Le régime juridique des étrangers au Cameroun

First Part : 

FORMAL RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHTS FROM ABROAD

The last census operated in 2003 indicates that Cameroun has a population of 16,1 million inhabitants^14(*) of which a considerable number from abroad. Indeed, they would exceed the bar of three million inhabitants of which about half would be « without papers »^15(*), the remainder being in rule. And, among all these expatriates, we count sixty thousand refugees and six thousand applicants of asylum^16(*).

A whole of legal devices was set up for purposes to guarantee their rights and freedoms. It arises from the analysis of these texts that the international standards (Chapter 1) strongly inspired the national legislation (chapter 2).

CHAPTER 1: The CONTRIBUTION OF the INTERNATIONAL TEXTS

Au préalable, it is important to recall that many authors treated question of the rights of the individuals at the international level. Denis Al^17(*) for example notes in his analyzes that for a long time, the private people were not regarded as subjects of the international law ; however, the evolution of the ideas since 1945 led to confer juridically definite freedoms to them and of which they are immediately titular.

From now on, the individual is protected, whether it is on the international level or within a regional framework : indeed, as regards the first aspect, its freedoms are devoted by universal standards ; for the second, they are the Community standards.

Also, the particular case of the guarantee of fundamental freedoms of the expatriates leads us to study the contents of the universal right (Section 1) and Community (Section 2) applicable to the State of Cameroun.

SECTION 1 - THE UNIVERSAL PROTECTION FROM ABROAD

It is about protection within the framework of United Nations (UNO).

UNO was created in 1945 the shortly after the second world war. Among its noble goals and principles, we can quote it «  respect of the humans right and of fundamental freedoms for all, without reference of race, sex, language or religion »^18(*). This provision also interests the foreigners. We can deduce from it that the Member States of UNO decided to guarantee their fundamental freedoms.

Having reached national and international sovereignty on January 1, 1960, Cameroun became member of UNO since September 20 of the same year^19(*). Consequently, it was committed continuing the ideals of this organization. This is besides only the expression of the sovereignty of the State in international law, namely the respect of its international engagements^20(*).

With a view to carry out the assigned missions with it, UNO adopted many texts of right concerning the foreigners in particular; the majority have a general range (Paragraph 1) and others, specific (Paragraph 2).

Paragraph 1 - General legal instruments

They are more exactly the texts of right to which the near total of the Member States of UNO left. We can quote, on a purely illustrative basis, the universal Declaration of the humans right (DUDH), the international Pact relating to the civil laws and political (PIDCP) as well as the international Pact relating to the economic, social and cultural doits (PIDESC). They do not relate directly to the statute from abroad, but, deal with the whole of the rights inherent in any human person without any discrimination.

Also, the contents of the DUDH and the international Pacts (A) put forward certain rules defining the condition from any abroad. Moreover, other instruments implicitly envisage the basic rights of the foreign children (B).

* ¹⁴  Voir Cameroun Microsoft encyclopedia inserted on line 2005 ( http://fr.encarta.msn.com). It is true that the last census which is used generally basic for Cameroun east that of 1987  ; however, because of the considerable growth of migratory flows with the passing of years, we prefer to refer to recencement of 2003 within the framework of this study. We make a point of specifying that since November 2005, a new census is in hand, for purposes to check the results obtained in 2003.

* ¹⁵ General delegation with the National Safety of Cameroun (DGSN), IN national Review of press «  The Messenger  », Thursday February 17, 2005. We make a point of raising that, because of porosity of the national borders, we could not quantify with an absolute exactitude migratory flows in Cameroun.

* ¹⁶ Office of the High Commission of the United Nations for refugees (HCR) in Cameroun, Not of press marking the launching of the fourth edition of the world day of the refugees on June 20, 2004. (The Messenger, June 21, 2004).

* ¹⁷ Al (Denis), public International law, Paris, University Presses of France (PUF), 2000, pp.573-574.

* ¹⁸ Charter of the United Nations of 1945, Chapter 1, «  Goals and Principles  », article 1 (3).

* ¹⁹ DEBBASCH (Charles), BUMBLEBEE (Jacques), PONTIER (Jean Marie), RICCI (Jean Claude), Lexicon of policy, Paris, Dalloz, 2001, p 368.

* ²⁰ According to SALMON (Jean) (Dir.), COp Cit, p. 1045  : the permanent Court of international justice (CPJI), in the Business of the Vapor Wimbledon (Stop of August 17, 1923, series A, n°1, p.25), affirmed that «  ... faculty to contract international engagements is precisely an attribute of the sovereignty of the State  ».