2.1 Are there civil and criminal legal remedies for domestic violence victims?
Only criminal legal remedies are available for domestic violence victims.
2.2 Is domestic violence identified in national law as a human right (noting that at a European level protection from domestic violence has not been explicitly identified as a human right but is indirectly captured by the other provisions)?
No, domestic violence is not expressly regulated in the national law of Cameroon. The only national law that can be applicable in cases of domestic violence is the Cameroonian Penal Code, which regulates sexual offenses such as rape, assaults, forced marriage and moral dangers, but none is treated as a violation of human rights.
2.3 Has your country signed and ratified the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention (2011) preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CETS No. 210)?
No.
2.4 If it has ratified the Istanbul Convention, how has this convention been implemented into national law?
There is no provision for ratification.
2.5 If it has not ratified or signed the Istanbul Convention, is it envisaged that your country will do so?
There is no provision for ratification.
2.6 If it has ratified the 1979 Convention, how has the recommendations part of General Comment No. 35 been implemented into national law?
Yes, Cameroon ratified the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women on 23 August 1994, but Cameroon has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
In Cameroon, human rights instruments are generally incorporated into national law simply by means of ratification. Article 45 of the Constitution of Cameroon states that duly approved or ratified treaties and international agreements have priority over national law. Nonetheless, in practice, as previously mentioned, judges are reluctant to apply international legal instruments and they usually invoke national or customary laws.