<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/02/belgium-found-guilty-of-crimes-against-humanity-in-colonial-congo>
"The Belgian state has been found guilty of crimes against humanity for the
forced removal of five mixed-race children from their mothers in colonial
Congo.
In a long-awaited ruling issued on Monday, Belgium’s court of appeal said that
five women, born in the Belgian Congo and now in their 70s, had been victims of
“systematic kidnapping” by the state when they were removed from their mothers
as small children and sent to Catholic institutions because of their mixed-race
origins.
“This is a victory and a historic judgment,” Michèle Hirsch, one of the lawyers
for the women, told local media. “It is the first time in Belgium and probably
in Europe that a court has condemned the Belgian colonial state for crimes
against humanity.”
Monique Bitu Bingi, who was removed from her mother aged three, told the
Guardian that justice had been done. “I am relieved,” she said. “The judges
have recognised that this was a crime against humanity.”
She received news of the judgment alongside the four other women who brought
the case in their lawyer’s office. “We jumped for joy,” she said.
Noëlle Verbeken, who was removed from her mother and placed 500km away, told
Belgium’s francophone public broadcaster
RTBF: “This decision says that we
have a certain value in the world. We are recognised.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
