How African leaders are pushing for recognition of colonial crimes

 

Crimes against humanity in colonial Africa. Photo credit: northafricapost.com

African leaders are advocating for the acknowledgment of historical injustices from the colonial period, their formal classification as crimes, and the pursuit of reparations. The Algerian foreign minister stated that African nations and their populations still endure significant consequences due to the colonial actions of Western powers.

 

During a summit in Algiers, officials and dignitaries assembled to advance an African Union decision, which was approved at a gathering earlier this year and demands accountability and compensation for those harmed by colonial rule, as reported by the Associated Press.

 

Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf stated that Algeria's history under French colonial rule demonstrated the necessity of pursuing compensation and the recovery of looted assets. He further noted that a legal structure would guarantee that such restitution is not perceived as a "gift or a favor."

 

“Africa is entitled to call for a formal and unequivocal acknowledgment of the offenses perpetrated against its populations throughout the colonial era, an essential initial move toward addressing the repercussions of that period, for which African nations and communities still bear a heavy cost through isolation, marginalization, and underdevelopment,” stated Attaf.

 

Global agreements and laws enacted by the majority of nations forbid actions including slavery, torture, and apartheid. As reported by the Associated Press, the United Nations Charter forbids the acquisition of territory through force, though it does not directly address colonialism.

 

The lack of representation became a central issue during the African Union's February summit. At the gathering, heads of state deliberated on a draft plan to formulate a collective stance regarding reparations and the formal classification of colonialism as a crime against humanity.

 

The economic toll of colonialism on Africa is considered immense, with estimates reaching into the trillions of dollars. European nations extracted vast quantities of natural resources using frequently harsh and coercive methods. 

The sale of commodities like gold, rubber, diamonds, and various minerals generated enormous wealth for the colonizers, a process that systematically impoverished the indigenous communities.

 

In recent times, nations across Africa have intensified their calls for the repatriation of cultural artifacts taken during colonial eras, which remain in the collections of European museums, as reported by the Associated Press.

 

Minister Attaf emphasized that hosting the conference in Algeria was a deliberate choice, given the nation's history of enduring some of the harshest aspects of French colonial domination and its fierce struggle for independence from 1954 to 1962. 

This legacy had profound effects, including the extension of substantial political, economic, and social advantages to almost a million European settlers, even though Algeria was formally integrated into France and its citizens were drafted to serve in World War II.

 

Hundreds of thousands perished in the revolution within the Arab nation, where French forces engaged in the torture of detainees, the disappearance of suspects, and the destruction of villages as tactics to suppress insurgents and uphold their authority. 

“On our continent, the bitter experience that Algeria has had is a rare example, almost unparalleled in history, in terms of its nature, logic, and practice,” Attaf stated.

 

Algeria's historical background has consistently influenced its position on the contested Western Sahara, a one-time Spanish territory that is claimed by adjacent Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front, as reported by the Associated Press.

 

On Sunday, Attaf characterized this as an incomplete process of decolonization, aligning with the African Union's official stance, even as an increasing number of member states have endorsed Morocco's territorial claim.

 

Algeria's foreign minister described Western Sahara as "Africa's last colony" and commended the Sahrawi people's efforts "to defend their legitimate right to self-determination, which is confirmed and constantly reaffirmed by international law and the UN's decolonization doctrine."

 

For many years, Algeria has maintained that the struggle against colonialism must be pursued in line with international legal standards, even as its leaders have exercised care to prevent the escalation of friction with France, a nation where the historical memory of the conflict continues to be a delicate political issue.

 

In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron described some historical occurrences as crimes against humanity, yet he stopped short of offering a formal apology and encouraged Algerians to look beyond the wrongs of history.

 

Mohammed Arezki Ferrad, an Algerian parliamentary representative, stated to the Associated Press that any compensation must extend beyond a mere symbolic gesture. He emphasized that numerous Algerian artifacts seized by France remain unrepatriated. Among these is the "Baba Merzoug," a cannon from the 16th century presently housed in Brest.

 

In early November, The Guardian covered comparable appeals in the Caribbean, noting that a delegation from a group spearheading the push for slavery reparations in the area is set to travel to the UK to champion the cause.

 

Governments across the Caribbean are likewise urging acknowledgment of the enduring impacts left by colonialism and slavery. They are demanding that justice be restored by former colonial nations, which should include formal, unreserved apologies alongside monetary reparations.

Landmark ruling finds Belgium guilty of crimes against humanity in colonial Congo—By North Africa Post in Europe

The Court of Appeals in Brussels has ruled that Belgium must pay reparations to five women who were forcibly taken from their mothers and put in orphanages in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) when it was still a Belgian colony because they were victims of “systematic kidnapping” by the state.

 

The appellate judges thus overturned an earlier decision by another court that too much time had elapsed for the state to be charged, ruling that although the abductions of the five mixed-race women happened 70 years ago, they constituted crimes against humanity and were, therefore, not subject to statutes of limitations.

 

 “The court orders the Belgian state to compensate the appellants for the moral damage resulting from the loss of their connection to their mother and the damage to their identity and their connection to their original environment,” the judgment read.

 

The five women fought a legal battle over some six years to make Belgium recognize responsibility for the suffering of thousands of mixed-race children. Known as “métis,” the children were snatched away from their families and placed in religious institutions and homes by Belgian authorities that ruled Congo from 1908 to 1960.

 

While a lower court had first dismissed their challenge in 2021, they persisted and appealed the ruling. The five women, who are now in their 70s and 80s, filed their lawsuit in 2020 amid growing demands for Belgium to reassess its colonial past in Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi.