Prince Harry's Charity Promotion Is Hugely Problematic

Prince Harry was warned about "vicious" rapes and sent a video testimony about human-rights abuses by rangers employed by a charity, months before he was promoted to the organization's board of directors.

Survival International urged the Duke of Sussex to "use your influence and position to stop these abuses being committed" against Baka tribespeople in the Republic of Congo, on May 31, 2023, while he was president of African Parks.

Concerns raised in the letter—shared with Newsweek—included rangers "raping an Indigenous woman while she was holding her two-month-old baby; and raping a 18-year old Baka boy." The pressure group told Newsweek they were initially encouraged when he replied saying he had escalated their concerns.

However, by October, around four months later, African Parks updated its website to reveal that Harry had been promoted from its president to a role on its board of directors.

Fiore Longo, campaign director at Survival International, told Newsweek: "The level of atrocities we were documenting was such that we decided to approach Prince Harry directly and we wrote a letter at the end of May.

"He replied just right after on 12 June telling us that he will escalate this to the CEO of African Parks, who then contacted us basically asking us to do his job, asking us for more details," Longo added.

The letter, shared with Newsweek, was addressed to both Harry and Meghan Markle and read: "In light of the Duke's role as President of African Parks, and your shared commitment to oppose racism and injustice, I am writing to alert you to appalling human rights abuses being committed by African Park rangers against Baka Indigenous hunter-gatherer people in the Republic of Congo, in what is now Odzala-Kokoua National Park."

Prince Harry has spoken with pride of his relationship with African Parks and in glowing terms about its model for conservation; through this, the charity manages parks on behalf of governments in a number of different countries.

The aim in part is to protect the natural environment and wildlife from poachers. However, Survival International say Baka tribespeople are hunter-gatherers who depend on the forest in Odzala-Kokoua National Park for food.

Longo said that the Baka tribespeople have been forced into starvation by the rangers, tasked with keeping humans out of the forest. They were then abused when they went into protected areas in search of food.

At the same time, tourists can pay up $12,000 to stay in lodges in the park, according to an investigation by The Mail on Sunday, the U.K. newspaper that first reported the abuse accusations.

Longo's letter to Harry and Meghan continued: "Many Baka people have personally told me how African Parks rangers in Odzala-Kokoua have evicted them from their land, forcing them into starvation, and tortured Baka who try to access or hunt on their ancestral land.

"They described to me abuse by rangers including: pouring scalding hot wax onto Baka men's backs and whipping them; beating them with belts; holding their heads underwater in a river; raping an Indigenous woman while she was holding her two-month-old baby; and raping a 18-year old Baka boy," the letter added.

A link was provided to a video recording, disclosed to Newsweek, of Eyaya Nivrel, a Baka man, describing the tribe's experience with African Parks rangers.

After getting a reply from Harry, Longo was initially optimistic: "I was positive because he seems like he really cares about the issue and he was worried. It was a prompt response so it was for me a positive reply; it was when we started engaging with the CEO of African Parks."

However, Survival International decided to go public after news stories, months later, showing Harry had accepted a promotion, despite the allegations: "Then we found out that Prince Harry had joined the board of directors at the end of October and I was quite shocked.

"Before he had an honorary title, it was more symbolic. I watched the Netflix series and thought he will care about the Baka because he's so outspoken on racism and things that until now were not being said in the royal family.

"So I was positive and we thought that he was going to do something. If he says something that can make a difference, but then when he joined the board of directors, that is the legal representative body it has the governance of the organization.

"That's when we thought 'why is he joining the board of an organization that we have just told him has human-rights abuses and which the CEO hasn't been very helpful.' It was then that we thought, 'We would need to go public'."

This has meant calling for Prince Harry to cut ties with African Parks. Survival International told Newsweek: "Prince Harry can help stop this violent injustice by taking a stand against African Parks and fortress conservation right now.

"As someone who has taken a high-profile stand against racism, his actions could help bring real change for the Baka and other Indigenous peoples suffering conservation-related abuse."

The specific abuse allegations make for uncomfortable reading, but Survival International has also taken aim far more broadly at what it describes as "fortress conservation." This sees armed rangers seek to keep indigenous tribespeople out of the forests their ancestors lived off for thousands of years.

That is awkward for Harry because he is on record praising its model of conservation in its 2019 annual report: "What I see in the African Parks model is exactly what conservation should be about—putting people at the heart of the solution.

"African Parks is ensuring that the protected areas under our management directly benefit surrounding communities through security, education, jobs, and investments made in local services and enterprises that can stimulate conservation-led economies.

"Conservation can only be sustained when people living closest to nature are invested in its preservation," the prince added.

In light of testimony gathered by Survival International, it is easy to see how the promise of education and jobs is a loaded offer for a tribe of hunter-gatherers accustomed to living off the land.

Longo said: "So, they were saying, more or less, 'We're going to find out the rangers who did it and they're fired,' and for us, it's a systemic problem because the park is on land that was stolen from the Baka.

"There will always be this problem because the Baka consider this the forest and they need food. This is something very shocking; they are starving because they are hunter-gatherers, and this is their forest, so if they cannot get food there, where are they going to get food?

"We need a different model of conservation; it's not just about firing a couple of park rangers," Longo added.

"They [African Parks] believe the forest should be protected so there shouldn't be any human activity," Longo said, "except tourists because there are lodges inside, so it's a little bit contradictory their approach.

"'It's a national park nobody should be there.' What, except tourists? It's just so shocking that these people who are the least responsible for environmental destruction are being pushed out of their forest and you see the pictures of the lodges. I can't believe anyone can claim this is good for the environment."

Prince Harry and Meghan's Archewell Foundation said in a statement: "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 appropriate people to handle next steps."

African Parks said in a statement from its board and chief executive: "We are aware of the serious allegations regarding human-rights abuses by eco-guards against local people living adjacent to Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, which have recently received media attention.

"We became aware of these allegations last year via a Board Member who received a letter from Survival International," the African Parks statement added.

"We immediately launched an investigation through an external law firm based on the information we had available, while also urging Survival International to provide any and all facts they had.

"It's unfortunate that they have chosen not to cooperate, despite repeated requests, and we continue to ask for their assistance," the African Parks statement read.

"This is an active, ongoing investigation that is our highest priority as an organization, and we encourage anyone with knowledge of any abuses to report them to us or to the Congolese law enforcement authorities, which will assist with the investigation and ensure that the perpetrators of any abuses are brought to justice."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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