Charter?‖36The shutdown in Cameroon fails to meet the standard for necessity as it occurred in
direct response to anglophone protests, ostensibly to quell their dissent. In international law,
restrictions on expression may never be invoked to justify the suppression of advocacy for
democratic rights.37
7. Violations of related rights
The targeting of majority-Anglophone regions in order to silence protests from English-speaking
Cameroonians breaches Article 21 of the ICCPR‘s requirement of freedom of association. UN
Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai,
has affirmed that the ability to use communication technologies is key to the organization and
conduct of assemblies, and that the blocking of communications rarely satisfies the necessity and
proportionality tests for restrictions on free association.38 Cameroon is also a signatory of the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Articles 1, 2, and 6 guarantees
rights to the benefits of science and technology, education, work, and economic selfdetermination, which the shutdown impermissibly impeded.39
8. Conclusion
In light of the comparative and international law outlined above, a number of legal principles
should be considered by courts when considering the right to free expression and how it related
to restrictions on online communication. For example, the uniquely valuable role that the internet
plays in facilitating free expression has been internationally recognized and is relevant to
considering the necessity of restrictions on access to the internet. Furthermore, international and
regional courts and human rights institutions have determined that disrupting or blocking internet
access are incompatible with the right to free expression. These findings are based primarily on
the basis that such actions are not ―provided by law‖, or are an unnecessary and disproportionate
means of achieving their aim. The Interested Parties respectfully requests that the Honourable
Court take these observations into account when reaching its judgement in the present case.
DATED AT PRINCE LAW MUTENGENE
THIS DAY OF
2018
36
Id., par. 176.
United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the
right to freedom of opinion and expression, UN Doc. A/HRC/35/22 (2017), par. 11.
37
38
United Nations Human Rights Council, Joint report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on the
proper management of assemblies, UN Doc. A/HRC/31/66 (2016), par. 75.
39
UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by General
Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI)of 16 December 1966,