Belgium’s Conviction for Colonial-Era Crimes in Congo Becomes Final After Appeal

Brussels, May 22, 2026 - Belgium has been definitively condemned for crimes against humanity committed during the colonial era in the former Belgian Congo, following the rejection of an appeal by the country’s Court of Cassation.

The ruling confirms a 2024 decision holding the Belgian state responsible for acts of racial segregation and the forced removal of mixed-race children during the colonial administration of what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With the appeal rejected, the judgment has now become final, obliging Belgium to compensate victims affected by the colonial-era policies.

The case was brought by five mixed-race women born between 1948 and 1952 who were separated from their Congolese mothers as children and placed in religious institutions under the Belgian colonial system.

The plaintiffs - Marie-Josée Loshi, Noëlle Verbeken, Léa Tavares Mujinga, Simone Ngalula, and Monique Bintu Bingi - argued that they were stripped of their identities and family ties through a system designed to enforce racial segregation during the colonial period.

According to the court, the removals formed part of a broader institutional policy implemented by Belgian colonial authorities.

During the proceedings, the women described being separated from their families, deprived of their names and identities, and abandoned following Congo’s independence in 1960.

“The Belgian state uprooted us, separated us from our families, stole our names, our identities, and our human rights,” Léa Tavares Mujinga stated during the hearings.