Justice served: The Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega and the failure of fortress conservation
About this ebook
In the 1970s, everything changed when the DRC government created a national park, the Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega (PNKB), on Batwa lands. Violently expelled from their ancestral home, the Batwa were forced into decades of grinding impoverishment, severe discrimination, landlessness and skyrocketing mortality in informal settlements on the outskirts of the park. Those who attempted to return in 2018 were met with a three-year campaign of organized violence resulting in death, rape and forced displacement.
The story of the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega is an archetypical example of the ‘fortress conservation’ model – nature conservation premised on the false assumption that effective conservation necessitates land rendered devoid (by force if necessary) of human habitation and use. The evidence that protected areas or national parks are an effective method of biodiversity conservation is weak, whereas the fact that they have led to the displacement of millions, widespread dispossession, evictions, hunger, ill health and human rights violations, including killings, rapes and torture across Africa and Asia is well documented.
Governments, development agencies and international conservation organizations are fortress conservation’s major drivers. Instead of recognizing the vital role of indigenous knowledge and practices in sustainable land stewardship, they uphold a violent, anti-indigenous and neocolonial status quo. In a landmark 2024 ruling, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights held that the DRC government had violated the Batwa’s land and other rights in creating the PNKB, that the fortress conservation model is ineffective for conserving biodiversity and that indigenous peoples are the best guardians of nature.
The Commission’s decision is therefore certainly historic for the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega, who had for years awaited justice and reparations for the crimes perpetrated against them, but it is also a milestone for indigenous peoples’ rights across Africa and beyond. It sets historic and vital legal precedents that will help indigenous peoples seeking redress for the harms of fortress conservation and sends an essential message that indigenous knowledge and practices are key in fighting the climate crisis. Justice served: The Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega and the failure of fortress conservation provides a useful summary of the Commission’s decision and describes the background to the legal case.
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About the author
Samuel Ade Ndasi is MRG’s African Union Advocacy and Litigation Officer. Samuel is a Senior Legal Practitioner and a human rights expert and has been a lecturer of International Human Rights Law at the University of The Gambia. Samuel has also worked as a legal officer at the African Commission and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. He holds a Master’s in Laws, Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa from the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and a Barrister-at-Law Certificate from The Gambia Law School.
Stefania Carrer is MRG’s Litigation and Advocacy Officer. Before joining MRG, Stefania worked as a qualified lawyer in Italy. She specializes in the field of civil responsibility and international human rights protection. Her previous work experience includes the European Commission, the Hague Institute for Global Justice and the International Criminal Court. She holds a Master’s degree in European and Transnational Law and a First Level Master’s degree in Environmental Law.
Minority Rights Group (MRG) is the leading international human rights organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and indigenous peoples, and to promote understanding between communities. We are guided by the needs expressed by our worldwide network of over 300 partner organizations in more than 60 countries. Together, we challenge power structures that exclude and silence those who are different. We understand how age, class, gender, sexuality and disability can have multiplying impacts on discrimination for minorities. MRG is an international non-governmental organization with an international governing Council that meets twice a year. We have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and observer status with the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. MRG is also registered with the Organization of American States. MRG is registered as a charity and a company limited by guarantee under English law: registered charity no. 282305, limited company no. 1544957.
