CAMEROON: GOVT PRACTICES ON INFO COLLECTION, SCREENING AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YAOUNDE 001391 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/C, S/CT MCKUNE DEPT PASS TO NCTC, DHS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2017 TAGS: KVPR PTER PREL PGOV PINR CVIS ASEC KHLS SNAR CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON: GOVT PRACTICES ON INFO COLLECTION, SCREENING AND SHARING REF: 06 SECSTATE 190832 Classified By: Poloff Linnisa Wahid for reasons (1.4.b & d) ¶1. (C) Below are responses to reftel information request on the Government of the Republic of Cameroon (GRC) information collecting, screening and sharing. ¶A. Immigration Data Base -------------- ¶2. (C) The GRC does not have a computerized database system that tracks entry and exits. Instead, passengers arriving by air or sea must present an entry card with their personal information. Those traveling by land need not present an entry card. The GRC reports that it is attempting to create uniform requirements for all visitors regardless of method of entry, i.e. requiring entry cards for all visitors. ¶B. Watchlist and Information Sharing -------------- ¶3. (C) The watchlist is populated by Interpol, the United Nations and the local police department; however, it is not updated regularly due to communication problems between officials at the Ports of Entry (POE) and the relevant offices that contribute to the watchlist. The names consist mostly of Cameroonian criminals with a few names of terrorists provided by the United Nations. Post is unaware of any bilateral watchlist agreement between the GRC and its neighbors. ¶C. Biometrics -------------- ¶4. (C) There are no biometric systems at the POE's. The GRC issues machine readable passports; however, there is no biometric data contained in the passport. There are currently no plans to add biometric data. ¶D. Identifying Appropriate Partners -------------- ¶5. (C) Post believes that Cameroon is not an appropriate partner at this time to share information. The GRC's watchlist exists only on paper and is transmitted to the POE's via fax and radio communication. Cameroon's legal system is not sufficiently developed to adequately provide safeguards for the protection and non-disclosure of information. Even internally, there is little information sharing between the ministries. There is no single consolidated database. For example, the police department (which is in charge of immigration) has a separate database from Interpol, which has its own separate database from internal security. Cameroon is a member of Interpol, BEAC (Bank of Central African States) and the Central African Banking Regulatory Board (COBAC). To the extent that the statutes of these bodies address terrorism, those statutes are binding under Cameroonian law. The only terrorism reference developed by the GRC is in the Cameroonian penal code, which addresses money laundering for terrorist finance. Cameroon has not passed domestic legislation addressing terrorism per se. The Central African Economic Community (CEMAC),however, has passed regulations regarding terrorism finance that include a definition of terrorism (full definition, below). As Cameroon is a member state of CEMAC, CEMAC regulations are part of Cameroonian law. ¶6. (U) The CEMAC Ministerial Committee decision 01/03-CEMAC-UMAC includes the following definition of terrorism: Terrorism: any of the following acts: a. an act that constitutes an infraction in regard to and according to the definition of a relevant international treaty ratified by the member state; b. an act intended to cause death or serious physical damage to any civilian, or to any other person who does not participate directly in an armed conflict, when, by its nature or context, this act is intended to intimidate a population or force a government or international organization to take or to refrain from taking any action; c. an attempt to commit an act mentioned in lines a or b. d. participation as an accomplice in the acts mentioned in a, b or c. e. the organization of an act mentioned in a, b or c. YAOUNDE 00001391 002 OF 002 f. the deliberate contribution to the commission of any of the acts mentioned in lines a, b and c by a group of persons acting in concert in order to facilitate criminal activity of the group or to serve its means, when this activity or its goals intend the commission of an act in line a or b or when having been made aware of the group's intention to commit an act in line a or b. End CEMAC definition of terrorism. GARVEY