I refuse to remain silent as Cameroon shatters gay lives

In Cameroon, IDAHOTB is not a celebration, it is a slap in the face.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOTB and similar abbreviations) is observed annually on May 17 — mostly outside the United States — to raise awareness of LGBTQ+ rights violations and celebrate sexual and gender diversity. The date was chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision on May 17, 1990, to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases.
 
Image from a Cameroonian Unity Platform report on anti-LGBTI human rights abuses in Cameroon.
COMMENTARY
I refuse to remain silent. On this May 17, 2026, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia, I cry out in anger. Because in Cameroon, this day is not a celebration, it is a slap in the face. Here, homosexuality remains criminalized by Article 347-1 of the Penal Code and by Article 83 of the 2010 Law on Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Behind these texts lie shattered lives, bruised bodies, and destroyed spirits.
I am thinking of the more than 1,000 victims of homophobic violence, of the LGBTI people imprisoned, humiliated, deprived of their freedom, of those murdered, rejected, discriminated against, and driven out of hospitals, schools, and workplaces. I am thinking of those who survive in precarious and deplorable conditions, abandoned by the state and by a society that denies their existence.
I am thinking of the activists and human rights organizations who fight every day to protect their communities, but who are attacked, beaten, and intimidated. Too many organizations have had to close their doors, strangled by the lack of financial support, by persistent insecurity, and by social, political, and religious pressure. Meanwhile, funding is dwindling, human rights are collapsing, and the proposed partnerships fail to meet the real needs of the communities.
So I say it plainly: where are the technical, financial, and diplomatic partners? Where is their real support? How can we justify that courageous leaders, who give voice to their communities, are left alone to face threats, violence, and visa denials when they seek protection and work?
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IDAHOTB must not be a symbolic date. This is a moment of radical advocacy, an urgent call to address the needs of communities, to support local organizations, and to ensure their safety and survival. It is a tribute to the LGBTI leaders of Cameroon who, despite fear and obstacles, continue to work for the advancement of the cause.
I refuse silence. I refuse indifference. I refuse the hypocrisy of empty rhetoric. The rights of LGBTI people are universal human rights. And as long as Cameroon continues to deny them, I will continue to shout, denounce, and demand. Because every life counts. Because every voice deserves to be heard. Because humanity cannot be built on exclusion and hatred.