The Batwa People of Kahuzi-Biega Celebrate Historic Victory for the Realisation of their Rights in the DRC

Today, the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have gathered together to celebrate the African Commission of Human and Peoples Rights' decision in their favour against the DRC.

Following a decades long legal battle, the Commission found that the DRC government violated multiple human rights by evicting and excluding the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega from their ancestral lands. These rights are protected by the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights.

 

"On this day of celebration of the ACHPR's decision, it is an immense joy for me and for my community that there has already been a decision by the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights in relation to the complaint we submitted to it in February 2016.

We now have a satisfactory response from the Commission, which recognises the violations of indigenous peoples' rights by the DRC and recommends that it restore our long-violated rights.

I ask all the Batwa not to let this decision stay in our homes. We need to do more advocacy at all levels (local, provincial, national and international) so that the DRC respects what the commission has recommended," said Libaku Kafundo, a community leader of the Batwa people of Kahuzi-Biega

 

The African Commission was also clear that the eviction of indigenous communities from their lands in the name of conservation not only violates their rights but has proven to be a failed approach to conserving such communities’ ancestral lands.

 

"As a Batwa mother, I feel happy to be here to celebrate the decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights recognising our rights, because for a long time we have been expelled from our ancestral land, which has been turned into a park.

As Batwa, we are going to continue to advocate and follow up the decision so that the DRC knows that we Batwa are Congolese like so many others. And to our country's authorities, let them know that we are keeping our ancestral land and we will continue to do so.

We are not going to destroy the forest, but we are going to continue to conserve it as our grandparents did," said Mama Shauri, a representative of the Batwa people of Kahuzi-Biega

 

This ceremony is bringing together different delegations from the Batwa communities from across their ancestral lands, including Kahuzi-Biega national park. Local political and administrative authorities, local customary chiefs and members of civil society organizations supporting the Batwa struggle are also taking part in this ceremony.

The ceremony is an opportunity for the Batwa community to read out their powerful statement in response to the decision and to widely disseminate the African Commission’s findings as well as initiating discussions with the park and local authorities.

Read the statement of the Batwa of Kahuzi-Biega on the decision by the African Commission