German Kamerun vs. the UN Trust Territory: Why These Two Realities Are Not the Same

Understanding the difference between these two periods is essential for explaining why today’s legal questions are rooted in the UN system, not in the old German protectorate.

1. German Kamerun Was a Colonial Protectorate

Germany established “Kamerun” between 1884 and 1916. The territory was created by:

• commercial treaties with local chiefs

• expansion by German military campaigns

• lines negotiated with Britain and France

But the key point is this: German Kamerun was a colonial creation, not a sovereign African federation. No African kingdom voluntarily formed a union under Germany. The borders were drawn for German interests, not for local political continuity.

German Kamerun ended entirely after Germany’s defeat in World War I. Once Germany lost its colonies, the protectorate dissolved in international law. It did not survive as a continuous political entity.

2. After World War I, the League of Nations Dismantled German Kamerun

When Germany lost the war, the League of Nations divided Kamerun into two separate mandates:

• A French Mandate (larger portion)

• A British Mandate (two non-contiguous strips)

These were not colonies. They were mandated territories, held in trust for the people who lived there. The goal was to prepare them for self-government, not to rule them forever.

This is where the legal story of Southern Cameroons truly begins.
German Kamerun was gone.
What replaced it was an international legal framework based on supervision, accountability, and eventual independence.

3. The UN Trust Territory Was a Completely Different Legal Entity

In 1946, the League of Nations mandate system was replaced by the United Nations Trust Territory system. Southern Cameroons became a UN Trust Territory under Article 76(b) of the UN Charter. This changed everything.

Now the territory operated under:

• international law

• supervision by the UN Trusteeship Council

• annual reports

• visits by UN missions

• protection of the right to self-determination

Unlike German Kamerun, this system was transparent and rule-based. It recognized the people of Southern Cameroons as a political community with rights, not as subjects of a European power.

4. Self-Government in Southern Cameroons Was a Legal Status, Not a Colonial Invention

By the 1950s, Southern Cameroons had:

• an elected government

• a functioning House of Assembly

• a Prime Minister

• control over internal affairs

• a recognized international personality under the Trusteeship system

This was not Germany’s doing. It came from the UN Charter’s requirements.
The people of Southern Cameroons were being prepared to decide their future, not to be absorbed by another state casually.

5. German Kamerun Boundaries Cannot Be Used to Justify the Post-1961 Union

Some argue that because Southern Cameroons was part of German Kamerun, it naturally belongs with La République du Cameroun. That argument fails for three reasons:

Reason 1: German Kamerun legally died in 1916.

There is no continuity between the protectorate and the states that came after.

Reason 2: The successor system was the UN Trusteeship, not colonial inheritance.

The Trusteeship system gave Southern Cameroons its own legal personality and its own right to self-determination.

Reason 3: Resolution 1608 required a union treaty.

If German boundaries were enough, the UN would not have required a tripartite treaty between:

• Southern Cameroons

• La République du Cameroun

• The United Kingdom

The fact that a treaty was required proves that no automatic union existed.

6. The Final Legal Reality

The modern identity of Southern Cameroons is not based on German Kamerun. It is based on:

• the League of Nations Mandate

• the UN Trusteeship

• Article 76(b)

• the 1954 autonomous government

• the 1961 requirement for a formal treaty

The issue today is simple:

Southern Cameroons was never absorbed through a signed union treaty, which was the only legal way for a UN Trust Territory to join another state. Since that treaty was never completed, the so-called union exists only in assumption, not in law.

7. How to Use This in Public Conversations

Here is the most effective line to share:

German Kamerun ended in 1916. The legal identity of Southern Cameroons comes from the UN Trust Territory system, not from German colonial borders. And under that system, only a signed union treaty could create a legal union with La République du Cameroun. No such treaty exists.