ICJ welcomes UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decision in relation to Cameroon men detained for homosexuality.
Opinion of the Working Group:
“23.In the light of the information collected the Working Group returns the following opinion: The privation of liberty of Francois Ayissi, Pascal Atangana Obama, Alim Mongoche, Marc Lambert Lamba, Christian Angoula, Blaise Yankeu Yankam Tchatchoua, Stéphane Serge Noubaga, Balla Adamou Yerima and Raymond Mbassi Tsimi was arbitrary in that it violates articles 17 and 26 of the International Covenant on the Civil and Political Rights, and is part of category II of the categories applicable to the mandate of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
24. The Working Group, having issueed this opinion, asks the Government to adopt the necessary measures to remedy the situation and to examine the possibility of amending the legislation to adapt it to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as to the other relevant international standards accepted by the concerned State.
See below in pdf format:
a) Unofficial English Translation of the decision of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (full text, PDF) .
b) Official Text of the decision of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in French (full text, PDF) .
c) the text of the legal arguments that were made before the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC): Cameroon-homosexuality-non-judicial submission-2006 (full text, PDF)