With our correspondent in Kigali, Laure Broulard
In this case, Kinshasa had also seized the ICJ against another actor in this war, Rwanda. A request that never came to fruition. After a first complaint filed in 1999 but never finalized, Kinshasa again seized the ICJ against Rwanda in 2002. The request denounces an armed attack by Kigali on Congolese territory from August 1998 and massive violations of international humanitarian law. , evoking killings in different provinces of the country and the looting of resources.
Based on several international treaties, the DRC then asked the court to order the withdrawal of Rwandan troops and claimed compensation commensurate with the damage suffered, without specifying the amount…. But the case will never be judged on the merits, since, from the outset, Rwanda does not recognize the jurisdiction of the court in this case. Kigali also considers that its neighbor’s request is inadmissible. Unable to rule on a dispute without the consent of both parties, the ICJ declared itself incompetent in February 2006.
Of the three applications initially filed in 1999 by the DRC in the context of the second Congo war, which targeted Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, only the dispute with Kampala was finally examined to the end by the International Court of Justice.