The Congolese government violated the rights of the Indigenous Batwa community by evicting them around 50 years ago to expand one of the country’s largest national parks, the African Union’s commission on human rights stated.
This decision, announced on Monday, is unprecedented in acknowledging the critical role of native populations in safeguarding biodiversity.
The Batwa people, who lived as hunters and gatherers, inhabited the forested regions of Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo.
In 1970, a Belgian photographer and conservationist established the now-renowned Kahuzi-Biega National Park on land traditionally occupied by the Batwa people near Lake Kivu.
When the park expanded in 1975, around 13,000 Batwa were evicted to protect biodiversity.
Many still live in makeshift villages on the park’s outskirts, facing difficulties in accessing land and healthcare.
The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights urged the Congolese government to facilitate the Batwa’s safe return and recognize their ancestral land rights.
The commission criticized the “fortress conservation” model, which isolates ecosystems by displacing local communities reliant on these areas for their livelihoods. Samuel Ade Ndasi of the Minority Rights Group emphasized that conservation should not involve evicting Indigenous communities and seizing their lands.
In 2015, the case was presented to the commission by MRG and a Congolese rights group on behalf of the Batwa community.
The commission, which doesn’t usually publicize decisions, ruled in favor of the Batwa in 2022. Errors in the French version delayed the announcement, and the Congolese government has yet to act on it.
In 2018, Batwa attempts to return to their homeland were met with violence by park authorities and soldiers.