Oral Answers to Questions

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd April 2019 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

1. What discussions he has had with his French counterpart on the reported increase in violence in Cameroon.

[The Minister for Africa (Harriett Baldwin)]

The UK regularly discusses the violence in Cameroon with international partners, including France and the United States, and I welcome French support for the recent UK-Austria joint UN Human Rights Council statement about the deteriorating situation in Cameroon.

[Tonia Antoniazzi]

Southern Cameroons voted to join French Cameroon on the basis that they would be federated states equal in status, but this is clearly not what has happened. It is treated as a region made up of second-class citizens. The UK has a duty to Southern Cameroons to use all available instruments to find a solution to the growing crisis that takes into account the wishes of the people. Will the Secretary of State meet me and a delegation of Southern Cameroons to discuss possible solutions?

[Harriett Baldwin]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the first question on the Order Paper, because this is a worsening crisis. The UK has been strongly engaged with our international partners to find a way forward. Of course, the UK respects the territorial integrity of Cameroon, but we also believe that, where there are calls for more autonomy in the south-west and north-west, the Government of Cameroon need to engage in an inclusive political dialogue, because the violence from both sides is creating a serious situation for civilians on the ground.