DR Congo Files ICJ Case Against Rwanda Over Decades Of Violence In Eastern Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing Kigali of bearing legal responsibility for more than three decades of violence in eastern Congo.

“The Democratic Republic of Congo said it has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice over its role in the long-running conflict in the eastern Congo”

Africanews English

The Washington Post reported that Congo said it filed the case at the ICJ, accusing Rwanda of responsibility for decades of violence that has devastated eastern Congo, and the EastAfrican said the DRC escalated its legal battle with Rwanda by filing a fresh case at the ICJ.

Africanews English

During a visit to The Hague, Justice Minister Guillaume Ngefa filed the case and asked the ICJ to hold Rwanda responsible for alleged breaches of international law, including the 1948 Genocide Convention, the 1965 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the 1984 Convention against Torture.

The DRC said civilians in eastern DRC have endured massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and discrimination for more than 30 years, and it blamed repeated Rwandan military interventions and Kigali’s alleged support for successive armed groups including M23 and the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC).

Rwanda denies the allegations, while the DRC asked the ICJ to declare Rwanda internationally responsible, order an end to the alleged violations, require guarantees of non-repetition and award reparations to the Congolese state and victims.

The EastAfrican framed Kinshasa’s strategy as using international courts to challenge Kigali over the conflict in eastern DRC, noting that the ICJ filing adds to cases already before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) and the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).

It said the ICJ filing came as another case was already before the African Court in Arusha, and it described how that court, after rejecting Rwanda's jurisdictional challenge on June 26, 2025, ruled the case admissible and would proceed to hear the merits.

Al Jazeera

The EastAfrican also said the DRC wants the ICJ to declare Rwanda internationally responsible and obtain reparations, while the BBC reported that Justice Minister Guillaume Andali said the application seeks accountability for alleged breaches of conventions covering genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women's rights and torture.

The BBC added that the ICJ will now examine the claims, and it said this is not the first time DR Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the ICJ, with an initial case dropped in 2001 and a second dismissed in 2006 for lack of jurisdiction.

Rwanda has not yet responded to the filing, and the BBC said it has long-dismissed evidence that it backs rebel groups in the country, while UN experts and Western governments have said Rwanda is supporting the M23.

The DRC’s application asks the ICJ, based in the Netherlands, to order Rwanda to cease its alleged crimes and award reparations to the Congolese authorities and its victims, and it seeks guarantees of non-repetition as part of its demands.

“- Published The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing its neighbour of breaching multiple international treaties”

BBC

The BBC said the decades-long conflict is rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and described how about 800,000 people were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists, with an estimated one million Hutus then fleeing across the border to what is now DR Congo.

It also said the conflict flared last January when the M23 captured large parts of the mineral-rich east, including the regional capital Goma, and it noted that fighting continued despite Rwanda and DR Congo signing a peace deal spearheaded by the US in December.

In parallel, the EastAfrican described the legal offensive as reflecting President Félix Tshisekedi’s decision to make the courts a central pillar of his response to the conflict in eastern DRC, alongside military, diplomatic, economic and media efforts.

The EastAfrican said Kinshasa and Kigali remain engaged in the Washington peace process, but the legal push shows the dispute continues on multiple fronts, with the DRC’s objective described as securing justice for victims, establishing international responsibility and obtaining reparations.