Cameroon has long welcomed people fleeing crisis, and today hosts a diverse population of more than 460,000 refugees, asylum-seekers, and one million internally displaced persons (IDPs). Under the leadership of Paul Biya—the “second-longest-ruling head of state in the world who isn’t a monarch”—Cameroon has received international support to both host refugees and respond to armed groups. Biya’s growing absence from the public eye over the last 10 years (amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic) and credible evidence of state-led atrocities have empowered new political opposition to vie for power.