Publications

Affected communities in Cameroon’s Far North understand transitional justice more broadly than most policy frameworks allow: not merely as accountability or reconciliation but as the possibility of rebuilding a dignified life. Victims of violence in the region insist that they should have a say in the process of designing such a transitional justice policy in the Lake Chad Basin and Cameroon specifically.

This policy brief provides three recommendations for the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and the government of Cameroon based on qualitative field research conducted in Cameroon’s Far North between March and April 2026. The project team conducted 34 semi-structured interviews with victims of conflict, women, traditional authorities, former associates of armed groups, civil society representatives, a lawyer, a journalist, a university professor and DDR practitioners in Maroua, Mora, Kolofata, Amchidé, Gancé and Tolkomari.