protection for victims. Women continued to be under-represented in politics. Although the number of women commune chiefs elected during the 2017 commune elections increased, the total number of women councillors decreased. RIGHT TO HOUSING AND FORCED EVICTIONS Land grabbing, land concessions granted to private stakeholders for agri-industrial use, and major development projects continued to impact the right to adequate housing for communities around the country. A report released in January by the Land Management Ministry showed an increase in land dispute complaints received in 2016 compared to the previous year. Work on the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in the northeast province of Stung Treng progressed; Indigenous people who refused to leave their ancestral lands faced forcible relocation. Those who accepted relocation were moved to substandard and floodingaffected resettlement sites. REFUGEES AND ASYLUM-SEEKERS The government rejected 29 applications for refugee status by Montagnard asylumseekers from Viet Nam, who faced possible refoulement. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, stated that they had legitimate grounds. They remained in Cambodia at the end of the year. INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE In February, the Co-Investigating Judges issued a joint closing order dismissing the case against Im Chaem in Case 004/1 at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC). She was found not to fall within the ECCC’s personal jurisdiction of being a senior leader or one of the most responsible officials during the Khmer Rouge regime. In June, closing statements were made in a second trial of Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan in Case 002. The case against them had been severed by the Trial Chamber of the ECCC in 2011, resulting in two trials on 112 different charges. They faced charges of crimes against humanity, genocide and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. 1. Cambodia: Courts of injustice − suppressing activism through the criminal justice system (ASA 23/6059/2017) CAMEROON Republic of Cameroon Head of state: Paul Biya Head of government: Philémon Yang The armed group Boko Haram continued to commit serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Far North region, including looting and destroying properties and killing and abducting civilians. In response, the authorities and security forces committed human rights violations and crimes under international law, including arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detentions, torture and deaths in custody. As a result of the conflict, around 240,000 people in the Far North region had fled their homes between 2014 and the end of 2017. Freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly continued to be restricted throughout the country. Security forces violently repressed demonstrations in Anglophone regions in January and September. Civil society activists, journalists, trade unionists and teachers were arrested and some faced trial before military courts. ABUSES BY ARMED GROUPS The armed group Boko Haram committed crimes under international law and human rights abuses, including suicide bombings in civilian areas, summary executions, abductions, recruitment of child soldiers, and looting and destruction of public and private property. During the year, the group carried out at least 150 attacks, including 48 suicide bombings, killing at least 250 civilians. The crimes were part of a widespread and systematic attack on the civilian population Amnesty International Report 2017/18