The Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a fresh legal battle against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing its neighbour of violating international law through its alleged role in the long running conflict in eastern Congo.
The case, filed at the Hague based court, claims Rwanda sent troops into Congolese territory and supported armed groups responsible for unlawful military operations in the years following the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Congolese Justice Minister Guillaume Andali said the case seeks to hold Rwanda accountable for alleged breaches of international agreements covering the prevention of genocide, racial discrimination, women’s rights and the prohibition of torture.
The application asks the court to order Rwanda to stop the alleged violations and award compensation to both the Congolese state and victims of the conflict.
Rwanda has not yet responded to the latest filing. It has consistently denied supporting armed groups in eastern Congo despite repeated claims by United Nations experts and several Western governments that it provides backing to the M23 rebel movement.
The International Court of Justice will now consider whether it has jurisdiction before deciding how the case will proceed.
It is the third attempt by DR Congo to bring Rwanda before the court. A case filed in 2001 was later withdrawn, while another in 2006 was dismissed because Rwanda had not accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
The dispute is rooted in the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when about 800,000 people, mainly from the Tutsi community, were killed by Hutu extremists. Around one million Hutus fled into what is now DR Congo, fuelling decades of instability and ethnic tensions in the country’s east.
Rwanda says it has been forced to act against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, an armed Hutu group that includes individuals linked to the genocide. Kigali argues the group’s continued presence near its border remains a threat to national security.
Congolese authorities reject Rwanda’s repeated accusations that they cooperate with the FDLR.
Violence escalated again last year when M23 fighters seized large areas of the mineral rich east, including the regional capital, Goma. The fighting has continued despite a peace agreement between Rwanda and DR Congo brokered by the United States in December.
