Landmark Court Ruling Grants Reparations to Victims of Belgian Colonial Abuse

A Brussels court has recognized the suffering of five women, now in their 70s and 80s, who endured separation from their families and abuse during Belgium's colonial rule, awarding them reparations for the atrocities committed against them.

In a groundbreaking decision, a Brussels court ruled on Monday that five mixed-race women, now in their 70s and 80s, are entitled to reparations from the Belgian state for the injustices they suffered under colonial rule in the former Belgian Congo. The women, who were taken from their mothers—African women—by Belgian authorities as young as two years old, were forced into religious institutions hundreds of miles away, where they experienced poverty, malnutrition, and abuse.

The ruling comes in recognition of Belgium's inhumane practices, which the court deemed a crime against humanity. Each woman has been awarded 50,000 euros (approximately $52,000) for the anguish they have endured since their forcible removal and neglected upbringing. The Brussels Court of Appeal stated, “There is no doubt... that the appellants have experienced great suffering... as a result of their kidnapping before the age of 7 by the state.”

Belgium's colonial rule in the Congo lasted from 1908 to 1960, during which time policies strictly prohibited interracial relationships. This led to the systematic removal of thousands of children, many of whom were placed in Catholic institutions both in the Congo and Belgium.

One of the plaintiffs, Monique Bitu Bingi, expressed immense relief following the ruling, emphasizing its significance not only for herself and the other plaintiffs but also for their mothers. “The Belgian government took my youth away, and it was something I had to fight for, to explain to the world what happened,” Bitu Bingi stated. This legal victory stands as a momentous acknowledgment of the historic wrongs inflicted upon individuals during Belgium's colonial era.