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Executive Director: One of the most important steps should be Belgium’s apology to Central African countries

Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov

21 August 2026 12:21 (UTC +04:00)

“As you know, 101 years have already passed since these colonial crimes. Since approximately the 1960s, Central African countries have been expecting concrete steps from Belgium regarding reparations,” Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov told journalists, APA reports.

He said that concrete steps should be taken on this issue within the framework of international law.

“One of the most important steps should be an apology at the state level by Belgium to Central African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

Then, the amount of compensation should be determined, and financial compensation should be paid to these countries in stages. Finally, one of the most important steps should be to ensure that Belgium does not interfere in the domestic political affairs of these countries and to establish a legal mechanism to prevent the recurrence of colonial crimes,” he noted.

Guljahan Mammadova

Abbas Abbasov Baku Initiative Group Belgium Central Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo Rwanda Burundi colonial crimes reparations compensation international law