007 agreement, and that there continue to be political abuses, especially in the northern part of the country, such as "torture and illegal executions». On 15 December, rebel forces took Bamingui, a town approximately 120 km (75 mi) from N'Délé in a direct line towards Bangui. Three days later they advanced to Bria, an important diamond mining town lying 200 km South-East of Ouadda. The Seleka claim they are fighting because of a lack of progress after a peace deal ended the 2004-2007 Central African Republic Bush War. Following an appeal for help from Central African President François Bozizé, the President of Chad, Idriss Déby, pledged to send 2,000 troops to help quell the rebellion. The first Chadian troops arrived on 18 December 2012 to reinforce the CAR contingent in Kaga Bandoro, in preparation for a counter-attack on N'Délé.

On 26 December 2012, hundreds of protesters angered by the rebel advance surrounded the French embassy in Bangui, hurling stones, burning tires and tearing down the French flag. The demonstrators accused the former colonial power of failing to help the army fight off rebel forces. At least 50

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

people, including women and children, were sheltering inside the building, protected by a large contingent of around 250 French troops that surrounded the area.

On 11 January 2013, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Libreville, Gabon. On 23 January 2013, the ceasefire was broken, with the government blaming Seleka and Seleka blaming the government for allegedly failing to honor the terms of the power-sharing agreement. On 25 March 2013 Séléka leader Michel Djotodia, who served after the January agreement as First Deputy Prime Minister for National Defense, declared himself President. Djotodia said that there would be a three-year transitional period. He promptly suspended the constitution and dissolved the government, as well as the National Assembly. Following Michel Djotodia's resignation on 10 January 2014, Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet served as acting president until the National Transition Council (CNT) elected Catherine Samba-Panza as interim president with the aim to lead the country to the 2015 elections.

This politico-military crisis had not only led to massive displacement to neighboring countries, mainly Cameroon. Even UN personnel stationed in Bangui had to be evacuated to Cameroon for their safety. So, the crisis in CAR was managed in one way or another from Yaoundé.

Chad has been marked by permanent conflict since its independence from French colonial power in 1960. A whole host of authoritarian regimes have followed one another, with power changes usually coming about through military coups. Each regime is characterized by a concentration of power in the person of the president and a small, usually ethnically homogenous leadership clique which seeks to defend its privileges by any and all means. Composed of

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

approximately 200 ethnic groups, Chad's diverse population is broadly divided into predominantly Muslim Arab and non-Arab ethnic groups located in the north and east, and indigenous groups practicing Christian and various traditional beliefs located in the south. The result: not only does the country lack any nationally oriented social and economic policy - it is also ruled by a repressive state apparatus which crushes any form of opposition. Resistance initially coalesced at the regional level and was primarily aimed at fending off government decisions which were perceived as negatively impacting on local living conditions; with the protests escalating into open civil war at the beginning of the1980s.

As a result, leadership and presidency in Chad drifted back and forth between the Christian southerners and Muslim northerners. When one side was in power, the other side usually started a revolutionary war to counter it. In 1998 an armed rebellion began in the north, led by President Déby's former defense chief, Youssouf Togoimi. In 2003, conflict in the neighboring Darfur region in Sudan leaked across the border into Chad. Refugees from Sudan were joined by Chadian civilians who were trying to escape rebel violence and eventually filled the camps. It was clear that Chad's rebels received weapons and assistance from the government of Sudan. At the same time, Sudan's rebels got help from Chad's government.

Some opponents of President Déby have used his perceived lack of democratic legitimacy to foment armed efforts to oust the long-serving Chadian leader. Déby has faced several coup attempts, and diverse armed political and regional factions have been active since the 1990s. Shifting rebel alliances, which include defectors from the government, gained strength in the east in 2005-2006 and launched a series of raids on strategic government positions. Intercommunal violence not directly related to the rebellion also increased. Rebels

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

attacked the capital, N'Djamena, in April 2006, and Déby declared a state of emergency in November of that year. Critics charge that he used the state of emergency, which prohibited public rallies and campaigning and allowed the government to censor the press, to silence opposition.

In early February 2008, rebel forces advanced on the capital in an unsuccessful attempt to force Déby from power. Hundreds of civilians were reportedly killed in the fighting, and an estimated 30,000 Chadians fled across the Cameroon border, 10 miles from N'Djamena. Rebel groups later attacked and briefly held several towns in eastern Chad in June 2008. Chad's main armed groups, who have been divided by ethnic and personal rivalries, agreed in November 2008 to unify their efforts to overthrow Déby.⁵⁰

Cameroon is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1969 OAU⁵¹ Convention. At the national level, the Government adopted the Law Defining the Legal Framework for Refugee Protection in July 2005. A decree to bring the 2005 law into application was signed in November 2011, and this was followed by the creation of the Eligibility and Appeals Commissions in July 2012. So, Cameroon hosts some 104,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from the Central African Republic and Chad.

50 Lauren Ploch, (2010) «Instability and Humanitarian Conditions in Chad», Congressional Research Servive, Washington DC.

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

Type of population	Origin		Total in country assisted by UNHCR

Refugees		CAR	96. 250

		Chad	1.480

		Nigeria	3.410

		Various	2.030

Table 14: Figures of refugees and asylum-seekers in Cameroon in 2013. Source: UNHCR Cameroon Country Office

As it has been said previously, IFA in Cameroon is provided bilaterally and multilaterally. But the multilateral part is predominant at 98% and managed by the WFP. The rest of 2% is provided by «friendly» countries like The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or Morocco which, spontaneously, help Cameroon in case of disasters, such as floods or drought. Then, we focus this part on the main actors of the IFA in Cameroon, i.e. WFP Country Office and the governmental organism in charge of working in collaboration with the UN agency: the FAO/WFP Assistance Management Committee.

International humanitarian food aid in the North-South cooperation: the case of Cameroon 2014

International humanitarian food aid in the north-south cooperation: the case of cameroon

B- Instability and forced migration in the neighbouring countries