Governments and NGOs accused of human rights violations London, 16 Aug-(ANA)-A new book published this month has accused Governments and Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, of increasingly giving tacit approval to widespread human rights abuses in the name of wildlife conservation in Africa.
Professor Rosaleen Duffy from The University of Manchester, England, blames endemic poaching and human rights abuse on greedy consumer demand for Ivory, medicines, ornaments, foodstuffs, clothing, bushmeat and caviar - among other products.
The academic, who has worked extensively in the continent, describes how mercenaries and park rangers are able to kill Africans found without permission in national parks.
Many shootings, she says, are carried out with impunity, whether the intruders are commercial poachers or impoverished local people hunting for food.
“If we examine the idea of a war to protect wildlife carefully, it is clear that it is used to justify highly repressive and coercive policies against the world’s most marginalized and vulnerable people,” she said.
But despite these extreme measures, demand continues unabated – especially for bushmeat, where loggers, miners and road builders are driving demand as well as the African Diaspora. (ANA)
UK/Houthis