BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 29. An international conference titled "Belgian colonialism: acknowledgement and responsibility" organized by the Baku Initiative Group, dedicated to Belgium's colonial past and its current serious consequences, will be held for the first time in Azerbaijan on October 31, Trend reports.
The event will be attended by representatives from Belgium's former colonies - Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, as well as diplomats and officials.
In total, the conference will be attended by specialists in international law, historians, researchers, civil society activists, and experts on reparations issues from eight countries.
The conference will discuss the atrocities committed by Belgium against the local population on the African continent, especially in its former colonies such as Congo, Rwanda and Burundi - a policy of ethnic division, mass killings and the plundering of cultural heritage, as well as the serious consequences of Belgian colonialism that continue to this day.
At the same time, participants will exchange views on the continued exploitation of the resources of the aforementioned countries resulting from Belgium’s neocolonial policies in its former colonial territories, the necessity of advancing the demand for compensation to these peoples for the damage incurred to the international level, and the inclusion of this issue on the agendas of relevant international organizations.
On the day preceding the conference, October 30, foreign participants will engage in discussions with faculty members and students at Baku State University on the topic “Belgian Colonialism in Central Africa and Its Enduring Consequences,” and will deliver lectures to the academic audience.
A report prepared by the UN Working Group on People of African Descent in 2019 indicates that during Belgian colonial rule, an estimated 10 million people were killed, tens of thousands suffered amputation of their hands, and ethnic division policies—now a persistent source of conflict—were implemented. The report further notes that the local population was subjected to forced labor, approximately 20,000 mixed-race children were abducted, separated from their communities, and exposed to assimilation policies, thereby laying the foundation for acts of genocide.
The report recommends that Belgium establish a commission to investigate and disclose historical truths, ensure the opening of archives, and provide compensation.
Similar to other colonial powers, Belgium, despite committing unprecedented atrocities against the populations it colonized and exploited, has regrettably succeeded in concealing these crimes from the international community.
The purpose of the conference is also to familiarize the public with historical truths.
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