STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE APOUH COMMUNITY IN NGOG IN THEIR CASE AGAINST THE STATE OF CAMEROON FOR THE RETURN OF THEIR ANCESTRAL LANDS UNLAWFULLY OCCUPIED BY SOCAPALM
We, the communities living near agribusinesses in Gabon, Congo-Brazzaville, the DRC, Cameroon, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Ghana, along with civil society organizations and partners committed to land justice and community rights, express our solidarity with the Apouh community in Ngog. We support her in her lawsuit against the State of Cameroon before the Littoral Administrative Court concerning the occupation and abusive exploitation of her ancestral lands by SOCAPALM of Edéa, 86% owned by the Socfin and Bolloré group.
For years, the community of Apouh in Ngog, and especially the women, have suffered the effects of this dispossession: famine, insecurity, reduction of living and agricultural spaces for present and future generations, water and air pollution, damage to sacred sites, threats to livelihoods, and attacks on women’s dignity, particularly through violence and rape. Faced with this situation, the community has decided to break its silence. It is organizing, documenting the facts, denouncing the abuses, and calling on decision-makers. This struggle demonstrates great courage and a profound sense of responsibility towards their children and future generations. AFRISE’s unwavering determination is to be commended and encouraged, for if they had not risen up as one, they would have been crushed. We particularly applaud the resolve of the women of AFRISE.
This trial transcends the purely legal sphere. It represents a decisive test for the respect of customary land rights in all localities impacted by agribusiness. It will leave its mark on current and future generations, as a sign that profit alone counts for little if it disregards the interests and well-being of communities.
Alongside them, we reaffirm that :
- The land of Apouh is at the heart of this community’s identity; it carries the memory of their ancestors and the future of their children.
- No investment should be made in disregard of the human and land rights of the communities concerned.
- The voice of women, the primary guardians of the land and the family, must be heard and respected, especially in decision-making bodies concerning their land. Access to justice is a right, and the communities of Apouh in Ngog must be able to exercise it without intimidation or reprisals.
- With this motion, we affirm that the community of Apouh in Ngog is not alone. Its struggle is that of all riverside communities in Cameroon and across Africa who demand respect for their customary rights in the management of their ancestral lands.
- We will follow this trial closely and amplify your voice in national and international forums.
- We call upon the community of Apouh to remain strong and united. Stand firm: truth, justice, and dignity prevail when people stand tall.
Together for the LAND, for LIFE, for JUSTICE.
In solidarity and determination.
For the Organizations
The signatories :
1- RADD (Network of Sustainable Development Actors) Cameroon
2- Journalists for Earth – Cameroon
3- CWOWUP –
4 – Muyissi Environment NGO – Gabon
5 – RAJORNY – Cameroon
6 – AFRISO – Cameroon
7 – COFERISO – Cameroon
8 – AFRISH-CEA – Cameroon
9 – SYNAPARCAM – Cameroon
10 – AFRIKA – Cameroon
11- AFRISE – Cameroon
12- Mélanie Lasom’Ekutchu, Peasant Confederation of Congo – Main Peasant Grouping » COPACO-PRP/ASBL » – DRC
13 – Hermann Davy Kavougou, Collective of Natives and Environmentalists of the Bateke Plateaus – Gabon
14 – REFEB – Ivory Coast
15 – WONARPI – Sierra Leone
16 – JVE – Gabon
17- JVE – Ivory Coast
18- JOWEDO – Liberia
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