BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 21. An international
conference on the topic ‘Belgium's colonial injustice and 101-year
path to reparations’ is taking place in Baku at the initiative of
the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
The event is attended by officials from the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi, former Belgian colonies
where, as the organizers note, Belgium continues to exert
neocolonial influence, as well as representatives from Morocco and
the Republic of South Africa (RSA). UN representatives are also
participating in the conference.
Among the participants are the DRC’s ombudsman, members of the
Congolese parliament, Rwanda’s ambassador to Türkiye, diplomats,
and UN experts.
In addition, the conference is attended by experts in
international law, historical justice, and reparations, as well as
researchers, human rights defenders, and other specialists.
Conference participants are discussing the promotion, within the
UN agenda, including that of the UN Human Rights Council, of the
issue of Belgium issuing an official apology and paying
compensation for crimes committed during the colonial period
against the peoples of the DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi.
Particular attention is being paid to the development of a
binding international mechanism to monitor Belgium’s compliance
with its obligations regarding reparations and restitution in
accordance with the principles enshrined in UN General Assembly
Resolution 60/147.
In addition, the conference focuses on ensuring full and
unimpeded access to Belgian colonial archives, involving
specialists from former colonial territories in the relevant
processes on an equal footing with international experts, and
returning human remains and other historical materials to their
countries of origin.
Will be updated
