Court ruling on Belgium’s conduct in colonial Africa hailed as turning point
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Verdict of crimes against humanity for kidnap of mixed-race children could pave way for wider justice, activists say. A historic court ruling that found Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity during its colonial rule of central Africa has been hailed as a turning point that could pave the way for compensation and other forms of justice.
![[The women who challenged the Belgian government, clockwise from top left: Simone Ngalula, Monique Bitu Bingi, Léa Tavares Mujinga, Noëlle Verbeeken and Marie-José Loshi]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f542f10dd30aa00ddb5f0fdb9ad2ad4e12815efc/0_0_4500_2700/master/4500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Belgium’s court of appeal ruled last month that the “systematic kidnapping” of mixed-race children from their African mothers in Belgian-ruled Congo, Rwanda and Burundi was a crime against humanity. The case was brought by five women who were removed from their Congolese mothers as small children between 1948 and 1953, and who now live in Belgium and France. Each was awarded €50,000 (£42,000) in damages.
The colonial-era policy affected thousands more métis, children of African mothers and European fathers whom imperial Belgium deemed a threat to the white supremacist order. Many lost all contact with their mothers after being moved hundreds of miles away to live in uncaring religious institutions with meagre rations and inadequate education.
The president of the Association of Métis of Belgium, François Milliex, said decision “surely opens the door” to those seeking financial compensation for forced separation from their parents. Milliex was moved to Belgium in 1960 aged 14, and was immediately sent to a children’s home with two of his brothers after being separated from his other siblings. The family was split although Milliex’s Rwandan mother and Belgian father were both alive, recognised and wanted to care for their children. He was stripped of his Belgian nationality the following year, leaving him stateless and unable to leave the country. As an adult he spent one month of salary in fees to regain Belgian nationality.
