617 serious incidents documented by the UN, no major trials: Mukwege and HRW demand justice in the DRC

Thirty years after the start of the wars in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, none of the major crimes committed have led to a large-scale trial. This is the assessment made by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Congolese Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, who launched the "30 years of war, 30 years of impunity" campaign, presented in a text signed by Ida Sawyer, director of the organization's Crisis and Conflict Division, published on October 15, 2026.

The starting point chosen by HRW is October 6, 1996: rebel forces supported by Rwanda attacked the Lemera hospital in the east of the former Zaire, killing 37 patients and staff members. No prosecutions followed. Three decades later, the United Nations Mapping Report, which documents 617 serious incidents committed between 1993 and 2003, remains essentially an archive with no judicial follow-up.

A war still ongoing

The case is not closed: the M23, an armed group supported by Rwanda, controls vast portions of North Kivu and South Kivu, HRW points out, describing this conflict as "widely considered" the deadliest for civilians since the Second World War. The organization speaks of millions of deaths, either directly or from causes related to the war, without providing a precise figure.

"Thirty years of war is thirty years too many," declares Denis Mukwege, as quoted by HRW. For Ida Sawyer, the obstacle is not technical: "what is missing is the political will" to make justice a priority for the Congolese people.

What the campaign is calling for

HRW is calling for pressure to be exerted on both Kinshasa and Kigali to stop supporting armed groups responsible for abuses. The organization is also advocating for a vetting program, supported by the international community, to remove individuals involved in serious violations from security forces, intelligence services, and government positions. Finally, it calls for support for the International Criminal Court, whose investigation is ongoing, for trials opened abroad under universal jurisdiction, and for the reform of the Congolese military justice system.

Two demands structure the campaign: the creation of an internationalized justice mechanism and a comprehensive reparations program for victims. The launch events took place in Brussels and Strasbourg, organized with the Panzi Foundation, the René Cassin Foundation, the City of Brussels, and the Strasbourg Eurometropolis. The choice of these European capitals says it all: it is also there that the diplomatic and financial support that allows, or prevents, impunity from lasting thirty years is decided.