Prince Harry played the role of “passionate environmental advocate” during his whirlwind trip to New York City this week, where he sat on stage with Katie Couric and took part in a panel discussion for African Parks, considered one of his charity Portfolio's flagship nonprofits.

But Survival International, a number one human rights group, criticized each Harry and African Parks for failing to handle a litany of alleged “horrific” abuses committed by African Parks rangers against indigenous people in a national park within the Republic of Congo that the non-profit organization manages.

After Harry joined the African Parks board in 2023, an investigative Daily Mail news report claimed in January that the native Baka population within the Congo Basin's Odzala-Kokoua National Park had been subjected to rape, torture and countless other “atrocities.” Following the report, Survival International called on the Duke of Sussex to resign fHe got here from African Parks and said it had alerted him to the alleged abuses the yr before.

Harry didn’t resign and Caroline Pearce, the chief executive of Survival International, said concerns concerning the alleged abuses were “not resolved”, while African Parks has yet to release the outcomes of an internal investigation the corporate had promised.

Pearce expressed dismay on the “shocking failure” of Harry and African Parks to handle the alleged abuses during Monday's panel discussion, held as a part of New York Climate Week. The discussion was moderated by Couric and moderated by Peter Fearnhead, CEO of African Parks.

Information concerning the panel discussion comes from an enthusiastic press release from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's officewhich praised African Parks' “transformative” work in Africa and claimed the organization had achieved “measurable successes in combating climate change, protecting vital ecosystems and improving local livelihoods”.

For Pearce, these comments from Harry's office and his participation within the panel discussion demonstrated a “shocking failure to grasp the catastrophic nature and scale of the problems with African Parks' colonial and racist approach to conservation,” as she said in an announcement to them News organization. The remarks also showed that “neither the Duke of Sussex nor African Parks understands the need to question African Parks' vision and heavy-handed approach to fortification protection,” Pearce said.

“While people in New York seem to be celebrating 'conservation', the lives of indigenous peoples in the 'sanctuaries' of the African Parks are being destroyed by the violence of rangers: people have been raped, abused and tortured,” said Pearce.

A spokesman for Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation didn’t reply to a request for comment about why he and African Parks didn’t appear to handle the alleged abuses throughout the panel discussion. The spokesman also didn’t reply to criticism of their commitment to “fortress protection”.

This term refers to a conservation model that Survival International and other critics compare it to “The Second Battle for Africa” And a “colossal land grab as large as Europe’s colonial era.” This model is predicated on the assumption that endangered species and biodiversity are best protected when governments and non-governmental organizations reminiscent of African Parks or the World Wildlife Fund create large areas where ecosystems are shielded from human disturbance. But to achieve this, governments and NGOs have pushed indigenous peoples and native communities off their ancestral lands “under the false claim that this is necessary for conservation.” Survival International said.

According to a 2022 study, governments in Africa have reserved as much as 42% of their territories for talks Foreign Policy Report by Aby L. Sène, assistant professor of parks and wildlife refuge management at Clemson University. These governments, in turn, have given NGOs reminiscent of African Parks the ability to administer and even implement law and order in these protected areas. African Parks, founded in 2000 by a Dutch billionaire, manages 22 protected areas in 12 African countrieswhich covers greater than 20 million hectares of land.

African Parks and other NGOs say they will spur economic development in and around these protected areas. Very often, they transform national parks and reserves into tourist destinations where visitors can observe a few of the “most iconic wildlife and landscapes in the world,” Sène wrote. But Sène and other critics describe a Twenty first-century version of colonialism through which these areas turn into playgrounds for the world's elite.

Governments and NGOs also welcome deforestation and mining in these protected areas, while resorting to “shocking levels of violence” to maintain locals out, Survival International said says a position paper on his website.

“Park rangers burn down locals’ homes, steal goods and destroy their property, and beat, torture, rape and kill locals with impunity,” Survival International said. Sène also wrote that African Parks “has been at the forefront of the militarization of parks in Africa, recruiting rangers from local communities who received paramilitary training from South African, French and Israeli military personnel.”

Survival International said it has been investigating the destruction of the Baka people, an indigenous hunting group within the Congo rainforest, because the Nineteen Eighties. The organization cites scientific evidence showing that the Baka people, as traditional custodians of the land, would know higher than anyone the best way to “care for and manage their environment.” But their land “has been stolen” and their sustainable lifestyle “is being criminalized,” with park rangers subjecting them to harassment, beatings, rape and torture “for simply trying to gain access to their land and provide for their families.” Survival International also said.

The organization said It has no objections to the Duke of Sussex but said his role at African Parks gives him “significant responsibility and control” over the NGO’s work.

A Baka man, Moyambi Fulbert, quoted within the Daily Mail report, called on Harry to stop supporting African Parks: “He is a powerful man. He eats well and lives well – but we have nothing now and it’s all because of African Parks.”

Harry's reference to African Parks began in Malawi in 2016 when he was a part of the “expert team” that relocated 261 elephants from one NGO-managed national park to a different. During the panel discussion on Monday, the son of King Charles III spoke. about this “deeply” personal experience with elephant relocation. Harry served as President of African Parks for six years and returned to Malawi in 2019. Visit to Liwonde National Park There he praised the joint effort of African Parks and its rangers, the Malawian government and the British Army to combat poaching within the park.

Originally published: September 27, 2024 at 10:30 am

Prince Harry delivered a humble, heartfelt speech as he accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service on the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday, attempting to downplay his role because the honoree but in addition paying tribute to Tillman's mother, Mary, who was not glad that the “controversial and polarizing” British royal would receive a trophy in her son's name.

But as with every thing involving Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, the general public was deeply divided over Harry's decision to just accept the award, which is known as after the San Jose-raised NFL player and war hero who died in Afghanistan in 2004. Among those that questioned Harry's decision to just accept the dignity was a retired British military leader, Admiral Lord Alan West, who said earlier this week that the renegade son of King Charles III risked the wrath of war veterans by allowing organizations like ESPN to shower him with accolades due to his fame.

ESPN had stated that Harry, who served within the British Army for 10 years and was deployed to Afghanistan twice, deserved the award due to his contribution to the veterans community through the Invictus Games. In 2014, Harry founded the games, which support wounded, injured and sick soldiers through international sporting events.

In his speech, Harry said: “The truth is that I stand here not as Prince Harry receiving the Pat Tillman Award, but as a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and military personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games possible. This award belongs to them, not me.”

While Meghan beamed with pride within the audience, Harry also thanked the Pat Tillman Foundation and Marie Tillman Shenton, Pat Tillman's widow. The foundation helped ESPN determine to honor the Duke of Sussex, and Marie Tillman Shenton smiled when Harry mentioned the muse and her name. Harry then prolonged a peace offering to Mary Tillman, saying, “Her commitment to Pat's legacy is deeply personal and I respect it.”

“The bond between mother and son is eternal and endures even the greatest losses,” he continued, remembering his own mother, Princess Diana, who died in a automotive accident when he was 12 years old.

Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail last month she was “shocked” that ESPN gave Harry the award, which previously has gone to individuals who should not household names. She said there are better-suited honorees who “don't have the money, the means, the connections or the privilege that Prince Harry has.”

After Harry's speech, social media was in a frenzy. ESPN's X-Post of Harry's speech received greater than 1.9 million views and a couple of,300 replies overnight. Some people praised the Montecito native Duke for his “inspiring” work on the Invictus Games and said he gave the look of “a good, honest man.”

But many others questioned his decision to just accept the award, accusing him and Meghan of “buying” this and other awards within the US for publicity. Others said Harry was using veterans and a “real hero” like Pat Tillman “as a shield” to avoid backlash. Someone else also said it was “dishonest” of Harry to say Mary Tillman: “If her bond with her son and the award are so important to him, he should have turned it down.”

ESPN's decision to present Harry the Pat Tillman Award was met with opposition from greater than 75,000 individuals who signed a web-based petition demanding that the award go to someone who embodies “duty, honor and sacrifice.” Tillman gave up a lucrative NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals after 9/11 to hitch the U.S. Army Rangers. The 27-year-old died in a friendly fire incident while deployed in Afghanistan.

Popular ESPN analyst Pat McAfree said his network gave Harry the award “to piss people off” – that’s, to capitalize on the controversy. McAfee's co-host Boston Connor also said it was “probably the most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in my entire life,” while guest Ty Schmitt called the awarding of the prize to Harry a “stunt.”

As previously, Thursday night's ESPYs were a glamorous, star-studded event, with quite a few sports stars in attendance, including Patrick Mahomes and Caitlin Clark. The ceremony was hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams, an in depth friend of Meghan's.

Opening the awards ceremony, Williams praised Harry and Meghan within the audience, calling them “real royalty.” She also jokingly warned them to not “outshine” her.

“This is my night,” Williams joked to the couple. “I don't want to be overshadowed by you two breathing too much oxygen.”