DRC lawyers attempt to silence guns east of the country at rights court
Nearly 20 lawyers representing Democratic Republic of the Congo are facing off their Rwandan counterparts at the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in Arusha, Tanzania.
THURSDAY February 13, 2025
By The Tranquility News Reporter, Tanzania
The conflict pitting the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel group has expanded into a legal battle at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights based in Arusha, Tanzania.
Lawyers from DRC and Rwanda are due to debate for two days since Wednesday February 12, 2025, in the Tanzania’s tourist hub, each side defending their country in a case the DRC filed at the court last August.
The DRC accuses Rwanda in the Application Number 007/2023 of violating rights and obligations under various international treaties, including the African Convention on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women.
Other treaties include the African Convention on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRCW), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
The violations are related to the fighting dating back to 2021 in eastern DRC involving the host government and the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda is believed to support.
The fighting has led to killings, rebels occupying various areas, over 530,000 people displaced, cholera spread, destruction of schools that deprive about 20,000 children of education, destruction of infrastructure such as electricity, looting and destruction of agricultural, housing and health infrastructure.
Moreover, the 17 lawyers representing DRC accuse Rwandan government of harbouring suspects of serious crimes for whom its domestic courts had issued international arrest warrants.
The DRC lawyers plead with the court to convict Rwanda, order the M23 rebel group to withdraw, Rwanda to end supporting the rebel group, and provide compensation for the damages caused as well as for the victims.
Rwanda, through its eight lawyers led by Emmanuel Ugirashebuye, Minister for Justice and Chief of Government Attorney, strongly opposed the allegations, arguing that the court does, in the first place, not have jurisdiction to hear the case.
Ugirashebuye said the application lacked coherent procedural record, asserting that the motive behind the case was seeking political mileage ahead of the last election.
Professor Dapo Akande said Rwanda was not party to the court when DRC filed the case. “This case is unique and inappropriate because it expands the territorial jurisdiction mandate set out by the court,” said the law expert who has worked on international law issues related to Rwanda, the UN, and other organisations.
The professor at the University of Oxford said some of the peace and security instruments referred to in the case did not relate to human rights, citing the Great Lakes Act to which, he said, Rwanda had not ratified.
Hearing of the case presided over by the African Court vice president Madibo Sacko continues today on February 13, 2025, before the date for the judgment is determined.
The case comes when the M23 rebels have reportedly resumed attacks near the village of Ihusi situated 40 kilometres from the strategic airport in Kavumu and about 70 kilometres from Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu Province in eastern DRCΩ
