Kinshasa takes Rwanda to ICJ, alleging abuses in DR Congo

Kinshasa takes Rwanda to ICJ, alleging abuses in DR Congo. 

The Democratic Republic of Congo filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice on Friday, accusing its neighbour of atrocities in the conflict-plagued eastern DRC.

Mineral-rich eastern DRC has been plagued for three decades by conflict involving a myriad of armed groups.

They include the M23, which has seized vast swathes of territory in eastern DRC, and which the government in Kinshasa accuses Rwanda of backing.

Kinshasa accused Rwanda in its court filing of "abuses, committed as part of a campaign of genocide and serious, widespread human rights violations" in eastern DRC since 1996, the ICJ said.

The DRC argued that the Hague-based ICJ had jurisdiction to hear the case, including under the international convention against genocide, the court added.

The DRC said the alleged atrocities targeted Hutus on its territory following the 1994 massacre in Rwanda of Tutsis and moderate Hutus, as well as other Congolese ethnic groups.

Rwanda did not immediately respond to the news of the DRC's application to the ICJ.

Rwanda has denied giving military support to the M23, which is fighting the government in Kinshasa.

In a separate statement, the Congolese communications ministry said civilians in the east had, throughout the period, suffered "massacres, extrajudicial executions, acts of torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and discrimination based, in particular, on ethnic origin and gender".

The DRC alleged that Rwanda acted "both through its own armed forces and through armed groups under its control", including the M23.

In December, the DRC and Rwanda ratified a shaky peace agreement promoted by the United States, which in return wants access to the DRC's mineral wealth.

The deal has failed to stop the fighting.

The ICJ, the United Nations' highest court, resolves disputes between states in accordance with international law.

Whilst the court's decisions are binding, it has no power to ensure they are enforced.