The recent history of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) is repeatedly associated with complex conflicts, often simplistically reduced to a struggle over control of natural resources.
However, this widespread narrative constitutes a dangerous oversimplification that conceals a far graver reality.
An examination of the attacks perpetrated against Congolese Tutsis—particularly the Banyamulenge and Tutsis of North Kivu—reveals a systematic pattern that must not be overlooked.
This article aims to challenge analyses that diminish the specific nature of these acts of violence. Through a legal analysis and a comparative study with past genocides, we will demonstrate that the acts committed in the DR Congo constitute crimes under international law.
The attacks against Congolese Tutsis originate from a coalition of armed forces (FARDC, Wazalendo, FDLR, Burundian forces), whose violence is not incidental. Reports from various organisations and independent experts highlight an operational mode that exceeds ordinary war crimes.
These acts are characterised by their systematic nature, targeting the expulsion of Congolese Tutsis from their ancestral lands in the highlands and plateaus of Uvira, Fizi, Mwenga, as well as in North Kivu (Rutshuru and Masisi).
The underlying intent behind these actions aims at the destruction or elimination of a significant portion of a national, racial, or ethnic group—concepts legally recognized as genocide and ethnic cleansing.
The diversion that seeks to associate these atrocities solely with resource conflicts conceals the perpetrators’ specific intent—the manifest aim to target, discriminate against, and exterminate a community based on their identity.
Comparative analysis and legal foundations
The history of the Yugoslav wars and the conflict in Sudan offers a convergence with the current situation in the DR Congo. These three cases share the following common elements:
State Instrumentalisation: In the Yugoslavian conflict, the Federal Army (JNA) supported ethnic cleansing. In Sudan, the Janjaweed militia was armed and supported by the central government to commit massacres in Darfur.
In the DR Congo, state actors (FARDC, Burundian forces) collaborate with local and foreign militias in targeted attacks, creating a situation of de facto complicity.
Legal Qualification of Acts: Crimes committed in Yugoslavia and Sudan have been classified as international crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). The same legal tools must be applied to the DR Congo.
The country ratified the 1948 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the ICC Rome Statute of 1998. Accordingly, international law, as well as Law No. 09/001 of January 10, 2009, which incorporates these crimes into Congolese law, impose clear obligations on the State and the international community.
The situation of the Congolese Tutsis is not just another conflict but a clear warning. The incapacity or complicity of certain state actors, coupled with the impunity granted to militias, creates an environment conducive to escalating ethnic violence. The acts committed in the DR Congo follow the same genocidal logic that marked Sudan and the former Yugoslavia. To ignore this dimension represents a moral and legal failure.
Therefore, based on established facts and legal precedents, immediate action is urgently required:
- Referral to the ICC: The Office of the ICC Prosecutor must open a formal investigation into the crimes committed against the Tutsis of the DRC, establishing accountability and ending impunity.
- Independent Fact-Finding Commission: An independent United Nations commission must be mandated to document the massacres precisely and establish the genocidal nature of the attacks.
- Targeted Sanctions: The United Nations Security Council should impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities responsible for the violence, including political and military leaders.
- Obligation to Protect: The Congolese State must undertake effective measures to protect all its communities, cease any collaboration with armed groups, and ensure the security of civilians.
A durable peace in the DR Congo can only be achieved through truth, justice, and the effective end of impunity—far from any diversion.
The writer is a lawyer, researcher, and human rights advocate with extensive work experience across the Great Lakes Region.