Forceful evictions began when Belgian conservationist Adrien Deschryver lobbied the Congolese government to expand the protected area and evict the Indigenous Peoples living inside it. Initially, Deschryver sought the Indigenous Batwa Peoples for assistance in guiding him through the forest and tracking the gorillas.[1] Using the Batwa’s intimate knowledge to gain access to the forest, he returned with armed park guards in the 1970s to violently force Batwa out of their villages and the park altogether.[2] The majority of the Batwa people were expelled in 1975 when a lowland sector was expanded onto the park.[3] More than 6,000 Batwa were evicted from their lands without any food or support.[4] The community was not given any resettlement options; therefore, they were to live as squatters dependent on non-Batwa host communities.[5] The violence continues today.[6] For example, in November 2021, seven villages were targeted and burnt to the ground by KBNP park officials. At least 5 Batwa were killed and 20 Batwa women were subjected to mass group rape by soldiers and park officials.[7]

Destruction of private properties:

• When the Indigenous Peoples were forcefully evicted, the park officials burnt their villages to the ground along with the sacred sites, where they buried their ancestors.[8] Arson continues today, and this was not an isolated incident. Since 2017, more than 12 indigenous villages have been allegedly burned (some were burned twice; Buhoyi village was burned three times).[9]

Compensation:

• No compensation was given to the Indigenous Peoples for the dispossession of their land, nor any opportunities for resettlement.[10]

Removal of traditional practices:

• They no longer had access to the forest for hunting and gathering; therefore, they are losing their traditional practices, negatively impacting their whole identity.[11]

Rights to food and adequate standards of living: 

• As a result of the forceful evictions, 50 percent of those expelled from the forest died in the following two decades due to poverty, material deprivation, malnourishment, disease, etc.[12]

Arbitrary arrests and detentions:

• From 2017 to 2022, 17 Batwa allegedly faced arbitrary arrests and detentions in prison; 14 were later released when lawyers intervened, 2 died due to poor prison conditions, and one remains in jail on what is widely viewed as political charges.[13]

Extrajudicial killings and murders:

• From 2017 to 2022, 29 Batwa were allegedly killed by ecoguards and/or soldiers, including minors; 16 Batwa 20 were allegedly wounded or threatened to be killed. [14]
• In 2020 10 Eco guards in two national parks Kahuzi Biega and Salonga National Parks were convicted of serious crimes of murder, rape, torture and causing actual bodily harm[15]. These human rights abuses were perpetrated against the Batwa Indigenous Peoples. The court imprisoned the convicted to jail terms ranging from 5 to 20 years and further ordered compensation to the victims by the ranger's employer, the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN). 

Sexual gender-based violence:

• Batwa women have been subject to group and individual rape by soldiers and park officials.[16] Between 2019 and 2021, joint contingents of park guards and Congolese Army soldiers allegedly group-raped at least 15 Batwa women.[17]

Torture and ill-treatment:

•  Minority Rights Group said that eyewitnesses have seen park officials and soldiers allegedly burning down homes, some with children inside, then forcing all the doors to the home shut while watching children try to escape.[18] Between 2019 and 2021, joint contingents of park guards and Congolese Army soldiers would have allegedly burned alive at least 2 persons.[19]

• Park officials and soldiers have allegedly mutilated Batwa corpses in front of Batwa Indigenous Peoples and taken them home. removed fingers as trophies.[20] In this attack that took place on 3 December 2021, a Batwa community member narrated to the MRG investigator that a teenager who confronted the park guards with a spear was shot dead, and his hand was cut off and taken as a trophy. 

The Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) employs a heavily militarized conservation model that leads to human rights violations against the Batwa. Ecoguards are armed with military-grade weapons, use advanced monitoring technologies, conduct joint patrols with the Congolese army (FARDC), and are rangers who have received paramilitary training from international partners.[21]

A report indicates that the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) was aware of unresolved human rights abuse allegations against the Batwa, including warnings in May 2019 that eco-guards from Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB) were shooting at and threatening Batwa community members. [22] In April 2022, the WCS issued a statement expressing concerns over allegations of human rights violations committed against the Batwa People. It announced its support for an independent and credible investigation that would lead to accountability and redress for violations. The WCS with the Government of DRC’s National Protected Area Agency (ICCN) announced the signature of a new Public-Private-Partnership for the management of the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. The PPP is a framework for a new model for the management of this park aimed at protecting the unique wildlife and habitats of the KBNP and center the rights of the Batwa Indigenous Peoples and local communities by enabling them to be active and influential partners and constituents in a shared vision and future for Kahuzi-Biega National Park’s governance and management.[23]

German and U.S. development agencies have funded the militarized and fortress-style conservation approaches used in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (PNKB), without considering the social impacts on the Batwa community. These donors do not proactively monitor human rights issues, and existing mechanisms fail to inform them fully of violations, leaving them unaware of the violent consequences of this conservation model. When informed of abuse, their responses have been inadequate.[24]

In 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service partnered with the WCS in a project in the PNKB aimed at improving law enforcement and wildlife security[25]. The US Fish and Wildlife Service received funding from the US government, and with the recent denouncement of climate action by the new administration, such partnership may be discontinued. Even with these developments, the Batwa still hold the view that ICCN sometimes, with the support of the military arm (FARDC) in the DRC, is violating their rights.[26]

A report indicates that since 1983, GIZ has supported the PNKB, including increasing patrols around the park. Consistently supported socio-economic development projects in villages surrounding the park, some directed to favor the sensitization of the Batwa people. German development actors prioritized modest socio-economic development in villages surrounding protected areas over any meaningful consultation and participation of Indigenous Peoples in protected area management or benefit-sharing schemes.[27] In 2000, the ICCN and GIZ promoted the creation of the Community Conservation Committees (CCCs) as a body to improve Batwa participation or communication with the park authorities since they had no decision-making power. However, CCCs lack independence and can’t comply with their function.[28]  In addition to technical assistance offered by GIZ, Germany provides significant funding to the PNKB through KfW, which has co-financed the park since 2008.