Charity linked to Prince Harry admits to human rights abuse after damning investigation
By Nika Shakhnazarova
A charity with ties to Prince Harry has owned up to multiple human rights abuses carried out by its park rangers.
African Parks — a non-profit conservation organization that had the Duke of Sussex as its president from 2017 until 2023 — admitted to several violations that took place in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
A damning investigation published earlier this year exposed myriad of abuses against indigenous people in the Republic of the Congo — including rape and torture.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, making a speech to dedicate Liwonde National Park and the adjoining Mangochi Forest to the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy during his visit to Malawi in 2019.
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Prince Harry served as president of African Parks from 2017 to 2023.
Getty Images
Following an in-depth review, London-based law firm Omnia Strategy LLP, helmed by Cherie Blair, has released a statement about the shocking findings.
The law firm described its probe as “thorough and proportionate without attempting to be exhaustive.”
The charity, for its part, formally acknowledged the findings — saying that “in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred.”
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“The board of African Parks has reviewed Omnia’s advice and endorsed the management plan and timeframes to implement the recommendations resulting from this process,” the charity, which boasts Harry as one of its board members, said in a statement.
“African Parks acknowledges that, in some incidents, human rights abuses have occurred, and we deeply regret the pain and suffering that these have caused to the victims.”
“Omnia’s process also highlighted several failures of our systems and processes that were insufficient for the level of responsibility given to us, particularly in the early years,” the organization added, fessing up to to systemic failures.
Lango Bai in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, Republic of the Congo, where violations occurred as reported by African Parks.
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African Parks admitted to several violations that took place in the Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The organization said it has significantly strengthened its safeguarding protocols over the past five years across all its sites, including Odzala-Kokoua National Park.
Among the reforms is the appointment of an anthropologist tasked with ensuring the Baka communities receive more effective support.
Despite admitting to the findings, African Parks has withheld the full review from the public, raising questions about transparency.
It’s understood that the Invictus Games founder, 40, has been closely briefed on the review’s findings.
Prince Harry posing with children at Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa on November 30, 2015
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The organization now boasts the Duke of Sussex, 40, as one of its board members.
WireImage
The Post has reached out to Harry’s reps for comment.
The development follows earlier concerns raised by Survival International — a charity advocating for Indigenous rights — over the treatment of Baka communities.
Caroline Pearce, who heads up the group, criticized African Parks’ decision to refrain from publishing the review’s full findings.
“We still don’t know the details of what they found, because African Parks has refused to allow the findings to be made public,” Pearce said in a statement.
Prince Harry pictured with the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, in 2022.
paulkagame/Instagram
“The root of the problem is that African Parks continues to cling to a racist and colonial model of conservation, which kicks out the indigenous people whose land it is, while outsiders take control.”
“As long as this is the case, the Baka will continue to face abuses and the destruction of their livelihoods,” she added.
The duke has faced a turbulent year in his philanthropic work, with his other charity, Sentebale, also coming under scrutiny in a separate damning investigation in recent weeks.
In March, it emerged that Harry had sensationally quit as patron of the African charity he kick-started in honor of his late mother, Princess Diana, in 2006.
The “Spare” author said he was devastated and “in shock” to have stepped down from Sentebale, the organization that he co-founded with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho.
Days later, Sentebale chairwoman Chandauka raised alarming allegations and accused the charity’s board of “harassment,” “bullying” and “misogynoir.”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, laughing with young girls during a visit to a Football for Hope session in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa on November 30, 2015
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It’s understood that the Invictus Games founder has been closely briefed on the review’s findings.
Getty Images
The trustee, who became leader of the organization in 2023, also claimed Harry had tried to use the charity as “an extension of the Sussex PR machine” to support his wife’s public image.
As a result, the organization — which was set up to help AIDS patients in Africa — is now being investigated by the Charity Commission.
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