Rwanda faces trial over conflict in neighboring state
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ) has decided to open hearings in a case filed by Kinshasa against Rwanda over its alleged role in a decades-long armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), a Congolese official has said.
Samuel Mbemba, DR Congo’s deputy justice minister in charge of international litigation, announced the decision on Thursday, saying the trial would begin on September 26.
“This trial will result in the conviction of Rwanda for violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of an EAC [East African Community] member state, mass atrocities against civilian populations, as well as serious and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law,” Mbemba told reporters.
Relations between Kinshasa and Kigali have deteriorated since the return of hostilities in DR Congo’s volatile eastern region in 2021, waged by the M23 militia, one of several insurgent groups that have seized vast swaths of land in North Kivu.
Authorities in the conflict-torn country have repeatedly accused the Rwandan government of arming the insurgents, a claim also supported by the US. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi recently threatened to declare war on the neighboring state if it keeps fueling the conflict.
Early last month, a group of UN experts released a report claiming that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23 militia against Congolese forces and local allies. The experts declared that the Rwanda Defense Forces’ “de facto control and direction over M23 operations also renders Rwanda liable for M23’s actions.”
Kigali has consistently denied the allegations. Its leader, Paul Kagame, expressed concern over the DR Congo crisis during his swearing-in ceremony for a fourth term this month, saying: “Peace in our region is a priority for Rwanda.”
Kinshasa filed a legal action against Kigali in March, accusing it of repeatedly violating DR Congo’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence over the past 25 years.
On Thursday, the Congolese deputy justice minister said he had pressured the regional court in Arusha, Tanzania, to examine the complaint “as soon as possible,” and that if it failed to do so, the DRC would withdraw from the East African Community.
“The Registry of the EAC Court of Justice has published an extract of the role announcing the examination in open court of the DRC’s application against Rwanda,” Mbemba stated, describing the move as a significant step forward in the case.
The minister also launched a campaign on Thursday to demand an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the Rwandan army, and the prosecution of those involved in human rights violations in DR Congo. The former Belgian colony has filed complaints with the ICC, including a request that the UN court probe the alleged widespread pillaging of natural resources in the country’s east by Rwandan forces and M23 rebels.
