DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Congolese government violated the rights of the Indigenous Batwa community by evicting them about 50 years ago from their ancestral lands to expand one of the country’s biggest national parks, according to the African Union’s commission on human rights. The decision, made public on Monday, is the first of its kind to recognize the central role that native populations play in protecting biodiversity.
Batwa people lived as hunters and gatherers in the forested areas of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. In 1970, a Belgian photographer and conservationist founded the now-famous Kahuzi-Biega National Park near the western bank of Lake Kivu on a territory, traditionally used by the Batwa people.
Following the park’s expansion iin 1975, around 13,000 Batwa people were evicted from their homes in the name of protecting biodiversity. Most still live on its fringes in makeshift villages, struggling to access land and healthcare.