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Congo vs Rwanda: African Court to hear Kinshasa's case
Congolese M23 rebels are seen as they withdraw from the 3 antennes location in Kibumba, near Goma, North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo on December 23, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The petition has been on the court's register since August 2023, as the war between M23 rebels and government forces in the mineral-rich Kivu province escalated, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing hundreds of thousands.
The African Court has scheduled a public hearing for February 12 on a petition filed by the Democratic Republic of Congo against Rwanda for allegedly supporting M23 rebels in the ongoing conflict in eastern Congo, which has reached alarming levels in recent weeks.
The petition has been on the court's register since August 2023, as the war between M23 rebels and government forces in the mineral-rich Kivu province escalated, claiming hundreds of lives and displacing hundreds of thousands.
As the first such case brought by an African Union member state against another at the Arusha-based African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights, it is a major test of the court's ability to mediate major interstate conflicts within its jurisdiction, now in real time.
Kinshasa said "the populations of both countries await the court’s decisions with anticipation."
The DRC has a similar case before the East African Court of Justice (EACJ); hearings began in September 2024. In the regional court, also based in Arusha, the DRC accuses Rwanda of "acts of aggression that violate its sovereignty, territorial integrity, political stability and independence and have led to significant human rights violations in the North Kivu region."
The EACJ case is also still pending, but has curiously been omitted from the list of cases for the upcoming first session in 2025, to be held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.
In Application No. 007/2023, filed with the African Court on August 21, 2023, the DRC government accuses Rwanda of violating several rights protected by the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights as a result of Rwanda's alleged support for the M23 in its fight against the DRC army. These include the rights to life, peace, human dignity, food, housing, family protection, liberty and personal security, good physical and mental health, and reparations.
As part of its proposed reparations package, Kinshasa demands that Rwanda immediately "withdraw its troops from DRC territory and cease all forms of support to M23."
It followed up on its initial application with a supplementary request that the case to be dealt with under "an expedited procedure," using shorter timelines than provided for by the court's rules.
Rwanda did not respond to the request, and, in a March 2024 ruling, the court dismissed it while agreeing to consider the main application on a "priority basis."
"The Court notes, without prejudging the merits of the case, that the Applicant State predicates its application on the existence on its territory of an armed conflict involving a group with the alleged financial and military support of the Respondent State. The said conflict has allegedly resulted in massive loss of human lives, acts of rape, and destruction of properties, which reveal a certain level of complexity in the matter.
"In light of the foregoing, the Court considers that the request to abridge the time limit for deliberation may be at odds with the interests of justice. This notwithstanding, the Court is of the view that the allegations made by the Applicant State refer to violations whose nature and scope appear to require settlement within a timeframe consistent with the interest of justice. As such, the merits of the case require examination as a matter of priority," the ACHPR ruled.
The DRC was represented by a team of 18 lawyers at the March 2024 session, while Rwanda did not send any lawyers.
According to the DRC's petition, the alleged violations are being committed against the civilian population of the DRC, including women, children and other vulnerable groups, and the "continued occupation of its territory by the Respondent State's army causes murders, rapes, thefts, and displacement of persons."
"A lengthy procedure will result in great human, economic and social costs," Kinshasa argued.
Next week's hearing will take place against the backdrop of an escalating crisis in eastern DRC, where the M23 have been gaining territory, including control of the commercial centre of Goma.
The death toll from the latest upsurge in violence since the middle of last month is believed to be over 1,000, with more than 800 killed in the past week alone as the M23 seized the strategic city.
As of last Saturday, at least 2,880 wounded people were in Goma's hospitals, according to DRC government statistics.
