For the attention of His Excellency Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon.
CC: Minette Libom Likeng, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, René Emmanuel Sadi, Minister of Communication, Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration, Ebot Ebot Enaw, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board (ART), Wanda Matandela, CEO MTN Cameroon, Elisabeth Medou Badang, CEO Orange Cameroon, Judith Yah Sunday Epse Achidi, Director General Camtel, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM)
Around the world, governments deploy internet shutdowns to interfere with election outcomes and undermine democratic participation. This practice harms human rights — we cannot allow it to become normalized. Ahead of the upcoming presidential election, we urge the Republic of Cameroon to #KeepItOn.
We, the undersigned organizations and members of the #KeepItOn coalition — a global network of more than 345 organizations from 106 countries working to end internet shutdowns — urge you, President of the Republic of Cameroon, His Excellency Paul Biya, to ensure that the internet, social media platforms, and all other communication channels remain open, secure, and accessible to all before, during, and after the country’s upcoming presidential elections scheduled for October 12, 2025.
As the people of Cameroon prepare to vote, your government must adopt and prioritize measures to guarantee that the election process is inclusive, free, and fair by providing voters with unfettered access to information and avenues for free expression, both online and offline.
In democratic societies, the internet and social media platforms play a critical role in enabling and enhancing participatory governance and transparency. They help advance national discourse and communication, enable access to critical information about election processes and candidates, facilitate reporting and documentation of events and outcomes, and provide an avenue to hold governments accountable for their actions.
Cameroon’s history of shutdowns
Cameroon has experienced multiple internet shutdowns, most notably the 2017 blackout in the Northwest and Southwest regions, which lasted a total of 94 days — one of the longest recorded internet shutdowns in Africa’s history. During these shutdowns, access was restricted to suppress dissent and silence protests against the perceived marginalization of Anglophone communities.
More recently, people in Cameroon have reported the emergence of network throttling and partial disruptions, especially in crisis-hit areas, particularly in the lead-up to the elections and during periods of civil unrest.
Internet shutdowns harm human rights and erode public trust
Research shows that internet shutdowns and violence go hand in hand. Shutting down the internet during crises also cuts off access to vital, timely, and life-saving information and assistance from emergency services. Shutdowns violate fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, access to information, freedom of the press, and freedom of peaceful assembly. By disrupting information flows, shutdowns may exacerbate existing tensions, instigate or conceal violence and human rights violations perpetrated by both state and non-state actors, and spur the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
Internet shutdowns can also cast doubt on the legitimacy of the electoral process. The free flow of information and expression is necessary to build public trust and facilitate transparent and fair elections. In addition, government-imposed shutdowns are often used as a tactic to silence and deprive oppositions and dissenters of an essential tool to campaign, mobilize voters, and organize — further eroding public confidence in what should be politically neutral formal institutions.
Shutdowns make it extremely difficult for journalists to carry out their work, thereby denying people both inside and outside of the country access to credible information. Human rights defenders, election observers, civil society actors, and other stakeholders rely on the internet to monitor and report on elections, facilitating transparency and openness in the democratic process.
Internet shutdowns also interfere with people’s livelihoods, costing national economies as well as individual businesses, companies, and public and private institutions billions of dollars. In Cameroon, the 2017 shutdown alone cost the economy over $1.5 million (USD), disproportionately affecting small businesses, students, and healthcare access in the affected regions, as indicated in reports by AfroLeadership and Internews.
Internet shutdowns contravene the law
The Republic of Cameroon’s constitution, as well as regional and international frameworks to which Cameroon is a signatory, such as the legally-binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR), all provide for the protection and promotion of the rights of freedom of opinion and expression, assembly, and access to information, online and offline.
In March 2024, as a response to the increasing number of election-related shutdowns in Africa, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) adopted resolution 580 of 2024, recognizing the importance of internet connectivity to the realization of free, fair, and credible elections as a tenet of democracy. Among other things, the resolution urges state parties to ensure open and secure internet access before, during, and after elections, “including ensuring that telecommunications and internet service providers take adequate steps to provide unrestricted and uninterrupted access.” It also specifically calls on African Union member states to refrain from implementing internet shutdowns before, during, and after elections.
Moreover, the UN has affirmed that “blanket internet shutdowns and generic blocking and filtering of services are considered by United Nations human rights mechanisms to be in violation of international human rights law.”
Telecom companies must respect human rights
Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, telecommunications companies and businesses have a responsibility to respect human rights, prevent or mitigate potential harms, and provide remedy for any harms they cause or contribute to.
Telecommunications companies and internet service providers (ISPs) operating in Cameroon — including MTN Cameroon, Orange Cameroon, and Camtel — must commit to providing high-quality, open, and secure access to the internet and digital communication tools throughout the upcoming elections and beyond. Internet shutdowns — whether in Cameroon or other countries — violate human rights and can never be justified. We encourage Cameroonian enterprises to integrate the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines for responding to censorship and network disruption requests in all markets where they operate.
Our recommendations
Ahead of, during, and beyond the upcoming elections, we urge you to:
- Publicly assure the people of Cameroon, especially those in historically affected regions such as the Northwest and Southwest, that the internet, including social media and other digital communication platforms, will remain open, accessible, and secure across Cameroon;
- Order internet service providers to guarantee high-quality, secure, and unrestricted internet access; and,
- Direct internet service providers to keep people informed of any potential disruptions, and to take all reasonable steps to fix any identified disruptions likely to impact their quality of service.
Please let us know how the #KeepItOn coalition can support you in upholding open, fair, and accessible internet access for all.
Signatories
- Access Now
- Africa Freedom of Information Centre (AFIC)
- Africa Open Data and Internet Research Foundation
- African Freedom of Expression Exchange (AFEX)
- AfricTivistes
- Association des Blogueurs du Cameroun -ABC
- Bloggers Association of Kenya (BAKE)
- Cameroon Association of English-Speaking Journalists
- Center for Media Research – Nepal (CMR-Nepal)
- Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA)
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- Computech Institute
- Digital Access
- Digital Rights Kashmir
- Forumvert
- Gambia Press Union (GPU)
- Human Rights Journalists Network Nigeria
- Initiative for Embracing Humanity in Africa (IEHA)
- International Press Institute
- JCA-NET(Japan)
- Jonction, Senegal
- KICTANet
- Kijiji Yeetu
- LastMile4D
- LeGideon Media World Inc
- Life campaign to abolish the death sentence in Kurdistan Network
- Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
- OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference)
- Organization of the Justice Campaign
- Paradigm Initiative
- PEN America
- PenPlusBytes
- SMEX
- SMSWithoutBorders
- Ubunteam
- West African Digital Rights Defenders Coalition
- Women Empower and Mentor All CBO (Wempower)
- YODET
- Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre (YEAC-Nigeria)
- Zaina Foundation