„A dream that predicts the future“: The Congo Tibunal hands down its final verdict.

 

After several months of preliminary investigations and 3 days of public hearings in the plenary hall of the Provincial Parliament in Manika, Kolwezi, Lualaba Province, D. R. Congo, the jury of the „Congo Tribunal“ announced its verdict last Sunday.

 

„What is clear is that Milo Rau and his comrades-in-arms have created an institution in Congo that is held in high esteem and whose decisions are respected,“ the radio station RBB reported yesterday on the „Kolwezi Hearings“ that ended on Sunday in Kolwezi (southern Congo) with a verdict by the international jury. „A dream that predicts the future“, as a Congolese observer wrote.

 

 The verdict was handed down under the direction of the two Congolese lawyers Sylvestre Bisimwa and Céline Tshizena in the parliamentary hall of the Katanga region, in the presence of ministers, members of parliament, representatives of civil society, victims‘ associations and mining companies.

 

The verdict calls on the Congolese state to enact laws that will allow for better development in the region: Part of the profits from mining must flow back to Kolwezi. The international jury also found clear words for the environmental pollution that is on Glencore’s account. The Swiss mining company was at the centre of the fifth execution of the „Congo Tribunal“, which was founded in 2015. Members of the jury were Florent Musha, Papy Nsenga, Colette Braeckman, Joh Kabey Tshal a Muteb and Milo Rau.

 

The complete verdict in English, French and German can be found here.