Le régime juridique des étrangers au Cameroun

3) African Commission of the humans right and of the people

Under article 30 of the African Charter, it east creates at the OAU a African Commission of the humans right and people, in charge of protection and promotion with the personal freedoms on the regional territory^173(*). However, this institution does not cease showing many faults which prevent it from carrying out this general mission effectively. That is valid for the particular case of the legal statute from abroad.

Initially, we note the excess of politization of its procedure which depends largely on the Conference of the Union. Indeed, the right of direct sasine of the Commission is largely open for him under the terms of article 49 of the African Charter of the humans right and of the people. On the other hand, its fixed article 56 of multiple conditions of admissibility of the individual communications^174(*) which make sasine very complex and that constitute a true obstacle for the foreigners in particular. As we have the conviction as the procedure before the African Commission makes a point of sparing the States. This level, we make a point of recalling that the tares of the African Commission are similar to those of the Inter-American Commission of the humans right^175(*).

In the second place, the procedure appears limited because being able it nonconstraining of the Commission. Indeed, articles 52 and 53 of the above mentioned Charter specify that it returns its conclusions in the form of reports/ratios addressed to the States. These reports/ratios are communicated thereafter to the Conference of the Union with which it can make recommendations, which do not have any coercive value besides on the states. It is thus about a faculty whose Commission uses discretionarily. Moreover, its article 59 comes to confirm these limits. Indeed, it lays out in first that all the measurements taken by the Commission will remain confidential until the moment when this Conference will decide some differently. As a second, it adds that the reports are published by the president of the Commission on decision of the Conference of the Union which examines it as a preliminary in accordance with the third subparagraph. Thus, this article makes it possible the States to despize investigations of the Commission and to pass in addition to its recommendations. That proves enough that it does not have a capacity of injunction.

The States just like the individuals and more particularly the foreigners, are informed of these limits. This is why the first violate the basic rights of the seconds. It is what also explains why the foreigners grant very little interest to the Commission. Indeed, a thorough reading of the extract of its management reports of 1994 to 2001 fact of noting that on 150 communications, the Commission was only seized by three complaints relating to the violation of freedoms of the immigrants^176(*). However, the preceding analyzes show that they undergo a number of attacks.

The not very enviable statute of the expatriate in Cameroun east thus so related to the many weaknesses of the African Commission. In addition, the difficulties of sasine of the Community judge constitute another factor of it.

* ¹⁷³ To consult articles 31 to 64 of the African Charter of the humans right and of the people for more details on the composition, the organization, competences and the procedure of the Commission.

* ¹⁷⁴ These conditions are seven with knowing  : the indication of the identity of the communicating party even if this one requires of the Commission to keep anonymity, the compatibility of the communication with the Charter of the OAU (it is from now on about the Deed of partnership of the UA) or with the African Charter of the humans right and of the people, the prohibition of the outrageants terms or insulting with regard to the State blamed, of its institutions or OAU (current UA), the communication must be well documented and not to be satisfied to bring back remarks, the compliance with the rule of the exhaustion of the grounds for appeal intern if they exist indeed, the respect of the reasonable time during the introduction of the communication, itprohibition to introduce an already regulated communication.

* ¹⁷⁵ Indeed, generally, the procedure shows that the Inter-American Commission of protection of the humans right was also established to protect the rights of the State and not those of the individuals. However, the violations which the latter undergo and, more particularly, the foreigners in Africa, also prevail in the American continent and in particular in Latin America. See on this subject, communication of ALAIN (Jean), «  The inter-American system of protection of the humans right  », IN  Day-seminar on the protection of the humans right, at the time of the 12th Panafrican Contest of fictitious lawsuit of the humans right (04 to August 09, 2003), Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC), Yaounde, Cameroun, August 06, 2003.

* ¹⁷⁶ For checking of this calculation, please consult  : Institute for the human rights and the development, compilation of the decisions on the communications of the African Commission of the humans right and of the people, COp cit.