On October 31, an international conference titled "Belgian Colonialism: Acknowledgement and Responsibility" will be held in Azerbaijan for the first time, organized by the Baku Initiative Group, dedicated to Belgium's colonial past and its current severe consequences.
SİA informs, citing BIG, that representatives from Belgium's former colonies - the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi - as well as diplomats and officials will participate in the event.
In total, specialists in international law, historians, researchers, civil society activists, and experts on reparation issues from 8 countries will join the conference.
The conference will discuss the atrocities committed by Belgium against local populations in Africa, particularly in former colonies like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi - including ethnic division policies, mass killings, and the plundering of cultural heritage, as well as the ongoing severe consequences of Belgian colonialism to this day.
At the same time, discussions will focus on how Belgium's neocolonial policies have resulted in the continued exploitation of resources in these countries, bringing compensation claims for damages to these peoples to the international arena, and placing them on the agenda of international organizations.
A day before the conference, on October 30, foreign guests will hold discussions with the teaching staff and students at Baku State University on the topic "Belgian colonialism in Central Africa and its ongoing severe consequences," and will deliver lectures for the audience.
A 2019 report prepared by the UN Working Group on People of African Descent highlighted that during Belgium's colonial period in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Burundi, 10 million people were killed, tens of thousands had their hands cut off, ethnic division policies that continue to fuel conflicts today were implemented, local populations were subjected to forced labor, 20,000 mixed-race (métis) children were kidnapped and subjected to assimilation policies after being separated from local communities, and the groundwork for genocides was laid. The report recommends that Belgium establish a commission to uncover truths and facts, open archives, and pay compensation.
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