To Purge the Forest by Force: Organized violence against Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park

This report investigates human rights violations committed against indigenous Batwa people in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It documents a three-year (2019-2021) campaign of violence by park authorities to expel Batwa from their lands, underwritten by the German and US governments and the conservation organization, Wildlife Conservation Society, among others. The 14-month investigation uncovered evidence that joint contingents of park guards and Congolese Army soldiers killed at least 20 Batwa, group-raped at least 15 women, and forcibly displaced hundreds more, acts that could potentially rise to the level of crimes against humanity.