Cameroon-Brazil Relations : Brazil Reaffirms Recognition of Cameroon’s Territorial Integrity

The Ambassador of Brazil to Cameroon, Vivian Loss Sanmartin says, “Brazil categorically recognises, in accordance with international law, the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cameroon, a country with which we have had precious and historic relations of friendship and cooperation for 40 years.”
She made the declaration in an interview to the press in Yaounde on February 21, 2020 in reaction to information disseminated on social networks seeking to suggest that Brazil supports separatist movement in Cameroon. She said such information was false. The Ambassador explained that the Municipal Chamber of Barueri, a medium-sized city in the State of Sao Paulo in December 2019 adopted a support motion for the self-proclaimed Ambazonia Republic in Cameroon. “The initiative was disseminated by a few social networks in Cameroon and elsewhere, raising concerns about Brazil’s position to this conflict,” she added. She used the occasion to explain that Brazil is a federative republic and that municipalities have the autonomy to propose and adopt motions on the most varied subjects. “Although it expresses an opinion , a concern, a political position, etc, a legislative motion at the municipal level has no legal value,” she stated.
Concerning the information disseminated, the Ambassador said, “It should be noted that the Brazilian Constitution establishes, in its Article 21, Point 1 that it is up to the Union, representative of the Brazilian Federal State, to maintain relations with foreign States and to participate in international organisation.” She further specified that the Constitution in its Article 84, Point VII, states that...