Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a landmark case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing Kigali of responsibility for decades of alleged atrocities in eastern Congo and seeking accountability for victims of one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.
The filing opens a new legal front in the Great Lakes crisis, shifting part of the DRC-Rwanda confrontation from the battlefield and diplomatic table to the world court in The Hague. It also places renewed international scrutiny on alleged state responsibility, civilian harm and the long search for reparations.
DRC brings Rwanda before ICJ
The application, lodged on June 26, accuses Rwanda of bearing international responsibility for massacres, extrajudicial executions, sexual violence, torture, forced displacement and ethnic discrimination in eastern DRC over more than three decades.
Kinshasa says the case draws on several international conventions, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Convention against Torture. The ICJ will not try individual commanders or rebel leaders, but it can determine whether a state has breached international law.
Victims placed at centre
Congolese officials have framed the filing as a bid to give legal force to victims’ demands for truth, recognition and reparation.
The DRC’s National Fund for Victim Reparations, known as FONAREV, says it has identified more than 1.47 million victims. Patrick Fata Makunga, its Director General, said the filing ‘reaffirms that lasting peace cannot be built without recognition of suffering, accountability and full reparation for victims’.
François Kakese Kimaza, Executive Coordinator of the Interministerial Commission for Victim Assistance and Reform Support, said the case reflected ‘the determination of the DRC to bring before the competent authorities the voice of victims and the demand for truth’.
M23 conflict sharpens tensions
The ICJ move comes as eastern Congo remains gripped by violence linked to the resurgence of the M23 rebel movement. The group has captured strategic towns and intensified pressure on Kinshasa, deepening one of the region’s most dangerous security crises.
United Nations experts have repeatedly reported evidence of Rwandan support for M23, allegations Kigali denies. For wider context on the diplomacy surrounding the conflict, Africa Briefing’s coverage of the US-backed DRC-Rwanda peace negotiations explains how regional and international actors have sought to push both sides towards a settlement.
Rwanda yet to respond
Rwanda had not issued a formal public response to the ICJ filing at the time the proceedings were announced. Kigali has consistently rejected accusations that it backs armed groups in eastern Congo.
Rwandan officials have long argued that their core security concern is the presence in eastern DRC of armed groups linked to perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. Kigali says its military posture is shaped by national security needs rather than territorial ambition. Earlier this year, President Paul Kagame signalled that Rwanda could withdraw troops from eastern Congo if agreed security commitments were implemented.
International pressure builds
The case adds to diplomatic and legal pressure already surrounding the conflict. Western governments, regional mediators and African institutions have all faced growing calls to address the violence, displacement and alleged external support for armed groups.
The United States has also increased pressure on Rwanda over the conflict. Africa Briefing’s report on US sanctions linked to the Congo conflict details how Washington has targeted Rwandan military figures and entities over alleged involvement in the eastern Congo war.
What happens next
ICJ proceedings are usually lengthy. The court must first consider questions of jurisdiction and admissibility before moving to the merits of the case. If the case proceeds, both countries will file written arguments and later present oral submissions before judges issue a binding ruling.
Even if the process takes years, the filing gives Kinshasa a formal legal platform to challenge Rwanda’s alleged role in the conflict. It also raises the diplomatic cost of continued instability in eastern Congo.
Legal case, regional stakes
For the DRC, the case is more than a legal filing. It is a test of whether international law can offer victims a path to accountability after decades of reports, condemnations and failed peace efforts.
The proceedings unfold against a wider geopolitical backdrop involving regional security, critical minerals and competing international interests. Africa Briefing’s analysis of Rwanda’s strategic dilemma in eastern Congo explores why the conflict has become a broader test of diplomacy in the Great Lakes region.
Whether the ICJ case succeeds remains uncertain. But by taking Rwanda to the world court, Kinshasa has moved the eastern Congo conflict into a new phase, one where legal accountability, reparations and state responsibility may become central to the region’s search for peace.
Credit: Africa Briefing
