Anew episode of Newsweek’s The Royal Report podcast has heard that the decision to keep an event connected with one of Prince Harry‘s most controversial projects closed to the media in New York this month has been labeled “outrageous,” as the prince faced calls earlier in the year to sever his relationship with the organization.
Harry traveled to New York City this month to undertake engagements connected with several of his charities happening at the same time as the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week and Climate Week.
One of these events was held at the Metropolitan Club in Manhattan by the conservation charity African Parks, which Harry became a board member of in 2023 after serving six years as president and which became a board member of in 2023 after serving six years as president and which became the subject of human rights abuse allegations in 2024.
In January, Britain’s Mail On Sunday newspaper published an exposé of the alleged abuse being made by African Parks rangers against the indigenous people of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo.
Guards employed by the charity have been accused of rape, torture and violence in the area, with calls coming after the publication of the report for Prince Harry to step down from his role with the organization.
The newspaper revealed that the charity Survival International contacted Harry in 2023 to alert him of the allegations. At its publication, a spokesperson for the prince told the outlet: “When the Duke became aware of these serious allegations, he immediately escalated them to the CEO and chairman of the board of African Parks, the appropriate people to handle next steps.”
