Prince Harry is being advised to step down from his role at a charity under scrutiny over allegations of rape and torture by staff against local individuals in the Republic of Congo. The independent reported.
Security personnel employed and funded by Africa Parks face allegations of human rights abuses, including physical abuse, sexual assault and torture against the indigenous Baka people living in the rainforests.
Africa Parks, the African charity in question, has stated that it is actively investigating the reported allegations initially brought to light by the Mail on Sunday.
The Duke of Sussex is currently a board member and previously held the position of president within this non-profit organization.
The charity, responsible for overseeing 22 national parks and protected areas in 12 countries, has said its ongoing investigation is the “highest priority” and has urged anyone with information about misconduct to come forward.
Founded in 2000 with the mission to protect Africa's national parks and promote wildlife conservation, Africa Parks manages a portfolio of more than 20 million hectares of protected land, making each park “environmentally, socially and financially sustainable in the long run”.
Fiore Longo, head of conservation campaign at Survival International, noted that the latest set of allegations is not surprising, citing a history of abuse cases in the region that have occurred regularly over the years.
She said: “With the establishment of protected areas during colonial times, many local residents have already been displaced.
“But it was specifically around 2010, when African Parks took over, that locals said the violence started to become worse than before because their park rangers were beating them every time they tried to enter the forest, which is their home, to collect medicinal plants, to hunt and feed their families. So everything they do for a living is now a crime.”
Ms Longo told The Independent that she has heard from her colleagues cases of local women being raped, men having their heads submerged in rivers and some being burned with hot wax and flogged.
Ella Ene told it Moss that she was raped by a guard three years ago while holding her four-week-old baby.
After she complained about the man, her attacker was fired and subsequently jailed, but he only served two months behind bars.
The newspaper also reported that a man was tortured by guards for collecting honey for his family.
Human rights activists said they raised their concerns with the Duke of Sussex in May last year.
Survival International said they initially received a sympathetic response from the Duke within a fortnight, promising to escalate concerns, The Independent reported.
Fiore Longo, Survival International's campaign director, said they had not received any further updates. She told the Times: “He said he was taking it seriously, but it didn't bring about the change we had hoped. Then, very disappointingly, we heard that Harry had joined the board.”
When the Duke was appointed to the board, African Parks praised him as a “humanitarian, military veteran, mental health advocate and environmentalist. [who] has dedicated his life's work to advancing causes he is passionate about, and that create permanent change for people and places.”
Longo said: “We hope he will act as the human rights activist he is supposed to be. Harry talks about social justice. He has spoken out about racism in the past. He is now in the world of directors. If you mention your name to an organization, you are part of that organization and you must take action if human rights violations occur.
“We hope that his resignation from the board of directors will send a clear message to this organization that human rights violations in the name of nature conservation will no longer be tolerated.”
A spokesperson for Prince Harry's foundation, Archewell, told the Mail: “When the Duke became aware of these serious allegations, he immediately escalated them to the CEO and chairman of the board of African Parks, the right people to to take the next steps.”
A statement from the board and CEO of African Parks said: “African Parks has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse and is committed to upholding the rights of local and indigenous people.
“Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated and acted upon, and all our parks are managed with a central philosophy of awareness, sensitivity and commitment to upholding the rights of local people.
“We are aware of the serious allegations regarding human rights abuses by eco-guards against the local population bordering the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, which have recently received media attention.
“We became aware of these allegations last year through a board member who received a letter from Survival International.
“We immediately launched an investigation through an outside law firm based on the information we had available, while also urging Survival International to provide all the facts they had.
“Unfortunately, they have chosen not to cooperate, despite repeated requests, and we continue to ask for their assistance.
“This is an active, ongoing investigation that is our highest priority as an organization, and we encourage anyone with knowledge of any wrongdoing to report it to us or to Congolese law enforcement authorities, who will assist in the investigation and ensure that the perpetrators of these abuses will be brought to justice.”