Attachments
Introduction
In 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Commission) ruled that the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) violated the rights of the indigenous Batwa of the Kahuzi-Biega forest by evicting them from their ancestral lands to expand one of the country’s biggest national parks. For the first time, the African Commission expressly recognized the crucial role that indigenous peoples play in protecting biodiversity, while condemning the model of environmental protection known as ‘fortress conservation’, which is based on the forceful exclusion of all human presence from ecosystems, including that of indigenous peoples from their ancestral lands without their consent.
This briefing provides a summary of the decision, along with a description of the background to the case.
Historical background
Batwa people are among the forest-dwelling hunter-gatherer indigenous communities in the DRC. The Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega – one of many Batwa communities throughout Central Africa – have lived in the forests of the Kahuzi and Biega mountains since time immemorial. They are considered the most ancient population of the Congo River Basin, dating back to at least 3000 BCE and are among the most marginalized populations in the DRC.
Their livelihoods, homes, traditions and culture reflect the symbiotic relationship they have with the forests and the lands they have traditionally inhabited.
The woes of the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega started in July 1937, when the Belgian colonial administration created the Mount Kahuzi Zoological and Forestry Reserve. Batwa, however, remained. They continued to occupy their lands and practise their traditional lifestyle. By 1951, the reserve was expanded to include the Biega forest, now covering a total of 60,000 hectares. In 1970, the government enacted a law creating the National Park of Kahuzi-Biega (abbreviated ‘PNKB,’ for the French ‘Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega’ ), a protected area that has received funding and material support from the German and US governments, among other international supporters, and is managed by the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN). The PNKB was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1980.
The creation of the national park led to the relocation of some Batwa families from within the park to its borders. In 1975, the government expanded the PNKB area from 60,000 to 600,000 hectares. Batwa communities living on their lands were arbitrarily and forcibly expelled from the designated area without first being consulted or adequately compensated or resettled. Since then, the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega have faced several forceful and brutal evictions, as detailed in reports published by Minority Rights Group (MRG). After an unsuccessful court action in 2008, in 2010,
Batwa, supported by the Congolese NGO Environnement Ressources Naturelles et Développement (ERND Institute), initiated a domestic class action lawsuit against the Congolese government and ICCN, stating that as a result of two ordinances creating and extending the PNKB from 60,000 to 600,000 hectares, they were arbitrarily evicted from their land without any compensation or consultation.
They argued that the government had violated their property rights under domestic, regional and international law, as well as its commitment to ensure that all people (including indigenous peoples) are respected and treated equally without discrimination. Consequently, they requested that the judge grant them access to their ancestral lands, as well as ensure that they be provided with health and educational services and compensated for the harm they had endured. The domestic tribunal ruled on 28 February 2011, dismissing the community’s claims. It held that, as the case concerned the constitutionality of the government’s actions, it was outside the court’s jurisdiction. On 11 December 2012, the Court of Appeal upheld the tribunal’s judgment. The Batwa plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court in Kinshasa on 20 December 2013, but the appeal stalled without any prospects of progress.
Given the lack of justice at the domestic level, the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega, with the support of MRG and the ERND Institute, filed a communication before the African Commission on 7 November 2015, seeking redress for rights violations suffered by them as a result of the systematic and illegal expropriation of and eviction from their ancestral lands.
At its 71st ordinary session (held on 21 April – 13 May 2022), the African Commission rendered its decision on the merits and found that the government of the DRC violated the rights of the Batwa people in terms of Articles 1, 2, 4, 8, 14, 16, 17, 21(1 and 2), 22, and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (African Charter).
The African Commission’s decision was adopted by the Executive Council of the African Union at its 42nd ordinary session in February 2023. At its 79th ordinary session (14 May – 3rd June 2024), the African Commission adopted a Corrigendum to the merits decision.
The Corrigendum was requested by MRG to clarify and strengthen the language of the decision.