A/HRC/25/56/Add.1 F. Customary law and leadership structures 32. Customary law is legally recognized and enforceable, and remains in force in rural areas. It is valid only when it is not “repugnant to natural justice, equity, and good conscience”.17 Customary law is based on the traditions of the ethnic group predominant in the region and administered by the authorities of that group.18 Many citizens in rural areas are unaware of their rights under civil law and refer instead to customary laws. Some communities are remote from civil courts and have little practical option other than to rely on customary law. In practice there may be negative effects of customary law and leadership structures on persons belonging to a particular ethnic or religious minority who fall under the customary practices of another, more dominant ethnic or religious group. 33. Cameroon maintains a system of chiefs, headed by paramount chiefs who hold considerable powers at the local level. While the system generally allows for a degree of autonomy over their affairs for ethnic and religious groups, the Independent Expert was informed of cases of alleged favouritism or abuse of power by paramount chiefs. In one locality near Maroua in the Far North, some Christian community members complained that, despite good relations in the past, a Muslim paramount chief had begun to charge them rent on land that belonged to them, and expressed their concern that it was an attempt to remove them from their lands. Community representatives stated that it was impossible for members of some minority groups to be appointed paramount chiefs, so they were consistently under the authority of leaders from other ethnic or religious groups. 34. Community representatives expressed their concern at the power wielded by paramount chiefs over community affairs and the lack of effective redress for those who object to decisions they find unfair or in violation of their rights. It was also reported that regional government officials, including governors and senior divisional officers, exercise little authority over or have a negligible oversight role in the activities of paramount chiefs, and take little if any action to resolve local disputes falling within the jurisdiction of a paramount chief. V. Situation of Pygmy communities 35. Pygmy communities have traditionally lived in the forests, conducting huntergatherer lifestyles in harmony with their forest environment. Many have historically had little interaction with wider society and had a self-sufficient, subsistence livelihood. These communities have, however, been deeply affected by the logging industry and other natural resource and economic development projects in the areas that they traditionally inhabit. Logging activities are estimated to cut down 2,000 km2 of forest every year. The loss of forestland and the removal of the Pygmies to make way for logging and development projects have had a major impact on Pygmy communities, which are poorly equipped for life outside the forest. 36. Non-governmental organizations estimate that as many as 75,000 Baka Pygmies live in Cameroon, although their exact number is unknown. The logging industry has led to the resettlement of many Baka to villages and roadside camps outside the forest, where they face discrimination, marginalization and numerous social problems. They lack education and employment; alcoholism and teenage pregnancy are reportedly common in displaced Pygmy communities. Deprived of forest-based food sources and lacking sustainable 17 18 CCPR/C/CMR/4, para. 48. Centre for Civil and Political Rights, “NGO report” (see footnote 11), pp. 10-11. 11