<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail-qQVYZb"></div><div class="gmail-utdU2e"></div><div class="gmail-tx78Ic"></div><div class="gmail-aHl"></div><div id="gmail-:1qh" tabindex="-1"></div><div id="gmail-:113" class="gmail-ii gmail-gt gmail-adP gmail-adO" style="font-size:12.8px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;padding-bottom:5px"><div id="gmail-:1qe" class="gmail-a3s gmail-aXjCH gmail-m159f6ad8d3c05367"><div style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:garamond,"new york",times,serif;font-size:16px"><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11075" dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11250"><a href="http://law.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-llm-alum-charged-with-treason-in-cameroon-2/" class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757enhancr2_0dcdd9ed-15f5-007b-b6c2-8d363da21c34" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11249" target="_blank">NDLS Human Rights Lawyer Charged with Treason in Cameroon // The Law School // University of Notre Dame</a><br></span></div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11259"><br></div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757enhancr2_0dcdd9ed-15f5-007b-b6c2-8d363da21c34" class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-link-enhancr-card gmail-m_6598425217189668757ymail-preserve-class gmail-m_6598425217189668757ymail-preserve-style gmail-m_6598425217189668757img-overlay-selected" dir="ltr" style="max-width:400px;font-family:"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,sans-serif"><a href="http://law.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-llm-alum-charged-with-treason-in-cameroon-2/" class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="noreferrer" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11276" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(0,0,0);text-decoration:none"><table class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-wrapper gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11275" style="max-width:400px"><tbody id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11274"><tr id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11273"><td width="400" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11272"><table class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11271" style="max-width:400px"><tbody id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11270"><tr id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11269"><td class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-primary-image-cell" bgcolor="#000000" valign="top" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11268" style="background-image:url("https://s.yimg.com/vv//api/res/1.2/h_tVpU9ZnUhxDJAdE.Vyxw--/YXBwaWQ9bWFpbDtmaT1maWxsO2g9MjAwO3c9NDAw/http://law.nd.edu//images/webclips/nd-webclip-144.png.cf.jpg");background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:rgb(0,0,0);height:200px"><table class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-ignore-table" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" valign="top" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11267" style="width:400px"><tbody id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11266"><tr id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11265"><td bgcolor="transparent" valign="top" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11264" style="background-image:url("https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/12/overlay-tile.png");background-position:0% 0%;background-size:initial;background-repeat:repeat;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial;background-color:transparent;height:200px"><table class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-ignore-table" height="185" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11263" style="width:400px;height:185px;min-height:185px"><tbody id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11262"><tr id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11261"><td class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-richInfo2" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11260" style="padding:15px 0px 0px 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0px 0px;vertical-align:top"><div class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757card-info gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-ignore-table" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" style="background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;backgro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gho think that government policies are discriminatory to English-speakers, particularly in the education and judicial systems.</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11171" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">A longtime human rights officer and legal adviser to various United Nations field missions, Nkongho is president of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium, a non-governmental organization that advocates on behalf of English-speaking residents. The group objects to the government’s use of only French in courts and schools in Cameroon’s southwest and northwest provinces, which marginalizes and limits access to justice for English-speaking residents. Lawyers, teachers, and students <a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tensions-rise-cameroon-teachers-demand-respect-anglo-saxon-heritage-1593018" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11172" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(74,54,81);box-sizing:border-box">have been striking</a> and protesting since October 2016.</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11173" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">“West Cameroonians’ education, culture, language and economic aspirations have been severely undermined,” Nkongho wrote in a recent press release. “The people are thus very determined to secure their Anglo-Saxon heritage and aspirations as we enshrined in the constitution of 1961.”</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11174" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">Residents from English-speaking regions say they are excluded from civil service jobs, Nkongho said. Judges and administrators are often sent to manage court systems in English speaking regions without any knowledge of the language or the common law legal system.</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11175" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">The consortium is an organization made up of civil society organizations, professionals and trade unions to advocate for the rights of English-speakers in Cameroon. The group’s efforts are a part of a wider protest against government officials, and began on the day that schools were meant to reopen for the second term of the school year.</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11176" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">English-speaking residents account for about 20 percent of Cameroon’s 23 million people, said Nkongho. According to the Cameroonian constitution, which was adopted in 1972, both English and French are official languages with “the same status.” It also states, “The State shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country.”</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11177" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">Cameroon’s president Paul Biya, who has led the country since 1982, rarely makes statements in English. Most official documents, public exams, and news from the state broadcaster are in French.</div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11178" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:1em;max-width:65em">The civil disobedience campaign, launched by the consortium, is expected to continue despite Nkongho’s arrest and trial.</div></div><footer id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11179" style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:"helvetica neue",helvetica,arial,verdana,sans-serif;background-color:rgb(241,241,241)"><div dir="ltr" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11180" style="font-family:inherit;font-size:1em;box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0.2em;margin-right:1em;max-width:65em;color:rgb(153,153,153);font-weight:bold"><b id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11181" style="box-sizing:border-box">Posted In:</b> <a href="http://law.nd.edu/news/category/general-news/" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11182" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(74,54,81);box-sizing:border-box">General News</a>, <a href="http://law.nd.edu/news/category/home-page/" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11183" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(74,54,81);box-sizing:border-box">Home Page</a>, and <a href="http://law.nd.edu/news/category/news-page/" id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1485902165098_11184" class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757enhancr2_573f9f8c-19e3-8d7a-ce1f-726a437afb56" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(74,54,81);box-sizing:border-box">News Page // The Law School // University of Notre Dame</a></div><div><br></div><div id="gmail-m_6598425217189668757enhancr2_573f9f8c-19e3-8d7a-ce1f-726a437afb56" class="gmail-m_6598425217189668757yahoo-link-enhancr-card gmail-m_6598425217189668757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