Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday urged Cameroon authorities to revoke a troubling recent decree introduced on July 16 by Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, the head of the Mfoundi division. The decree outlines a series of measures intended to limit freedom of expression ahead of Cameroon’s 2025 presidential elections, including potential banning from the division for anyone who dangerously insults the [state] institutions or the person who embodies them.

Following the announcement of the decree, the minister of communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, issued a press release in which he said of President Paul Biya, “who was freely and overwhelmingly elected by his fellow citizens,” that “it is unacceptable for compatriots […] to use irreverent language” against him.

Djikdent has defended the harshly criticized decree, claiming that it was issued to “preserve public order.” However, opponents claim that the decree catastrophically limits the right to free speech in a nation where this freedom is already at risk.

In a report, HRW urged the government to act sooner rather than later ahead of the country’s upcoming elections, surrounding which tensions are rising as it becomes increasingly difficult to speak freely. The National Assembly of Cameroon passed a law in July that postponed the country’s February 2025 parliamentary elections and extended the terms of office for its members until March 2026. Having assumed office in 1982, the current president, Paul Biya, 91, is in his seventh term. After a contentious election that prompted a surge of political persecution, he was last reelected in 2018.

Barrister Akere Muna, one of nine contenders in the nation’s most recent presidential election, criticized the decree, labeling it “deeply concerning for our country,” according to local outlet The East African. He continued by stating that “the situation is alarming, and it reflects a breakdown of our society’s values of unity.”

Cameroon has a history of suppressing speech it deems unwanted through the use of ambiguous legislation. Anyone who “disseminates information that cannot be verified” faces penalties and jail time under a 2010 cybersecurity and cybercrime law. In reality, this law is used to punish those who publicly dispute information that the government disseminates.