In a groundbreaking verdict that has reverberated across continents, Belgium’s court of appeal has found the state guilty of crimes against humanity for the systematic kidnapping and forced removal of mixed-race children from their Congolese mothers during the colonial era. The landmark ruling, issued on Monday, marks the first time that Belgium has been legally held responsible for the devastating human rights abuses perpetrated under its colonial rule of Congo.
The case was brought forward by five courageous women, all born in the Belgian Congo in the 1940s to Congolese mothers and European fathers. As young girls, they were brutally torn from their families by the colonial authorities and placed in Catholic missions, hundreds of kilometers away from their homes, solely because of their mixed racial heritage. Now in their 70s, these women have finally achieved a measure of justice after a long and painful journey.
A Dark Chapter in Colonial History
The forced removal of mixed-race children in the Belgian Congo was part of a larger system of racial segregation and white supremacy imposed by the colonial state. Thousands of children born to Congolese mothers and European fathers were seen as a threat to the rigid racial hierarchy and were systematically separated from their families and communities.
This policy had its roots in the reign of Belgium’s King Léopold II, who ruled Congo as his personal fiefdom from 1885 to 1908 before it became an official Belgian colony. The practice of forced removal continued well into the 20th century, even after the horrors of World War II and the establishment of the legal concept of crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg trials.
Stolen Childhoods and Shattered Identities
For the five women at the center of this case – Monique Bitu Bingi, Léa Tavares Mujinga, Noëlle Verbeken, Simone Ngalula, and Marie-José Loshi – the trauma of being ripped away from their mothers as young girls has left indelible scars. Sent far from their homes to Catholic missions, they were assigned new names, given false birthdays, and had their fathers listed as “unknown,” despite this information being readily available.
At the missions, they endured abuse, neglect, and the constant message that they were “children of sin” because of their mixed-race parentage. When Congo gained independence in 1960, they were abandoned by the departing Belgians, left to fend for themselves in a country torn apart by civil war and violence. Some of the women faced the additional trauma of sexual violence in the chaos that followed.
“We were dumped like packages, like something that the Belgians didn’t want. It was a real deportation from the life we should have had.”
– Monique Bitu Bingi, one of the plaintiffs
A Long Road to Recognition and Accountability
Monday’s ruling was the culmination of a years-long legal battle that the women, along with their lawyers and advocates, have waged to compel Belgium to confront the demons of its colonial past. In 2018, the Belgian government issued an official apology for the treatment of mixed-race children, acknowledging the fundamental violations of their human rights. However, a lower court initially ruled against the women in 2021, finding that the forced removals were not considered crimes against humanity at the time they occurred.
Undeterred, the women appealed the decision, arguing that Belgium, as a signatory to the 1945 Nuremberg Convention, was bound by the international legal definition of crimes against humanity. In a stunning reversal, the court of appeal agreed, declaring that the state’s actions constituted “inhuman acts” and “persecution” that met the Nuremberg threshold. Belgium has been ordered to pay each woman €50,000 in damages for the immense suffering caused by severing their maternal bonds and stripping them of their identities.
The Reckoning Begins
While the court’s decision is a resounding victory for the five plaintiffs, it also serves as a clarion call for Belgium to more fully grapple with the sins of its colonial history. The systematic separation of mixed-race children was just one facet of the brutal exploitation, violence, and racism that defined Belgian rule in Congo, a legacy that continues to cast a long shadow over both nations.
As Belgium begins to confront this painful past, there is a growing demand for transparency, accountability, and reparations. The government has established an official commission to investigate Belgium’s colonial history and assist those impacted by forced removals to trace their origins. However, many argue that much more needs to be done to truly reckon with the scale and scope of the abuses committed.
“This verdict is a victory not only for us, but for all the children who were stolen from their mothers, for all the families that were destroyed. Belgium can no longer hide from its past.”
– Noëlle Verbeken, plaintiff
As the women at the heart of this historic case reflect on their long journey to justice, they express a mixture of relief, vindication, and determination to ensure that their stories are never forgotten. Their courage in speaking out has cracked open a painful chapter in Belgium’s history, forcing the nation to begin confronting the dark realities of its colonial legacy. While the road ahead is long, the court’s acknowledgement of their suffering as crimes against humanity marks a critical step towards healing, accountability, and a more honest reckoning with the past.
