Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T12:13:22.208Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A Rights-Based Approach to Foreign Agro-Investment in Cameroon: Enhancing the Protection of Local Communities’ Rights

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2019

Jean-Claude N Ashukem
Jean-Claude N Ashukem*
Affiliation:
North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa
*
jashukem@ymail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article investigates and illustrates the role and importance of a rights-based approach to foreign agro-investment for the government of Cameroon when it is required to govern foreign agro-investment activities. In doing so, the article offers an analytical framework based on human rights norms, principles and standards emerging from relevant international and regional human rights instruments. It aims to provide clarity on how local communities’ rights could be respected, protected and fulfilled when and where foreign agro-investment occurs. Consequently, because a rights-based approach requires states to respect their minimum human rights obligations, its use in the foreign agro-investment context is crucially important to help compel the government of Cameroon to ensure the respect, protection and fulfilment of local communities’ rights.

Keywords

Foreign agro-investmentrights-based approachaccess to informationpublic participationaccess to justiceConstitution of Cameroontransparency and accountability
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of African Law , Volume 63 , Issue 2 , June 2019 , pp. 163 - 191
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

LLD (North-West University, South Africa), LLM (North-West University, South Africa), Maîtrise en Droit (Yaoundé, Cameroon), Licence en Droit (Yaoundé, Cameroon). Post-doctoral fellow, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, South Africa. The article is based on the author's LLD thesis: JCN Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach to Foreign Agro-Investment Governance in Cameroon, Uganda and South Africa (2016, North-West University). Research for this article was conducted during the author's post-doctoral fellowship at North-West University. The author is grateful for the comments of the anonymous reviewers. All views and errors are the author's. The author acknowledges funding from North-West University for the preparation and submission of this article during his post-doctoral research fellowship at its Faculty of Law.

References

1 This activity is not likely to decline in sub-Saharan Africa because of the perceived abundance of empty and unoccupied fertile farmland, which is needed to produce the food crops required to feed the world's rapidly growing population.

2 A rights-based approach denotes the responsibility of states to adhere to certain minimum human rights standards in order to respect, protect and fulfil people's rights at the domestic level through the use of human rights standards, norms and principles. The RBA can be realised in two ways: through substantive and procedural human rights approaches. See Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 114. Also see “Frequently asked questions on a human rights-based approach to development cooperation” (2006, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)), available at: <http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FAQen.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); C Nyamu-Musembi and A Cornwall “What is the rights-based approach all about? Perspective from international development agencies” (IDS working paper 234, 2004) 1 at 2.

3 See for example Golay, C and Biglino, I “Human rights responses to land grabbing: A right to food perspective” (2013) 34 Third World Quarterly 1631CrossRefGoogle Scholar; O De Schutter “Large-scale land acquisition and leases: A set of minimum principles and measures to address the human rights challenge” (2009) at 3–17, available at: <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/food/docs/BriefingNotelandgrab.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); Schutter, O De “How not to think of land grabbing: Three critiques of large-scale investment in farmland” (2011) 38/2 Journal of Peasant Studies (2011) 249CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Cotula, L (ed) The Right to Food and Access to Natural Resources: Using Human Rights Arguments and Mechanisms to Improve Resource Access for the Rural Poor (2008, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO))Google Scholar; Claeys, P and Vanloqueren, G “The minimum human rights principle applicable to large-scale land acquisition or leases” (2013) 10/1 Globalizations 193CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

4 See for example Ashukem, JCN “Included or excluded? An analysis of the application of the free, prior and informed consent principle in land grabbing cases in Cameroon” (2016) 39 Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note *; Cotula, L, Vermeulen, S, Leonard, R and Keeley, J Land Grabbing or Development Opportunity? Agricultural Investment and International Land Deals in Africa (2009, FAO)Google Scholar; JAS Mope “Land grabbing and social peace-building issues in Cameroon: Case study of the role of elites in land deals and commoditisation in the northwest region” (2011, Land Deal Politics Initiative); Freudenthal, E, Lomax, T and Venant, M “The BioPalm oil palm project: A case study in the Department of Ocean, Cameroon” in Colchester, M and Chao, S (eds) Conflict or Consent? The Oil Palm Sector at a Crossroads (2013, FPP, Sawit Watch and Tuk Indonesia) 337Google Scholar; CF Achobang, S Nguiffo and B Schwatz “SG Sustainable Oil Cameroon PLC in South West Cameroon” in Colchester and Chao (eds) Conflict or Consent?, id, 355.

5 Kotzé, LJ “The application of just administrative action in the South African environmental governance sphere: An analysis of some contemporary thoughts and recent jurisprudence” (2004) 7 Potchefstroom Electronic Law Journal 58Google Scholar; Mason, M “Information disclosure and environmental rights: The Aarhus Convention” (2010) 10 Global Environmental Politics 10CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 14–15; Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 14.

6 H Liverage “Responding to land grabbing and promoting responsible investment in agriculture” (International Fund for Agricultural Development occasional paper, 2010) 3 at 3.

7 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 61.

8 Hallam, D “International investment in agricultural production” in Kugelman, M and Levenstein, SL (eds) Land Grab? The Race for the World's Farmland (2009, Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars Asia Programme) 27Google Scholar at 27.

9 S Leahy “Agriculture: Foreigners lead global land rush” (2009) Inter Press Service, available at: <http://www.ipsnews.net/2009/05/agriculture-foreigners-lead-global-land-rush/>  (last accessed 14 June 2019).

10 Liu, P “Introduction” in Arias, P et al. (eds) Trends and Impacts of Foreign Investment in Developing Countries Agriculture: Evidence from Case Studies (2012, FAO) 3Google Scholar at 3.

11 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 219.

12 Id at 42.

13 Id at 40. SM Borras and J Franco “Towards a broader view of the politics of land grabs: Rethinking land issues, reframing resistance” (Initiative in Critical Agrarian Studies working paper series no 001, 2010) 2 at 4; Narula, S “The global land rush: Markets, rights, and the politics of food” (2013) 49 Stanford Journal of International Law 101Google Scholar at 103.

14 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 40–41.

15 Cotula et al Land Grabbing, above at note 4 at 15–16.

16 See Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 222–31.

17 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 16; F Mousseau “Understanding land investment deals in Africa: Massive deforestation portrayed as sustainable development: The deceit of Herakles Farms in Cameroon” (2012, Oakland Institute) at 7–8, available at: < https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/Land_deal_brief_herakles.pdf> ( last accessed 14 June 2019).

18 See SM Teclaire and S Geenen “Discourses, fragmentation and coalitions: The case of Herakles Farms’ large-scale land deals in Cameroon” (2015, Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp) at 7, available at: <https://doc.anet.be/docman/docman.phtml?file=.irua.851767.4b503f7d.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

19 Freudenthal, Lomax and Venant “The BioPalm oil palm project”, above at note 4 at 337; “BioPalm plantation and Bagyéli community, Cameroon” Environmental Justice Atlas, available at: <https://ejatlas.org/conflict/biopalm-energy-oil-palm-plantation-and-bagyeli-indigenous-community> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

20 F Mousseau “Herakles exposed: The truth behind Herakles Farms false promises in Cameroon” (2013, Oakland Institute and Greenpeace), available at: <https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/sites/oaklandinstitute.org/files/OI_Report_Herakles_Exposed.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019) at 2.

21 Aust, A “The theory and practice of informal international instruments” (1986) 35/4 The International and Comparative law Quarterly 787CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 788.

22 A Aust Modern Treaty Law and Practice (2007, Cambridge University Press) at 32.

23 Id at 20. Also see Ahlstrom, C The Status of Multilateral Export Control Regimes: An Examination of Legal and Non-Legal Agreements in International Cooperation (2000, Uppsala)Google Scholar at 45–51 and 102–298; Hillgenberg, H “A fresh look at soft law” (1999) 10/3 European Journal of International Law 499CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

24 See “Treaties and memoranda of understanding (MOUs): Guidance on practice and procedure” (2000, Foreign and Commonwealth Office), available at: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/293976/Treaties_and_MoU_Guidance.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019). Also see UN Charter (1945), art 102.

25 Aust “The theory and practice”, above at note 21 at 789–93; Aust Modern Treaty Law, above at note 22 at 42–47.

26 Aust Modern Treaty Law, id at 46; Aust “The theory and practice”, id at 791.

27 Ratified by Cameroon on 27 January 1984, entered into force on 27 April 1984.

28 Ratified by Cameroon on 27 January 1984, entered into force on 27 April 1984.

29 See ICESCR, art 2 and ICCPR, art 2 respectively. Also see UDHR, preamble.

30 These include the UN Declaration on Human Environment (1972); the UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992); the Convention of the Rights of the Child (1989); the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous People (2007); the International Labour Organization Convention of Indigenous and Tribal People (1998); the UN Convention Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992); the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (2007); and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (1992).

31 Cameroon ratified the African Charter on 20 June 1989.

32 These include the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (2003); the  Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (2003); the AU Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (2003); the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Good Governance (2007); the AU Framework and Guidelines on Land Policy in Africa (2009); the Johannesburg Principle on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (1995); the East African Bill of Human Rights (2009); the African Charter Values and Principles of Public Service and Administration (2011); and the African Charter Values and Principles of Decentralisation, Local Governance and Local Development (2014).

33 See inter alia the South African Promotion of Access to Information Act No 2 of 2000; the Ugandan Access to Information Act No 6 of 2005; the US Freedom of Information Act No 5 of 1966; the Canadian Access to Information Act of 1982; the Australian Freedom of Information Act of 1982; and the New Zealand Official Information Act of 1982.

34 See for example sec 32(1) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996; sec 41 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995; sec 21(1)(f) of the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1992; art 18(d) of the Constitution of the Republic of Tanzania, 1977, as amended in 2005; sec 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kenya, 2008 (revised constitution).

35 Devenish, G A Commentary on the South African Bill of Rights (1999, LexisNexis)Google Scholar at 439.

36 Hunter, D, Salzman, J and Zaelke, D International Environmental Law (2002, Foundation Press)Google Scholar at 1316–17.

37 For details of this distinction, see ibid.

38 Currie, I and de Waal, J The Bill of Rights Handbook (6th ed, 2013, Juta)Google Scholar at 684.

39 Ashukem, JCN “Access to environmental information in the context of development activities in the legal framework of Cameroon” (2017) 4/5 Verfassung und Recht in Übersee Law Journal 435CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 436.

40 du Plessis, W “Access to information” in Kotzé, LJ and Paterson, AR (eds) Environmental Compliance and Enforcement in South Africa: Legal Perspectives (2009, Juta) 197Google Scholar at 198; Louka, E International Environmental Law: Fairness, Effectiveness, and World Order (2006, Cambridge University Press)CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 130.

41 Louka, ibid.

42 Devenish A Commentary, above at note 35 at 439; Currie and de Waal The Bill of Rights Handbook, above at note 38 at 684.

43 See principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (1992); the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (1998); and the Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (2010).

44 For example, the right to property.

45 See du Plessis “Access to information”, above at note 40 at 204–05.

46 ICCPR, art 19(2).

47 Id, art 19(3)(a) and(b).

48 Id, art 19(3)(a).

49 Id, art 19(3)(b). Also see the Global Principles on National Security and the Right to Information (Tshwane Principles) (2013), available at: <https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/global-principles-national-security-10232013.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); Ackerman, JM and Sandoval-Ballesteros, IE “Global explosion of freedom of information laws” (2006) 58 Administrative Law Review 101Google Scholar at 101–02; Salau, AO “The right of access to information and national security in the African regional human rights system” (2017) 17 African Human Rights Law Journal 367CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 379.

50 Salau, id at 28; Tshwane Principles, id, preamble and principles 3 and 10 (A)–(H).

51 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 19; Cotula, L Land Deals in Africa: What is in the Contract? (2011, International Institute for Environment and Development)Google Scholar at 1.

52 See African Charter, arts 9, 13 and 26.

53 Id, art 32.

54 Id, art 9(1).

55 Id, art 9(2). Also see AU Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, adopted at the 32nd ordinary session of the African Commission, Banjul, The Gambia, 17–23 October 2002, to supplement the right to access to information enshrined in art 9 of the African Charter.

56 Picolotti, R and Taillant, JD Linking Human Rights and the Environment (2003, University of Arizona Press)Google Scholar at 50; Pring, D and Noe, SY “The emerging international law of public participation affecting global mining, energy, and resource development” in Zillman, DM, Lucas, A and Pring, G (eds) Human Rights in Natural Resource Development (2002, Oxford University Press) 11Google Scholar at 16.

57 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach above at note * at 131.

58 Ebbesson, J “Public participation” in Bodansky, D, Brunnee, J and Hey, E (eds) The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law (2007, Oxford University Press) 681Google Scholar at 687.

59 D Bodansky “Legitimacy” in Bodansky, Brunnee and Hey (eds) The Oxford Handbook, id, 704 at 717.

60 Segger, MCC and Khalfan, A Sustainable Development Law: Principles, Practices and Prospects (2004, Oxford University Press)CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 156.

61 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach above at note * at 132.

62 “Cameroon: Women, agriculture and rural development” (FOA), available at: <http://hubrural.org/IMG/pdf/fao_wia_cameroun.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

63 See for example art 2(1)(c) of the Protocol of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, adopted at the 2nd ordinary session of the AU Assembly, Maputo, Mozambique.

64 African Charter, art 13(1).

65 Comm no 155/92 (2001).

66 Ibid.

67 African Charter, art 22(1).

68 Id, art 17(2) and (3); Ashukem, “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 11.

69 Centre for Minority Rights Development (Kenya) and Minority Rights Group International (on behalf of Endorois Welfare Council) v Kenya 2009 AHRLR 75 (ACHPR 2009).

70 FPIC has been distilled to embody procedural measures of access to information and public participation. For details see Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 3–5.

71 Gordillo, A “Access to justice, legal certainty and economic rationality” in Anthony, G, Auby, JB, Morison, J and Zwart, T Values in Global Administrative Law (2011, Hart Publishing) 363Google Scholar at 363–64.

72 Razzaque, J “Linking human rights, development and environment: Experiences from litigation in South Asia” (2007) 18/3 Fordham Environmental Law Review 587Google Scholar at 587.

73 Hoexter, C Administrative Law (2007, Juta)Google Scholar at 60.

74 Id at 63; C Plasket The Fundamental Rights to Just Administrative Action: Judicial Review of Administrative Action in Democratic South Africa (2002, LLD thesis, Rhodes University) at 70.

75 UDHR, art 6.

76 Id, art 7. Also see ICCPR, art 14(1).

77 UDHR, art 8.

78 Id, art 10.

79 ICCPR, art 14(1).

80 The right to access to justice goes beyond judicial redress, to include quasi-judicial mechanisms such as ombudsmen. There are General Comments on the scope of the right. See, for example, UN Human Rights Committee General Comment no 32 on article 14 of the ICCPR (90th session, 2007), available at: <http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/hrcommittee/gencom32.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); OHCHR “Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights holds general discussion on state obligations in the context of business activities” (2017), available at: <www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21210&LangID=E> (last accessed 14 June 2019); Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe High Commissioner on National Minorities “Graz recommendations on access to justice and national minorities and explanatory note” (2017), available at: <https://www.osce.org/hcnm/graz-recommendations?download=true> (last accessed 14 June 2019). On women's access to justice within the context of development activities, see: Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women “General recommendation on women's access to justice” (2015), available at: <http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CEDAW/Shared%20Documents/1_Global/CEDAW_C_GC_33_7767_E.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

81 African Charter, art 7(1).

82 Id, art 7(1)(a).

83 See Id, arts 55 and 56(1). Also see the Social and Economic Rights Action Centre (SERAC) and Another v Nigeria (2000) AHRLR 60 (ACHPR 2001); app 022/2012 by the Pan African Lawyers’ Union and Southern African Litigation Centre; and app 001/2014 by the Coalition on the International Criminal Court, Legal Defence and Assistance Project, Civil Resource Development and Documentation Centre, and Women Advocates Documentation Centre, among others.

84 See African Charter, art 58. Also see World Trade Organization Against Torture, Lawyers’ Committee for Human Rights, Union Interafricaine des Droits de l'Homme, Les Temoins de Jehovah v Zaire comm 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93; Krishna Achutan on behalf of Aleke Banda, Amnesty International on behalf of Orton and Vera Chirwa v Malawi comm 25/89, 47/90, 56/91, 100/93.

85 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 22.

86 Cotula et al Land Grabbing, above at note 4 at 68–70; Narula “The global land rush”, above at note 13 at 106; Kugelman, M “Introduction” in Kugelman, M and Levenstein, SL (eds) Land Grab? The Race for the World's Farmland (2009, Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars Asia Programme) 1Google Scholar at 1; C Smaller and H Mann “A thirst for distant lands” (2009, International Institute for Sustainable Development), available at: <http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/est/INTERNATIONAL-TRADE/FDIs/A_Thirst_for_distant_lands.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

87 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 149.

88 Mope “Land grabbing”, above at note 4 at 2.

89 It should be noted that the Constitution was amended in 2008 by Law No 2008/001 of 14 April 2008.

90 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 13; Ashukem “Access to environmental information”, above at note 39 at 442.

91 Ashukem “Access to environmental information”, above at note 39 at 438.

92 Constitution, para 5.

93 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 13.

94 See Law No 96/12, sec 1.

95 Id, sec 6(1).

96 Id, sec 7(1).

97 Id, sec 6(2).

98 Ashukem “Access to environmental information”, above at note 39 at 443.

99 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 14; Ashukem “Access to environmental information”, above at note 39 at 444; Law No 96/12, sec 7(1).

100 See secs 5(28), 12(1)–(2) and 5(2).

101 Also see id, sec 12(3).

102 Cotula et al Land Grabbing, above at note 4 at 15; W Sindayigaya “Foreign investments in agriculture: Land grabbing” (2011), available at: <http://www.entwicklungshilfe3.de/media/Bilder_ZSE/UEber_Uns_Dateien/Grundlagentexte/Land_grab_article.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

103 Cotula et al, id at 68–70; Narula “The global land rush”, above at note 13 at 106; Kugelman “Introduction”, above at note 86 at 1; Smaller and Mann “A thirst for distant lands”, above at note 86.

104 S Nguiffo and MS Watio “Agro-industrial investments in Cameroon: Large-scale land acquisitions since 2005” (2015, International Institute for Environment and Development), available at: <http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/17571IIED.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019) at 41; Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 17–18.

105 Freudenthal et al “The BioPalm oil palm project”, above at note 4 at 348.

106 Id at 343; Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 19.

107 Ashukem, ibid; Cotula Land Deals in Africa, above at note 51 at 1.

108 N Ochalla “Ethiopia's land grabs: Stories from the displaced” (2013), available at: <https://intercontinentalcry.org/ethiopias-land-grabs-stories-displaced-20830/> (last accessed 14 June 2019). For details of the violation of the principle of FPIC in land grabbing cases, see Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4.

109 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, id at 16; Nguiffo and Watio “Agro-industrial investments”, above at note 104 at 21 and 48.

110 Mengang, JM “Evolution of natural resource policy in Cameroon” (1998) 102 Yale Forestry and Environmental Studies Bulletin 239Google Scholar at 246; Fuo, ON and Semie, SM “Cameroon's environmental framework law and the balancing of interests in socio-economic development” in Faure, M and Du Plessis, W (eds) The Balancing of Interests in Environmental Law in Africa, (2011, Pretoria University Press) 74Google Scholar at 88.

111 Salau “The right of access to information”, above at note 49; Tshwane Principles, above at note 49, preamble and principles 3 and 10 (A)–(H).

112 Ashukem “Access to environmental information”, above at note 39.

113 For example, Uganda and South Africa.

114 Law No 96/12, sec 9(e).

115 Id, sec 9(e)(i)–(iii).

116 Id, sec 72(i) – (iv).

117 Decree No 2013/0171/PM of 14 February 2013 to Lay Down Rules for Conducting Environmental and Social Impact Studies in Cameroon.

118 See id, art 12.

119 While category I projects require simple EIA, category II projects require full or detailed EIA.

120 EIA Regulations, art 9.

121 Decree No 95-531-PM of 23 August 1995 Setting the Modalities for the Implementation of Forests Regulations; and Decree No 95/466/PM of 1995 Setting the Modalities for the Implementation of Wildlife Regulations.

122 See Law No 94/01, sec 1.

123 Id, sec 23.

124 Fuo and Semie “Cameroon's environmental framework law”, above at note 110 at 85; Cerutti, PO et al. “Sustainable forest management in Cameroon needs more than just forests management plan” (2008) 13 Ecology and Society (2008) 1CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Alemagi, D et al. “Cameroon's environmental impact assessment decree and public participation in concession-based forestry: An explanatory assessment of eight forest-dependent communities” (2013) 6 Journal of Sustainable Development 8CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 9.

125 Ordinance Laying Down the Management of State Land, Ordinance No 76/166 of 1976, art 12.

126 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 15.

127 See 1994 Forestry Law, sec 23; Egbe, S “The concept of community forestry under Cameroonian law” (2001) 45 Journal of African Law (2001) 25CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 25–26; “Explanatory statement” to parliamentary Bill No 54/PJL/AN of November 1993.

128 J Dupuy and MA Bakia “Fact finding mission on Herakles Farms (SGSOC) oil palm plantation project” (2013, Programme for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources) at 6, available at: <https://cameroonveritas.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/03_01_2013_report-fact-finding-mission-sgsoc.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); Ashukem “Included or excluded” above at note 4 at 17; “Analysis of some contested legal issues regarding the Herakles Farms’ / SGSOC's oil palm plantation project in Cameroon” (Sciences Po Law Clinic), available at: <http://www.sciencespo.fr/ecole-de-droit/sites/sciencepo.fr.ecole-de-droit/files/Analysis%20of%20Some%20Contested%20Legal%20Issues%20Reviewed%20FINAL%20VERSION.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

129 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 247. Also see Egbe “The concept of community forestry”, above at note 127 at 26.

130 C Ngorgang “Chinese in Cameroon: An agricultural misunderstanding” Afronline (2009), available at: <http://www.afronline.org/?p=2908>  (last accessed 14 June 2019).

131 Ashukem “Included or excluded”, above at note 4 at 17–18.

132 Ibid; Cerutti et al “Sustainable forest management”, above at note 124; Fuo and Semie “Cameroon's environmental framework”, above at note 110; Alemagi et al “Cameroon's environmental impact assessment”, above at note 124.

133 “Analysis of some contested legal issues”, above at note 128.

134 “Herakles Farms in Cameroon: A showcase of bad palm oil production” (2013, Greenpeace), available at: <http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Global/usa/planet3/PDFs/HeraklesCrimeFile.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019). See also, O De Schutter “Report of the special rapporteur on the right to food: Mission to Cameroon” (2012), available at: <https://reliefweb.int/report/cameroon/report-special-rapporteur-right-food-olivier-de-schutter-addendum-mission-cameroon> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

135 “Cameroon”, above at note 62.

136 JMN Mewanu Who is Not at the Table: Land Deal Negotiations in Southwestern Cameroon (PhD dissertation, 2016, Iowa State University Capstones) at 118; FA Ndi “Land grabbing: A gendered understanding of perceptions and reactions from affected communities in Nguti sub-division of south west Cameroon”, available at: <https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/dpr.12351> (last accessed 14 June 2019) 1 at 11.

137 Also see FA Ndi “Land grabbing, local contestation, and the struggle for economic gain: Insights from Nguti village, south west Cameroon” 2017 SAGE Open 1 at 7.

138 Constitution, preamble.

139 Ashukem A Rights-Based Approach, above at note * at 245.

140 Sama, SM “Providing legal aid in criminal justice in Cameroon: The role of lawyers” in Penal Reform International Access to Justice in Africa and Beyond: Making the Rule of Law a Reality (2007, National Institute for Trial Advocacy) 153Google Scholar at 157; “Access to justice for children: Cameroon” (2015, White and Case LLP), available at: <https://archive.crin.org/en/library/publications/cameroon-access-justice-children.html> (last accessed 14 June 2019).

141 Law No 96/12, sec 8(2).

142 2009 unreported decision no CFIB/004M/09; Fuo and Semie “Cameroon's environmental framework”, above note 110 at 89.

143 “Herakles Farms in Cameroon”, above at note 134 at 4; “Herakles Farms / SGSOC: The chaotic history of a destructive palm oil project in Cameroon” (2016, Greenpeace) at 6, available at: <https://archiv.solifonds.ch/sites/solifonds.ch/files/pdf/2016-EN%20Briefer%20HERAKLES%20FARMS-SGSOC%20Chaotic%20History_web%281%29.pdf> (last accessed 14 June 2019); Mousseau “Understanding land investment deals”, above at note 17 at 6.