DRC launches case against Rwanda to the African Court of Human and People’s Rights

Rwanda stands accused of backing the M23 group, a rebel military group which has carried out atrocities against civilians in the conflict-torn region of North Kivu, located in the eastern DRC.

The DRC’s Deputy Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs, Samuel Mbemba called this a landmark moment, after “decades of aggression against our country, the pillaging of our minerals, the rape of our children and women and the massacres of our people”.

The case comes four months after the DRC filed a case against Rwanda at the East African Court of Justice. The DRC accused Rwanda of violating its sovereignty, committing atrocities against civilians, and breaking international law in eastern DRC.

In November, with Angola’s mediation the DRC and Rwanda signed a key agreement aimed at working towards peace in the conflict region. The document, known as the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) lays out a plan to push forward the peace process in eastern DRC, through four key steps.

In a Facebook post, the Angolan Presidency announced that the country’s respective Presidents are set to meet for talks on 15 December, at a summit in the Angolan capital of Luanda.