The African Court opens the DRC-Rwanda case

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) filed a case against Rwanda for allegedly violating Congolese rights in the country’s east, and the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) has started considering the case.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2023, and on February 12, 2025, the African Court held public hearings. Imani Daud Aboud, the court’s president, presided over the nine judges.

The DRC, represented by a group of 17 attorneys, requested that the Court order Rwanda to withdraw its forces from the DRC, demand that Rwanda stop supporting the M23 rebel organization, hold Rwanda responsible for crimes on its territory, and give compensation for victims and damages.

Samuel Kabuya, one of the attorneys, stated that the crimes against people in the ongoing conflict were the reason they chose to take the matter to the African Court.

“Rwanda has deliberately violated and trampled on human rights, particularly the rights of children, which are protected by many nations around the world,” he stated before the jury.

He went on to say that over two million individuals had been impacted, many of whom had died and others had contracted illnesses. He said that many had been raped, tortured, and abused, and that minors had been coerced into enlisting in the military, depriving them of their fundamental rights to food, shelter, education, and self-determination.

“The cause of all this is Rwanda’s desire to plunder the natural resources of our country, particularly in North and South Kivu, which has even affected the city of Goma, where many people have been killed, and others displaced from their homes,” he stated.

“We have photographic evidence showing that Rwanda is supporting armed groups with over 3,000 members and, by January 2025, some areas have already been captured by these groups.”

He asked the court to order Rwanda to pay the victims’ compensation for the horrors and suffering they endured.

In order to save the lives of those who have abandoned their homes and are in danger of passing away from starvation, infectious diseases, and the continued suffering, we kindly request that this honorable court expedite its ruling in this case. They (Rwanda) will deploy their forces to other locations if this is not addressed, and once they are done there, they will move to other nations, knowing that no one will stop them,” Kabuya said.

Eight Rwandan attorneys, led by Emmanuel Ugirashebuja, the nation’s attorney general and minister of justice, said that the DRC’s accusations against Rwanda were baseless.

Mr. Ugirashebuja requested that the court dismiss the case, citing Rwanda’s prior withdrawal from the court’s founding convention.

He maintained that the DRC had misinterpreted the court’s jurisdiction, which addresses individual complaints rather than conflict-related political concerns.

“We ask the court to dismiss this case and not be misled into engaging in matters outside its jurisdiction as that would exceed its geographical boundaries,” he stated.

“The DRC’s filing of this case is misleading because, at the time of filing, we had no dispute with them, and this case appears to be an attempt to drag the court into a conflict that is not within its jurisdiction.”
The hearing goes on.