OUR PURPOSE
The Ambazonia People’s Liberation Authority (APLA) is the current institutional expression of the Ambazonian national movement. Its purpose is self-determination through a just negotiated process sanctioned by the people. APLA advances the collective aspirations of the people of Ambazonia through lawful, coordinated, accountable, and people-centered institutional action.
APLA recognizes that sustainable peace must be founded upon justice. It therefore seeks a just and peaceful negotiated settlement of the Ambazonia Question that addresses its underlying political and constitutional dimensions, protects the population, and gives effect to the freely expressed will of the people. The protection of the population, the freedom of political prisoners, humanitarian assistance, community participation, and responsible institutional leadership remain among its central priorities.
The people are the reason for the Authority’s existence. Its institutions, resources, policies, and representatives are to serve them.
This Manifesto presents APLA’s public commitments. Its constitutional organization and the responsibilities of its institutions are established in the Constitutional and Institutional Framework.
I. OUR INSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY
The establishment of APLA represents an institutional reconstitution of the Ambazonian national movement, rather than the creation of an organization disconnected from its predecessors.
The movement has taken successive institutional forms, including the Southern Cameroons National Council, the Southern Cameroons Consortium, the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Consortium United Front, the Governing Council, and the Interim Government. APLA carries this institutional evolution forward through the Constitutional Transition Instrument.
The transition from the Interim Government to APLA also marks a change in institutional approach. APLA is organized as a liberation authority whose immediate work is directed toward the national question, civilian protection, international engagement, community resilience, and the coordination of the institutions serving those purposes.
The reconstitution clarifies responsibilities, strengthens accountability, improves coordination, and directs institutional capacity toward the responsibilities of the present phase.
II. THE NATIONAL QUESTION
The Southern Cameroons–Ambazonia Question concerns the political and constitutional future of a people and territory whose history includes administration under the United Nations Trusteeship system and the constitutional processes associated with the end of that administration.
APLA maintains that this history raises an unresolved question of self-determination requiring substantive legal, political, and international consideration. Its position draws upon the United Nations Charter, including Chapter XII and Article 76(b), and relevant United Nations resolutions concerning decolonization and the future of the Trust Territory of the Cameroons under United Kingdom Administration.
APLA will pursue this question through historical and legal research, documentary examination, diplomatic engagement, and appropriate international processes. It will seek consideration of the constitutional record and the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned.
A lasting settlement must address the underlying status question. It must also establish credible arrangements for implementation and for the protection of the population affected by the conflict.
III. JUSTICE AND PEACE WITH SAFEGUARDS
APLA seeks a just and peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict under conditions that guarantee real-time safeguards to the territory and its population.
A credible process for justice and peace must attend to the immediate security of civilians while providing a substantive process for determining the underlying political and constitutional question. APLA will therefore pursue an internationally guaranteed ceasefire framework, effective civilian-protection arrangements, humanitarian access, independent monitoring, and a process for the legal and political determination of status.
APLA proposes that the ceasefire, civilian-protection mechanism, and process for determining status be developed as coordinated elements of a just and peaceful process, so that protection and substantive political engagement advance together.
These elements are connected. Protection cannot be deferred until the conclusion of political negotiations, and the political question cannot be set aside indefinitely while the consequences of the conflict continue.
Four Confidence-Building Measures
APLA recognizes four measures that can help build confidence and create a constructive environment for negotiations:
1. Demilitarization: The withdrawal of Cameroonian military and defense forces from the streets of Ambazonia’s counties and LGAs.
2. Release of detainees: The unconditional release of persons arrested, detained, or imprisoned in connection with the conflict.
3. Safe passage and freedom of movement: Guarantees enabling displaced persons and members of the diaspora to return, travel, and participate in the political process without fear of arrest, harassment, forced return, or reprisal, with protection against refoulement.
4. International mediation in a neutral venue: Negotiations facilitated by a neutral international third party and conducted outside Cameroon.
These measures are proposed as practical steps toward mutual confidence, not as conditions that must all be fulfilled before dialogue can begin. They form part of APLA’s broader approach to justice and peace, alongside an internationally guaranteed ceasefire, effective civilian protection, humanitarian access, independent monitoring, and a substantive process addressing the political and constitutional status question.
APLA will advocate arrangements capable of protecting civilians, supporting the cessation of hostilities, and enabling a durable negotiated outcome. Its approach is to pursue justice and peace through practical safeguards, dialogue and negotiation, and a process that addresses the root question of the conflict.
IV. THE PROTECTION OF OUR PEOPLE
The human consequences of the conflict demand sustained attention. Displaced families, refugees, prisoners and detainees, children whose education has been interrupted, and communities whose livelihoods have been damaged require assistance that responds to their actual circumstances.
APLA commits to making humanitarian protection and assistance a continuing institutional priority. Its Welfare Agency will coordinate welfare programs, support for affected communities, assistance to vulnerable persons, and appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration initiatives.
Humanitarian needs do not depend on the pace of diplomacy. Assistance must continue while legal, political, and international efforts advance.
APLA will seek cooperation with humanitarian organizations, qualified professionals, community initiatives, and international partners to strengthen the reach and effectiveness of assistance.
V. POLITICAL PRISONERS AND LEGAL PROTECTION
The freedom of Ambazonian political prisoners is a strategic national priority of APLA.
APLA will pursue lawful avenues for addressing detention, securing legal assistance, supporting affected families, and advancing appropriate initiatives for release. It will seek the participation of qualified lawyers, human rights professionals, humanitarian institutions, and relevant international actors.
Legal protection must also extend to refugees, internally displaced persons, and other people facing legal and humanitarian difficulties arising from the conflict.
The Authority’s Legal Affairs Agency will contribute legal advice, institutional guidance, and the development of legal and policy instruments needed to support this work.
VI. A PEOPLE-CENTERED AUTHORITY
APLA’s institutions exist to serve the people of Ambazonia.
Community participation is therefore a foundational principle of its organization. Recognized communities provide the platforms through which people participate, contribute expertise, communicate their concerns, and engage with institutional programs.
The Authority will strengthen its relationship with communities within the territory and throughout the diaspora. It will seek meaningful participation from people with different professional backgrounds, generations, and experiences, while recognizing the responsibilities of existing community structures.
Women and young people have important roles in the life of their communities and in shaping their future. APLA will seek their meaningful participation in community leadership, education and livelihood initiatives, humanitarian work, and efforts directed toward justice and peace. Their perspectives must inform institutional decisions affecting their safety, opportunities, and well-being.
Participation must be accompanied by accountability. Institutional representatives are responsible for the duties entrusted to them, the resources placed in their care, and the manner in which they exercise authority.
VII. LEADERSHIP, RESPONSIBILITY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
APLA’s leadership and institutional representation bring together the Office of the President, the Special Envoy, the Office of the Secretary General, and the Chairperson of the Council of Liberty Patrons. They also include NERA10 Representatives, APOW-APOCS Representatives, the leaderships of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) and the Southern Cameroons Consortium, Civil Society Representatives, Personalities of Reference, Religious Representatives, and Traditional Representatives.
The President provides strategic leadership and overall stewardship. The Special Envoy holds a supportive leadership status in relation to the President and the Secretary General and is entrusted with special assignments, representation, and institutional engagements. The Secretary General provides executive and administrative leadership, coordinating the implementation of institutional decisions and strategic priorities.
The participation of community, civil society, religious, traditional, and other representatives brings different forms of experience and institutional contribution into APLA’s collective work. The APLA Secretariat supports administration and institutional coordination, while the Operational Agencies carry out specialized responsibilities within their respective mandates.
The purpose of this architecture is to connect decisions with implementation and make responsibility identifiable. Leadership must be exercised through service, integrity, professional administration, institutional cooperation, and accountability. The detailed composition, relationships, and responsibilities of APLA’s institutions are established in the Constitutional and Institutional Framework.
VIII. OUR OPERATIONAL COMMITMENTS
APLA organizes its specialized work through six Operational Agencies: Diplomacy; Community Mobilization; Welfare; Intelligence and Security; Revenue; and Legal Affairs.
Through these agencies, the Authority will pursue coordinated international engagement, strengthen community participation, support vulnerable populations, develop protective and situational-assessment capacity, mobilize and safeguard resources, and provide legal and institutional support.
Through its institutions and agencies, APLA will progressively develop credible policies, programs, and coordinated initiatives responsive to the immediate and long-term challenges confronting the people. These areas include civilian protection, humanitarian protection and assistance, human rights, diplomacy and international engagement, education, environmental protection, the role of traditional authorities and traditional institutions, community order and protection, community development, rural and urban resilience during the ongoing conflict, civic education and political consciousness, and the preservation of identity, culture, collective values, and community solidarity.
Each agency has a distinct mandate. Their work must nevertheless form part of a coherent institutional effort, coordinated through the Office of the Secretary General and the Secretariat.
The Authority will seek professional expertise and responsible cooperation wherever these can improve the delivery of its mandate.
IX. INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT
APLA will engage governments, international organizations, regional institutions, civil society, religious institutions, professional networks, academic institutions, and other relevant partners.
Its international work will seek greater understanding of the Ambazonia Question, consideration of its legal and historical dimensions, humanitarian assistance, constructive institutional relationships, and support for a just and peaceful negotiated settlement.
APLA will also seek appropriate political, economic, technical, and other lawful forms of cooperation consistent with its institutional priorities.
The United Nations, the United Kingdom, African institutions, and interested states are important interlocutors in the international consideration of the question. APLA will pursue engagement with them through documented submissions, diplomatic communication, legal work, and sustained institutional relationships.
X. UNITY THROUGH COOPERATION
APLA recognizes that Ambazonians work through different organizations, professional networks, community initiatives, and institutional platforms.
The Authority will promote constructive cooperation with those prepared to work together on shared objectives. Such cooperation may concern legal research, humanitarian assistance, diplomacy, public information, community organization, or other lawful initiatives.
Unity is strengthened when responsibilities are clear, contributions are respected, and institutions can cooperate without unnecessary duplication. APLA will seek practical relationships that reinforce collective work and preserve the value of expertise and initiatives already in place.
Its commitment is to cooperation founded on mutual respect, institutional responsibility, and the common interests of the people.
XI. RESOURCES AND NATIONAL STEWARDSHIP
The work of the Authority requires dependable resources and responsible financial administration.
APLA will pursue sustainable funding to support affected communities, strengthen institutional capacity, and sustain its lawful programs. Resource mobilization must be accompanied by transparent administration, budgeting, financial accountability, and responsible stewardship.
The Revenue Agency is responsible for mobilizing, managing, and safeguarding the Authority’s financial resources. The Council of Liberty Patrons contributes mission stewardship, voluntary support, strategic resource mobilization, and long-term sustainability.
The Authority will seek to build confidence through clear responsibilities, appropriate reporting, and the careful use of resources entrusted to it.
XII. OUR INSTITUTIONAL EMBLEMS
APLA shall maintain an official logo and an official seal as distinct expressions of its institutional identity. The logo shall identify the Authority in its publications, communications, and other authorized uses. The seal shall serve formal authentication and ceremonial purposes.
The design, approval, and authorized use of these emblems shall be governed by the Authority’s institutional procedures. Once approved, the official emblems shall be reproduced faithfully and shall not be independently altered or redesigned for APLA publications.
XIII. MOTTO: WE SHALL NEVER LACK.
We Shall Never Lack expresses APLA’s commitment to sustainability and responsible stewardship of the capacities of its people.
The motto recognizes the knowledge, resilience, talent, resources, and collective determination available within Ambazonian communities. It places a corresponding responsibility on institutional leadership to organize those capacities carefully, develop them, and use them in ways that preserve institutional continuity, strengthen long-term resilience, and serve the people.
It is a standard of responsibility: operations must be sustainable, resources must be safeguarded, expertise must be put to useful work, and the needs of the people must remain central to institutional decisions.
OUR PUBLIC COMMITMENT
APLA will pursue its mandate through lawful institutional action, sustained international engagement, community participation, humanitarian responsibility, accountable administration, and a continuing commitment to justice and peace.
It will work for the freedom of political prisoners, assistance to people affected by the conflict, credible safeguards for civilians, and a just and peaceful negotiated settlement of the Ambazonia Question sanctioned by the people.
APLA measures the work of its institutions by the responsibilities they discharge, the integrity of their conduct, their capacity to protect human dignity, respond to the needs of the people, strengthen communities, and translate national aspirations into responsible institutional action.