Prince Harry has parted ways with a charity accused of employing contractors who raped and tortured members of an indigenous community in Central Africa. The Duke of Sussex is set to step down as a director of the South Africa-based conservation nonprofit African Parks, the organization said in a statement last week. It expressed “deep gratitude” for the prince’s decade-long tenure, which included several years as its president.
This led to an independent investigation commissioned by African Parks, following which it acknowledged incidents of human rights abuses, but did not publish the full findings or state whether these included rape and torture. A spokesman for Prince Harry, who is due to move back to the U.K. at the end of August, told Newsweek: “The Duke is proud of his ten years with African Parks and fully supports the ongoing strengthening of its board. His commitment to conservation in Africa continues, and he remains a supporter of African Parks’ mission.” African Parks described the change as a “routine governance refresh of the African Parks Board.” "The changes reflect the natural evolution of board membership as agreed by the board, and are not connected to any other matter,” it said in a statement to Newsweek, while touting the “substantial and sustained investment” it has made in human rights safeguards in recent years.
Founded in 2000, African Parks manages 24 protected areas across 13 countries which together cover 20 million hectares, according to its website. The nonprofit says that its conservation mission is aided by the “active support and participation of local people,” whose well-being and human rights are “a fundamental priority for African Parks—and everyone who works for the organization.” “This includes safeguarding the rights of our workforce, as well as the Indigenous peoples and local communities living in and around the protected areas we manage,” it adds. However, the indigenous rights group Survival International brought forward allegations that rangers and eco-guards employed to help manage the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of the Congo had committed serious abuses against the Baka—described by Survival International as “indigenous hunter gatherers who have lived in, protected and shaped the Congo Basin rainforest for generations.” The accusations included rape and sexual violence against Baka women, torture and beatings of Indigenous people who were accused of entering the protected areas, and other forms of physical abuse.
African Parks launched an investigation into the allegations in 2023, which was led by a team of independent international human rights lawyers. Following the review, African Parks acknowledged and expressed regret for human rights abuses its personnel committed, but did not specify which abuses occurred or release the full findings of the investigation. "There's a moral obligation on them to make the results of the investigation public, and I think it's shameful that they haven't," Jonathan Mazower, a communications director at Survival International, told Newsweek last year.
African Parks told Newsweek that it implemented several changes following the allegations, including setting up an “Independent Panel for Grievance Resolution” made up of eminent African judges and human rights specialists.” “Regarding Odzala-Kokoua National Park specifically, substantive steps have been taken, including the implementation of a fully operational Grievance and Redress Mechanism, with three independent human rights NGO partners that provide trusted reporting channels for local communities around the park,” it added. After joining in July 2016, Prince Harry served as president of African Parks from 2017 to 2023 and later took up a position on its board of directors. His leading role within the organization meant he faced pressure to intervene or leave African Parks following the allegations over the treatment of the Baka.
His representatives have not made detailed public comments regarding the matter or provided a response from the Duke of Sussex himself, though reporting from The Telegraph said that he was "closely involved" in reviewing the findings of the investigation. The changes to African Parks’ board are set to take effect at the end of September, and Harry’s departure has been welcomed by the group which helped publicize the allegations. He finally has,” Caroline Pearce, director of Survival International, said in a statement shared with Newsweek.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
