News

Contra Nocendi International has been made aware of the detention of two transgender women in Douala, Cameroon on 9 February 2021. The two transgender women Mildred Loic (Shakiro) and Moute Rolland (Patricia) were arrested by gendarmerie officers (a paramilitary unit) at the Nkoulouloun neighbourhood of Douala, based on allegations of homosexuality.

Their arrest has gone viral because of how they were publicly paraded and videos shared on social media. Shakiro and Patricia are currently in pre-trial detention at the notorious New Bell prison where they are allegedly being subjected to torture and verbal abuse by prison guards and other prisoners. 

We received reports that the two women were questioned about their sexual orientation and coerced to sign a confession without allowing them to review their statement. They are said to have spent the night in a gendarmarie cell with more than 30 men in a 10-square-meter space where many detainees had to sleep on the floor.

For the second year in a row, Contra Nocendi International (CNI) is partnering with the University of Grenoble, France’s Law Faculty – Clinique juridique en droit des libertés (Clinidoit) to give future law graduates real-world experience in human rights law. Graduate students are researching, documenting and reporting on the human rights situation in Cameroon, CNI’s focus country.  

Théo Abadie, Pauline Gilbert, Jade Gunther, Flore Jayet and Zelda Montville are the five University of Grenoble law students engaged in this year’s project, managed by CNI’s Farah Jerrari.

Next-gen human rights defenders need more than classroom experience. That’s why this unique partnership is giving future lawyers a glimpse into actual case studies in the field, and an opportunity to lend their voice to proposed legal recommendations and reforms.

The 27th of January marks the international day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The date commemorates the day that Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, 76 years ago today.

It is a day to remember and honour those who lost their lives to the holocaust and suffered as a result of this horrible part of human history, but also those who have been victims of atrocities and acts of genocide since. We must never forget them. It is a day to remember our collective responsibility to prevent such tragedy from happening to others. Protecting their memory includes making real efforts to stop such atrocities from happening again.

On this day, Contra Nocendi International wish to reassert our commitment to upholding the dignity and worth of all human beings and the equal enjoyment of human rights for everyone.

On Saturday 24 October 2020 gunmen stormed a school in Kumba, Cameroon (link to https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/24/gunmen-kill-at-least-six-children-in-attack-on-cameroon-school) indiscriminately killing and injuring more than a dozen children. Contra Nocendi strongly condemns this brazen attack, part of a cycle of ongoing intimidation of and violence against civilians in Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest regions.  

Attacks, violence, intimidation and threats to schools carried out by separatists have forced thousands of schools to close, with many lying in ruins.  According to Unicef, 80% of schools were shut in in 2019, 74 destroyed and more than 600,000 children affected by the school ban.   

CNI is now working with local NGOs to gather more information and support local civil society.

Contra Nocendi International dedicates a significant portion of its work to protecting the rights of the child. We have worked with other NGOs to raise awareness for serious human rights violations that impact children including the right to education and the prohibition on making schools and children a target of an attack under international law.

Read more about the school crisis in Cameroon