UN – Game parks threaten Africa’s indigenous people

Indigenous peoples in African countries including Botswana and Kenya are ‘on the brink of destruction’ due to the expansion of game parks, according to the United Nations expert on indigenous peoples.

Special rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen is reported by Reuters as saying that game reserves had disrupted hunter-gatherer and pastoralist peoples. He said that even where the rights of indigenous peoples are entrenched in national law, African governments have done little to uphold these laws.

Stavenhagen said, ‘(Indigenous) communities are on the brink of destruction, of dispersal. Not enough is being done to protect their rights.’

He said that the pressures on indigenous peoples, including attempts by governments to block indigenous land rights claims, were ‘weakening these communities to such an extent that they can no longer survive.’

For further information contact Miriam Ross on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or email [email protected]