Congo files ICJ case against Rwanda over role in conflict

By Ange Kasongo

KINSHASA, June 26 (Reuters) - ‌The Democratic Republic ​of ​Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice over its role in the long-running conflict in the ‌east, the government said on Friday.

• In a statement, Congo accused Rwanda ⁠of breaching international conventions, including those on the prevention of genocide, racial discrimination and torture.

• Congo ‌said Rwanda had dispatched forces ‌and backed or directed armed groups to carry out unlawful military operations on its territory following the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

• Congo said the alleged crimes ​committed against civilians included massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and discrimination, spanning more than three decades.

• There was no immediate response from ⁠the Rwandan government, which has regularly denied allegations that it backs any rebel groups operating in Congo.

• Congo ​is calling for the ICJ to order Rwanda to cease the alleged violations and award reparations to Congo and its victims.

• The ​ICJ, also known as the World Court, ‌confirmed it had received Congo's application to start a case.

• U.N. experts and Western governments have sided with Congo in finding ⁠Rwanda responsible for providing support to M23, a major armed group in the east.

• The decades-long conflict is rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, after remnants of the forces ⁠associated with the genocide fled across the border into eastern Congo.

• This is the third time Congo ​has tried to bring a case against Rwanda at the ICJ, which is the United Nations' highest court and deals with disputes between states and alleged breaches of international treaties.

• ‌The first case was dropped by the Congolese authorities in 2001. A second was dismissed by the ICJ in 2006 ‌because the court found it did not have jurisdiction to make a ruling on ⁠the case at that time.

(Reporting by ‌Ange Kasongo in Kinshasa; ​Additional reporting by Stephanie van den Berg in The Hague; Writing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Editing by Jessica Donati, Andrew Cawthorne and ‌Andrew Heavens)

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