Today, Ranking Republican Rob Bishop (R-Utah) and Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) sent a letter to Carter Roberts, the President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), requesting documents on WWF’s procedures, role in, and knowledge of alleged human rights abuses revealed by Buzzfeed News in March.

The letter summarizes the concerns: “Despite the importance of protecting wildlife and preventing species extinction, the United States cannot be party to violations of basic human rights.  Moreover, such abuses undermine local support for wildlife conservation efforts and may jeopardize long-term species recovery.”

Grijalva and Bishop requested a Government Accountability Office investigation of protections in place to prevent federal funds from contributing to human rights abuses including torture, sexual assault, and extrajudicial killings associated with anti-poaching efforts. They have also requested a briefing from the Department of the Interior.

Today’s letter requests documents to help understand whether WWF was aware that their activities may have contributed to human rights abuses, the actions they took to prevent the atrocities and how best to prevent future occurrences. The alleged abuses were perpetrated by groups engaged in campaigns to prevent poaching in wildlife conservation parks funded by WWF.

 The letter can be viewed HERE.