In Cameroon, hunter-gatherers and mbororo constitute the largest groups of indigenous peoples. Cameroon voted in favor and adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, but has not yet ratified ILO Convention 169.

The Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon uses the indigenous and minority terms in its preamble. However, it is not clear who this refers to. However, with the evolution of international law, civil society and the government increasingly use the term indigenous to refer to indigenous peoples in Cameroon.

The Baka, Wodaabe and other indigenous peoples in Cameroon

0.4% of the total population of Cameroon are hunter-gatherers known as Bagyeli or Bakola, which is estimated to number some 4,000 people, the Baka, estimated at around 40,000, and the Bedzan, estimated at around 300 people . The Baka live in the eastern and southern regions of Cameroon. Bakola and Bagyeli live in an area of about 12,000 square kilometers in the south of the country, and the Bedzang live in the central region.

It is estimated that the Mbororo population living in Cameroon is more than 1 million people and represents approximately 12% of the population. The Mbororo live mainly along the borders with Nigeria, Chad and the Central African Republic. Three groups of Mbororo are found in Cameroon: the Wodaabe, the Jafun and the Galegi, popularly known as the Aku. The Kirdi communities live high in the Mandara mountain range, in northern Cameroon.

Progress: Political participation and recognition

Through their respective organizations, indigenous peoples participated in the activities of CISPAV (Committee of Suivi des Programs et Projets Impliquant les Poblations Autochtones Vulnérables). This committee was created by the Ministry of Social Affairs, and its objectives are the identification and centralization of needs for the socioeconomic inclusion of indigenous peoples, the evaluation of human, technical and financial resources available and necessary to implement the main development activities in favor of indigenous peoples: coordination and supervision of all programs within the different sectoral administrative bodies, NGOs and CSOs in favor of indigenous peoples: make proposals on how to improve all actions that can better serve the indigenous peoples indigenous peoples.

In 2017, all the laws that came under review that year, such as forest and wildlife laws, the law on land tenure and the pastoral code -to which indigenous peoples and civil society made important contributions- They are still pending approval.

In 2018, with the creation of the Platform of Indigenous Peoples and the REDD + process, indigenous peoples will be able to position themselves better and have a greater capacity for negotiation in the process to obtain benefits for their communities.