December 4, 2009
My dear brothers and sisters,
On behalf of the Southern Cameroons Peoples Organization (SCAPO), it is my pleasure to send you the seasonal greetings of Christmas 2009 and to wish you a Happy New Year in 2010. This year 2009 has been a very eventful year for the people of the former UN Trust Territory of Southern Cameroons because I can finally report to you that our struggle for the self-determination of the Southern Cameroons has achieved a very significant milestone at the African Commission for Human and Peoples Rights.
You will all recall that in 2002, SCAPO and a group of other Southern Cameroonians filed a lawsuit at the Abuja Federal High Court against the Attorney General and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In this lawsuit we prayed the court to compel the Attorney General and the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to honor its treaty obligations under African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights by taking the case of the self-determination of the Southern Cameroons to the United Nations, to the International Court of Justice and to the African Union and to ensure diligent prosecution of the case until a final determination is made by all these international bodies. This lawsuit was based on Article 20(3) of the African Charter for Human and Peoples Rights which states that “All peoples shall have the right to the assistance of the States parties to the present Charter in their liberation struggle against foreign domination, be it political, economic or cultural.”
