Prince Harry-linked charity admits human rights abuses

A major conservation charity linked to Prince Harry has admitted that human rights abuses were committed by its rangers in Congo-Brazzaville, following an independent review into allegations made by members of the Baka community against African Parks rangers, reports BBC News. In a report published last year by the British newspaper the Mail on Sunday, community members accused African Parks rangers of beating, waterboarding and raping locals to stop them from accessing their ancestral forests, which are now in a conservation area. Despite commissioning an independent review into the actions of its rangers in Congo-Brazzaville, African Parks has not made the findings of the review public. Instead, it has published a statement acknowledging that human rights abuses occurred in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park, which it manages. It has excluded details of the abuse. The review, carried out by Omnia Strategy LLP, a London-based law firm, was handed directly to African Parks. In a statement, Omnia said it has been carrying out an independent investigation into the alleged abuse in Odzala-Kokoua since December 2023. Prince Harry sits on the board of African Parks and has been involved with the charity since 2016. In 2023, after serving six years as president, he was made a member of the board of directors. African Parks said it had improved its safeguarding processes in the past five years in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park and institutionally. Additional measures it has put in place include appointing an anthropologist to ensure the Baka communities are better supported and working with local human rights NGOs to support the local community. It also said it would carry out an independent human rights impact assessment.