BIG to host first international conference on Belgian colonialism

Organized by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG), the first international conference titled “Belgian Colonialism: Recognition and Responsibility” will be held in Azerbaijan on October 31, focusing on Belgium’s colonial past and its lasting consequences, Azernews reports.

According to BIG, the event will bring together representatives from Belgium’s former colonies — the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, along with diplomats and officials. Participants will include specialists in international law, historians, researchers, civil society activists, and experts on reparations from eight countries.

The conference will address the atrocities committed by Belgium during its colonial rule in Africa, including mass killings, cultural plundering, and ethnic divisions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. Discussions will also highlight the ongoing impact of Belgian colonialism and the persistence of neocolonial practices, such as continued resource exploitation.

Participants will explore ways to raise the issue of reparations for affected peoples at the international level and bring it to the agenda of global organizations.

Ahead of the main event, on October 30, foreign guests will meet with faculty and students at Baku State University for discussions on “Belgian Colonialism in Central Africa and Its Lasting Consequences” and will deliver lectures on the subject.

It is noteworthy that a 2019 report by the UN Working Group on People of African Descent estimated that 10 million people were killed during Belgium’s colonial rule in what are now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. The report also documented forced labor, ethnic segregation, mass amputations, and the abduction of 20,000 mixed-race children for assimilation policies, urging Belgium to uncover the truth, open its archives, and provide reparations.