Our work in Central Africa
Latest news
Latest publications
Countries in the region
Click on a country to read about the minorities and indigenous peoples it hosts in our World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples.
Our programmes in the region
Furthest Behind First (FBF) - Duration: 1 October 2021 - 30 September 2024 Countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe Community: Turkana, Endorois, Ogiek, Awer, Batwa, Benet, Maasai, Hadzabe,… …
Networks for Peace: Preventing and resolving conflicts through early warning mechanisms in Africa - Location: Cameroon, Kenya, Uganda Duration: October 2019 – October 2022 Communities: Rendile, Samburu, Borana, Gabra, Turkana, Mbororo, Basongora, Bakonzo, Batuku What is this programme about?… …
Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the area of land-related rights, indigenous peoples - Duration: January 2019 – June 2022 Countries: Kenya, DRC, Uganda, Cameroon Communities: Various What is this programme about? This project aims to guarantee the protection… …Our archive
All news and updates
- « Protéger » 30% des terres d’ici 2030 : un désastre pour les peuples et une mauvaise idée pour la planète (1 December 2022)
- Target to ‘protect’ 30% of earth by 2030 – a disaster for people and bad for the planet (1 December 2022)
- DRC : La nouvelle loi protégeant les peuples autochtones doit être appliquée (5 October 2022)
- One step closer: indigenous peoples’ rights in the DRC (2 August 2022)
- MRG: The rhetoric of ‘green transitions’ cannot be used to push ever more deeply into indigenous territories (24 June 2022)
- Minority Rights Group exhorte la RDC à mettre fin à l’impunité des responsables de violences contre les filles et femmes autochtones (22 June 2022)
- Atteintes aux droits de l’homme dans le PNKB : les conclusions soi-disant « indépendantes » de l’enquête de l’ICCN ne peuvent être prises au pied de la lettre (7 June 2022)
- Human Rights Abuses in PNKB: So-called ‘independent’ findings of ICCN Investigation cannot be taken at face value (7 June 2022)
- Land Body Ecologies: Understanding the Traumas of Fortress Conservation (13 May 2022)
- Recommendations to African states on indigenous and minority issues (28 April 2022)
- Deutsche und US-finanzierte Parkwächter:innen ermorden und vergewaltigen Mitglieder einer indigenen Gemeinschaft im Nationalpark der Demokratischen Republik Kongo, wie eine Untersuchung zeigt (6 April 2022)
- German and US funded park guards murder and rape indigenous community members living in DRC national park, investigation reveals (6 April 2022)
- Un rapport d’enquête révèle que des gardes du parc national de PNKB, financés par l’Allemagne et les États-Unis, ont violé et assassiné des membres de la communauté autochtone batwa (6 April 2022)
- MRG appelle la RDC à assurer la protection des droits des peuples Batwa (29 March 2022)
- Early warning mechanisms key to calming ethnic tensions (7 December 2021)
- Menace imminente pour la forêt du bassin du Congo par la levée du moratoire de la RDC sur les nouvelles concessions forestières (23 September 2021)
- Imminent threat to the Congo Basin rainforest from the lifting of the DRC moratorium on new logging concessions (23 September 2021)
- Indigenous paralegals and the fight for climate justice (17 September 2021)
- EVENT: The protection of human rights of ethnic minorities and Conflict Prevention using Early Warning Mechanism (17 September 2021)
- ‘Network for Peace’ project improves lives of minority communities (25 August 2021)
- Status of peace and justice for indigenous peoples of East Africa: our recommendations (25 April 2021)
- Indigenous peoples must be at the forefront when it comes to redressing violations of their rights (20 April 2021)
- Aires protégées en République Démocratique du Congo : un système défaillant (25 January 2021)
- Statement: Protected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a broken system (25 January 2021)
- Quiet returns: Reporting from the places where migrants come back (14 January 2021)
- Les autorités françaises arrêtent Roger Lumbala, ancien chef de milice, pour crimes contre l’humanité en RDC (4 January 2021)
- French authorities arrest Roger Lumbala, former militia leader, for crimes against humanity in the DRC (4 January 2021)
- HRC45 – MRG welcomes the new Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and highlights the growing problem of “fortress conservation” projects violating indigenous peoples’ rights (24 September 2020)
- HRC44 – MRG’s participation in the UN panel on digital technologies and human rights (8 July 2020)
- Overlooked no more: A Victory for the Indigenous Batwa of the Democratic Republic of Congo (16 June 2020)
- COVID-19 and Community Ownership in Cameroon (2 June 2020)
- Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Batwa Prisoners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13 May 2020)
- EPU – La RDC doit passer des engagements aux actes pour garantir les droits traditionnels des peuples autochtones (20 September 2019)
- DRC: The admissibility decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on a case involving the eviction of indigenous people from their ancestral lands represents a beacon of hope (2 July 2019)
- MRG, Environnement Ressources Naturelles et Développment, and Rainforest Foundation Norway strongly condemn killing of a Batwa man and park guard in DRC national park and demand a prompt investigation (3 May 2019)
- A reflection of Israel’s stance on African asylum seekers and migrants (17 April 2019)
- Bambuti and Batwa in the shadows of DRC’s flawed election (13 February 2019)
- UPR of the DRC – MRG and ERND’s submission (4 October 2018)
- HRC39 – MRG calls for the HRC’s attention to the crisis in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (18 September 2018)
- HRC38 – SR on racism: MRG’s statement on racial and ethnic discrimination as a root cause of statelessness (2 July 2018)
- As death toll rises in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, MRG condemns violence, calls for impartial investigation into killings and long-term solutions to ongoing crisis (4 October 2017)
- HRC36 – MRG calls for the Counsil’s attention to the situations of minorities in Iraq, Egypt and Cameroon (19 September 2017)
- MRG wholeheartedly condemns killing and injuring of indigenous forest people by guards in DRC national park, demands prompt investigation and urges authorities to uphold law (30 August 2017)
- Peoples under Threat 2017: Killings in the no-access zone (19 July 2017)
- With recent CAR truce hanging in the balance, MRG urges quick action by government and international community to ensure stability (21 June 2017)
- Strengthening the voice of marginalized minorities in East and Central Africa (24 April 2017)
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Protecting Batwa land rights (15 November 2016)
- Burundi: Gitega High Court decision a victory for Batwa land rights, says MRG (18 October 2016)
- DRC government must take steps to end ethnic violence in North Kivu, says MRG (31 August 2016)
- From West Cameroon Statehood to Anglophone Cameroon Minorityhood (23 March 2016)
- Bemba guilty verdict upholds doctrine of command responsibility (21 March 2016)
- Burundi at tipping point, government and international community must do more to prevent escalation of conflict, warns MRG (22 January 2016)
- CAR electoral process must be free, fair and inclusive in order to prevent further conflict – new Minority Rights Group report (8 December 2015)
- Threat to populations in the Middle East still greatest from government forces, despite ISIS (31 July 2015)
- African countries dominate global ranking of communities facing greatest risk of mass killings (28 April 2014)
- The silent killings (10 April 2013)
- For many indigenous and minority communities, ‘development’ brings only destruction – new global report (28 June 2012)
- Scramble for natural resources in East and Horn of Africa threatens minorities and indigenous peoples and fuels conflict – new global report (28 June 2012)
- DRC: Justice urged for murder of human rights defender (30 July 2010)
- High rates of violence against women from Africa’s indigenous Batwa community – new research (13 May 2010)
- Cameroon questioned over minority torture case acquittal (30 March 2005)
- Congo’s Pygmies ‘targeted for extermination’: International Criminal Court to consider allegations against Vice President (6 July 2004)
- Minorities at risk if Congo’s fragile peace is allowed to fail (10 June 2004)
- MRG adds international dimension to Cameroon Mbororo rights case (15 April 2004)
- Grave concern over plight of Twa pygmies in Eastern Congo (16 January 2003)
All publications
- DRC: For Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, ‘fortress conservation’ has robbed communities of land and traditional livelihoods (2022)
- Fortress Conservation and International Accountability for Human Rights Violations against Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (2022)
- To Purge the Forest by Force: Organized violence against Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park (2022)
- Cameroon: Confronting environmental injustice and illegal logging in the rainforest through indigenous-led technology (2020)
- Democratic Republic of Congo: As global demand for cobalt soars, child miners pay the price (2020)
- Chad: As deserts spread south, pastoralists face scarcity and drought (2019)
- Central African Republic: The difficulties of return for the country’s conflict-displaced Muslims (2018)
- Central African Republic on the Eve of Elections: From Crisis to Reconciliation (2015)
- ‘Erasing the Board’: Report of the international research mission into crimes under international law committed against the Bambuti Pygmies in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (2004)
- Burundi: Prospects for Peace (2000)
- Burundi: Breaking the cycle of violence (1995)
- Chad (1988)
- Burundi since the genocide (1987)
- Jehovah’s Witnesses in Central Africa (1976)
- Selective Genocide in Burundi (1972)
- The San of the Kalahari (1970)
Our past programmes
- Deepening engagement: Achieving rights for Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Africa (2020)
- Ireland Aid 3 (IA3) : Faire respecter les droits des minorités et des peuples indigènes dans le programme d’Afrique Centrale et de l’Est (2018)
- Ireland Aid 3 (IA3): Realising the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples in East and Central African Programme (2018)
- Promoting the Rights of the Batwa Pygmies (2015)
- Strengthening the capacity of minorities and indigenous peoples to advocate for implementation of international standards (2015)
- Gender-Based Discrimination / Violence Against Women (VAW) evaluation in Batwa communities of Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, 2007- 2010 (2015)
- Enhancing Batwa Leadership in Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda (2010)
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Advocacy statements
- DRC : La nouvelle loi protégeant les peuples autochtones doit être appliquée
- MRG: The rhetoric of ‘green transitions’ cannot be used to push ever more deeply into indigenous territories
- Minority Rights Group exhorte la RDC à mettre fin à l’impunité des responsables de violences contre les filles et femmes autochtones
- Recommendations to African states on indigenous and minority issues
- MRG appelle la RDC à assurer la protection des droits des peuples Batwa
- Status of peace and justice for indigenous peoples of East Africa: our recommendations
- Indigenous peoples must be at the forefront when it comes to redressing violations of their rights
- HRC45 – MRG welcomes the new Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and highlights the growing problem of “fortress conservation” projects violating indigenous peoples’ rights
- HRC44 – MRG’s participation in the UN panel on digital technologies and human rights
- Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Batwa Prisoners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Events
- Land Body Ecologies: Understanding the Traumas of Fortress Conservation
- EVENT: The protection of human rights of ethnic minorities and Conflict Prevention using Early Warning Mechanism
Key legal cases
News and blogs
- One step closer: indigenous peoples’ rights in the DRC
- Indigenous paralegals and the fight for climate justice
- Quiet returns: Reporting from the places where migrants come back
- Overlooked no more: A Victory for the Indigenous Batwa of the Democratic Republic of Congo
- COVID-19 and Community Ownership in Cameroon
- A reflection of Israel’s stance on African asylum seekers and migrants
- Bambuti and Batwa in the shadows of DRC’s flawed election
- From West Cameroon Statehood to Anglophone Cameroon Minorityhood
- The silent killings
News from our projects
- Early warning mechanisms key to calming ethnic tensions
- ‘Network for Peace’ project improves lives of minority communities
- Strengthening the voice of marginalized minorities in East and Central Africa
Press releases
- Deutsche und US-finanzierte Parkwächter:innen ermorden und vergewaltigen Mitglieder einer indigenen Gemeinschaft im Nationalpark der Demokratischen Republik Kongo, wie eine Untersuchung zeigt
- German and US funded park guards murder and rape indigenous community members living in DRC national park, investigation reveals
- Un rapport d’enquête révèle que des gardes du parc national de PNKB, financés par l’Allemagne et les États-Unis, ont violé et assassiné des membres de la communauté autochtone batwa
- Les autorités françaises arrêtent Roger Lumbala, ancien chef de milice, pour crimes contre l’humanité en RDC
- French authorities arrest Roger Lumbala, former militia leader, for crimes against humanity in the DRC
- DRC: The admissibility decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights on a case involving the eviction of indigenous people from their ancestral lands represents a beacon of hope
- MRG, Environnement Ressources Naturelles et Développment, and Rainforest Foundation Norway strongly condemn killing of a Batwa man and park guard in DRC national park and demand a prompt investigation
- As death toll rises in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, MRG condemns violence, calls for impartial investigation into killings and long-term solutions to ongoing crisis
- MRG wholeheartedly condemns killing and injuring of indigenous forest people by guards in DRC national park, demands prompt investigation and urges authorities to uphold law
- Peoples under Threat 2017: Killings in the no-access zone
Statements
- « Protéger » 30% des terres d’ici 2030 : un désastre pour les peuples et une mauvaise idée pour la planète
- Target to ‘protect’ 30% of earth by 2030 – a disaster for people and bad for the planet
- Atteintes aux droits de l’homme dans le PNKB : les conclusions soi-disant « indépendantes » de l’enquête de l’ICCN ne peuvent être prises au pied de la lettre
- Human Rights Abuses in PNKB: So-called ‘independent’ findings of ICCN Investigation cannot be taken at face value
- Menace imminente pour la forêt du bassin du Congo par la levée du moratoire de la RDC sur les nouvelles concessions forestières
- Imminent threat to the Congo Basin rainforest from the lifting of the DRC moratorium on new logging concessions
- Aires protégées en République Démocratique du Congo : un système défaillant
- Statement: Protected areas in the Democratic Republic of Congo – a broken system
What we do
- Furthest Behind First (FBF)
- Networks for Peace: Preventing and resolving conflicts through early warning mechanisms in Africa
- Supporting Human Rights Defenders in the area of land-related rights, indigenous peoples
- Deepening engagement: Achieving rights for Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Africa
- Ireland Aid 3 (IA3) : Faire respecter les droits des minorités et des peuples indigènes dans le programme d’Afrique Centrale et de l’Est
- Ireland Aid 3 (IA3): Realising the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples in East and Central African Programme
- Central and East Africa: Strengthening the Voice of Marginalised Minorities
- Promoting the Rights of the Batwa Pygmies
- Strengthening the capacity of minorities and indigenous peoples to advocate for implementation of international standards
- Gender-Based Discrimination / Violence Against Women (VAW) evaluation in Batwa communities of Burundi, DRC, Rwanda and Uganda, 2007- 2010
Publications
- Fortress Conservation and International Accountability for Human Rights Violations against Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park
- To Purge the Forest by Force: Organized violence against Batwa in Kahuzi-Biega National Park
- Central African Republic on the Eve of Elections: From Crisis to Reconciliation
- ‘Erasing the Board’: Report of the international research mission into crimes under international law committed against the Bambuti Pygmies in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
- Burundi: Prospects for Peace
- Burundi: Breaking the cycle of violence
- Chad
- Burundi since the genocide
- Jehovah’s Witnesses in Central Africa
- Selective Genocide in Burundi
