Human rights defenders in Cameroon have been subjected to arbitrary detention, judicial harassment, intimidation, threats as well as attacks on their property. Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are limited. In particular members of human rights organisations and journalists critical of the government are targeted.

The authorities on numerous occasions have denied permission to hold demonstrations. Police and security forces have reacted to spontaneous demonstrations by dispersing them using excessive force, causing serious injuries, and arresting protesters. In February 2008, a vast wave of protests in the main cities throughout Cameroon was met with harsh repression. Excessive force in dispersing demonstrations was also used on several occasions thereafter. No investigations have been carried out, including into the killings during the February 2008 events.

Journalists and human rights defenders reporting corruption or critical of the government faced arbitrary arrest and charges of defamation or spreading false information. Several journalists have been convicted and sentenced to fines as well as prison terms following trials often affected by procedural irregularities. Independent media outlets have been shut down, offices raided, and equipment confiscated.

Human rights defenders working on sexual orientation and gender identities also faced harassment by society at large and by the authorities. This included the sentencing and detention of defenders on charges of homosexuality, which is criminalised under Cameroonian legislation.

Defenders have also been targeted and intimidated for seeking to mobilise international attention on human rights violations in the country.

Arbitrary arrest, detention, and disruption of meetings of members of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) – a group supporting independence for anglophone provinces – have continued. Its members have been charged for wearing SCNC T-shirts and for agitating for secession.