DR Congo files case against Rwanda at ICJ over decades of alleged abuses

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has officially taken Rwanda to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing Kigali of direct responsibility for widespread "abuses" in eastern DRC over the past three decades. The Congolese government filed the application on Friday, alleging a pattern of massacres, sexual violence, forced displacement, and other atrocities.

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The dispute concerns “abuses attributable to Rwanda over a period extending from 1996 to the present day”.

The case centers on "abuses attributable to Rwanda over a period extending from 1996 to the present day," the ICJ stated, confirming it had received the DRC's application. The filing specifically notes that these abuses have primarily targeted Hutu populations present in the region since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, but also other Congolese ethnic groups, including the Nyindu, Bembe, Lega, Nande, Hunde, and Bashi.

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The abuses “have primarily targeted Hutus present on Zairian, and subsequently Congolese, territory following the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994” in Rwanda.

According to the Congolese government's statement, civilian populations in eastern DRC have endured suffering of "exceptional magnitude." The application alleges that Rwandan armed forces, along with proxy groups such as the M23/AFC alliance and the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), have conducted unlawful military operations. These operations, which have targeted refugee camps, villages, and urban centers, have continued through the First and Second Congo Wars and persist to this day.

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The civilian populations of eastern DRC have been victims of massacres, extrajudicial executions, acts of torture, sexual violence, forced displacement, and discrimination.

Rwanda has consistently denied backing the M23 rebel group, asserting its military presence in eastern DRC is a matter of self-defense against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu militia linked to the 1994 genocide. Kigali claims Kinshasa harbors the FDLR, an accusation the DRC rejects. Despite recent diplomatic efforts, including a US-brokered peace deal and a Qatari-mediated ceasefire, violence in the region remains unabated.

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The filing alleges that Rwandan armed forces, alongside proxy groups including the M23/AFC alliance, and Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), have conducted unlawful military operations across eastern DRC since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.