World Refugee Day 2024: Protection is paramount for more than 470 000 refugees in Cameroon

On June 20th, the world celebrates refugees and their resilience. Cameroon is home to over 470 000 refugees (HCR, April 2024) who, for the most part, fled from the CAR after the explosion of violence 2013 or are Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram militant attacks in the northern and western front of the country. Once lauded for its relative stability, Cameroon faces multiple complex and deepening crises with the violence perpetrated by non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in the Far North region, in the Northwest and Southwest regions and turmoil along its porous border with the Central African Republic. Yet, in 2023, Cameroon was deemed (again) one of the most neglected humanitarian crises by the Norwegian Refugee Council in its annual analysis. This year, DRC and other international organizations active in Cameroon including NRC, ACF, CRS, CARE and Plan International have come together to draw attention to the specific challenges and needs of refugees in Cameroon and call for more durable solutions from the government's side as well as the international community. You can read our joint advocacy note here.