Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to encourage the Government of Cameroon to restore peace and democracy to the Anglophone Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.

The British High Commission Yaoundé is closely following the situation in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon following the demonstrations and strikes by lawyers and teachers. We are engaged with the Government of Cameroon and will continue to raise our concerns with them.

We have called for restraint by all involved, including in the use of force. We have reiterated the obligation to uphold human rights standards and encouraged the use of transparent legal means to address concerns. We have regularly called for issues to be resolved through broad-based dialogue, with a range of interlocutors, and a return to normality in the two regions.