Belgium has apologized for the forced removal of thousands of children born mixed-race during the colonial rule of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda.
Belgium had forcibly taken away thousands of mixed-race children, known as “metis” born to white settlers and black mothers in the Central African nations towards the end of its colonial rule between 1959 and 1962.
In a plenary session at the Belgian parliament in Brussels, The Belgian Prime minister, Charles Michel, said in a formal apology, “On behalf of the federal government, i recognize the targeted segregation and policy of forced abductions of the metis during the colonial rule over Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi” Michel said using the colonial names of the affected countries.
He continued “In the name of the Federal Government, i apologize to the metis from the period of the Belgian colonization and to their families for the injustice and the suffering that they went through.”
Previously the catholic church who held and raised these children in the kidnap had apologized in 2016.
His remarks come after the United Nations Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent visited the country in February.
In a preliminary report released by the organization; “We urge the government to issue an apology for the atrocities committed during colonization,”
Also; “There is clear evidence that racial discrimination is endemic in institutions in Belgium”
Millions were forced to labor under sever conditions where limbs were cut off for not meeting production quotas, and as many as 10 million people are believed to have died in just 20 years.
