The Court of Cassation rejected the Belgian state’s appeal, making the December 2024 ruling final.

The Court of Cassation definitively condemned Belgium for crimes against humanity linked to colonial practices in the Congo, ordering indemnification for five victims of racial segregation and forcible child removals.

The case centers on Métis individuals who endured racial segregation and coerced child removals under Belgian colonial rule in the Congo.

Belgium is ordered to pay 50,000 euros in compensation to each of the five plaintiffs who were taken to religious institutions in the Kasaï region between ages 2 and 5.

Estimates indicate about 20,000 Métis children were forcibly removed from Congolese families and placed in religious institutions or orphanages.

This ruling represents a historic milestone as the first time a European state is condemned to compensate victims of colonial abuses.

It sets a precedent in Europe for accountability related to colonial crimes by requiring indemnification.

A related film, Métisses: five women against a crime of the State, documents the women's stories and opened in theaters this week.

The ruling confirms the December 2, 2024 Brussels Court of Appeal decision, establishing that Belgium committed crimes against humanity against Métis children abducted and separated from their Congolese families.

Context notes the prior December 2, 2024 decision and emphasizes the legal acknowledgment of colonial-era crimes.