Tue Dec 03 15:26:47 UTC 2024: ## Belgium Ordered to Pay Millions in Landmark Ruling on Colonial-Era Abduction of Mixed-Race Children
**Brussels, Belgium** – A Belgian appeals court has ordered the state to pay €250,000 ($267,000) in compensation to five mixed-race women forcibly taken from their families in the former Belgian Congo. The landmark ruling on Monday, December 2nd, declared the colonial-era practice a “crime against humanity,” setting a significant precedent for thousands of similar cases.
The women, now in their 70s and 80s, were among an estimated 5,000 to 20,000 mixed-race children abducted between 1948 and 1961. Belgian colonial authorities, driven by a white supremacist ideology, systematically separated these children from their African mothers, sending them to orphanages or for adoption, often in Belgium. The children, known as “Métis,” faced discrimination and were denied their identities, often having their names changed.
The court’s decision overturns a 2021 lower court ruling that rejected the women’s claims. The appeals court acknowledged the state’s responsibility for the abductions and systematic racial segregation, recognizing the profound and lasting damage inflicted upon the victims.
One of the plaintiffs, Monique Bitu Bingi, expressed relief, stating, “I am very happy that justice has finally been delivered to us.” The women’s legal team hailed the ruling as a potential catalyst for further legal action and out-of-court settlements for other affected individuals. They emphasized that the ruling could have implications for other European nations grappling with their colonial pasts and the demand for reparations.
While Belgium’s Prime Minister apologized in 2019 for the colonial practice, this is the first time the state has been legally held responsible for crimes against humanity related to the forced abduction of mixed-race children. The Belgian state could still appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
First Piper 