A Belgian court has made a historic ruling, holding the state accountable for crimes against humanity due to the forced removal of mixed-race children from their mothers during Belgium’s colonial era in the Congo.
The ruling, issued on Monday, acknowledges the systematic abduction of five women, now in their seventies, who were taken from their Congolese mothers as young children and placed in Catholic institutions in the Belgian Congo because of their mixed heritage. The court described the removal of these women, all born between 1948 and 1953, as a form of “systematic kidnapping.”
These women, who were the children of Congolese mothers and European fathers, were seen as a threat to the racial hierarchy upheld by the colonial state, which sought to segregate and forcibly assimilate them. As a result, they were placed in Catholic missions, far from their homes, under a broader policy of segregation.
“This is a historic ruling,” said Michèle Hirsch, one of the women’s lawyers. It is the first time Belgium, or any European court, has condemned its colonial actions as crimes against humanity.
One of the plaintiffs, Monique Bitu Bingi, who was taken at the age of three, expressed relief after hearing the verdict. She described the decision as justice served, with the court recognizing the act as a crime against humanity. Bitu Bingi, along with the other women—Noëlle Verbeken, Léa Tavares Mujinga, Simone Ngalula, and Marie-José Loshi—celebrated the ruling.
These women were among many children forcibly taken from their families in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The court ruled that the practice caused emotional and psychological harm and violated international law. This decision overturned a 2021 ruling that had dismissed the removals as acceptable under colonial rule.
Each of the women was awarded €50,000 in damages for the harm they suffered, and Belgium was ordered to pay over €1 million in legal costs. The women initially sought higher compensation but limited their claim to avoid the risk of paying compensation if they lost.
The practice of removing mixed-race children dates back to King Léopold II’s rule over the Congo (1885-1908), which was marked by widespread exploitation and abuse. The policy continued even after Belgium took control of the Congo. While the exact number of children affected remains unclear, thousands were likely impacted by these forced removals.
At Catholic missions like Katende, the girls were labeled “mulattoes,” and their personal details were often falsified. Many were told their fathers were unknown, even when their names were recorded. They endured harsh conditions, and after Congo gained independence in 1960, some of the girls were abandoned and subjected to further abuse during the subsequent civil war.
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