African charity admits abuses against locals at Congo park

JOHANNESBURG - A major African conservation charity has acknowledged its rangers were involved in rights violations reportedly including rape and torture against indigenous people at a national park in the Republic of Congo.

African Parks, which has Prince Harry on its governing board and receives EU and US funding, said an independent investigation had confirmed allegations of abuses at its Odzala-Kokoua National Park in northern Congo.

"African Parks acknowledges that, in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred, and we deeply regret the pain and suffering that these have caused to the victims," the Johannesburg-headquartered organisation said Thursday.

The group, which works in 12 countries in Africa, did not give details of the allegations of violations against the Baka community of hunter gatherers who live near the park.

Reports in Britain's Mail on Sunday and the German outlet Tagesschau cited locals as alleging rape, beatings, torture and other abuses carried out by guards employed by African Parks.

A report by Tagesschau said, for example, that rangers had waterboarded a local because he had ventured too deep into a protected area of the park, where locals are only allowed to access the periphery for foraging.

African Parks said it had engaged London-based human rights law firm Omnia Strategy to investigate the claims, of which it became aware in mid-2023 and some of which may have occurred over the past 15 years.

The British firm said its 16-month investigation looked into 21 of the allegations, which included physical and sexual violence, including rape, torture and "unlawful killing".
Its statement did not detail its findings or recommendations.

'Fortress conservation'

African Parks admitted the investigation "highlighted several failures of our systems".

It said it would appoint an independent panel to oversee investigations into "all serious grievances" and take action against staff members implicated in incidents not yet known about or that had not been adequately dealt with.

Leading Republic of Congo rights group Centre d'Actions pour le Developpement (CAD) lauded the investigation as "a responsible reaction" and called for sanctions against the perpetrators.

"Hiding the abuses committed by the eco guards in the name of the fight against wildlife crime has only allowed other abuses to be committed," CAD executive director Tresor Nzila told AFP.

Founded by the late Dutch billionaire Paul Fentener van Vlissingen in 2000, African Parks manages 22 protected areas in 12 countries.

Prince Harry served as president of the organisation for six years until 2023, after which he joined the governing board of directors.

The non-profit organisation, which has also received funding from celebrities like pop star Taylor Swift, has faced criticism for practising "fortress conservation", effectively barricading local communities from nature reserves and the tourists who visit them.

African Parks has denied the accusations, saying in a 2024 statement that "none of our work would even be possible without the active support and engagement of local communities".

In one of its flagship projects in Chad, African Parks helped rebuild Zakouma National Park's elephant population after numbers had dropped by about 95 percent.

Located in the south of the landlocked country, Zakouma is guarded by militarised rangers and armed with assault rifles.

The Odzala-Kokoua National Park is set in the Congo Basin, the world's second-largest tropical rainforest after the Amazon, and is home to critically endangered gorillas as well as forest elephants.