The Belgian state was subsequently ordered to pay compensation to the women, for the suffering inflicted on them by tearing them away from their mothers and their environment. But also for the negative impact on their identity.
The Belgian state lodged an appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling with the Court of Cassation that checks due legal process has been carried out. It is that appeal that has now been dismissed by the Court of Cassation. This makes the conviction of the Belgian state final and thus obliges the state to pay compensation to the women.
Lawyer: “Magnificent victory”
This is the first time a European state has been ordered to pay compensation to victims of colonisation. “This is a major victory for justice and for the development of European law,” says lawyer Michèle Hirsch, commenting on what she described as a “magnificent victory” in the Métisse Case.
The lawyer says she “takes her hat off to the Belgian justice system”. Hirsch’s five clients, now all grandmothers and great-grandmothers, have fought for justice for eight years, “and they have finally received it”, says the lawyer.
A model for other colonial cases
The lawyer hopes that, following this ruling, Belgium can now serve as a model in other colonial cases. She also hopes that work can begin on legislation regarding compensation for colonial crimes and for all people of mixed race, born to a black mother and a white father, who were taken from their mothers during the colonisation of Congo, Rwanda or Burundi, two territories administered by Belgium under mandates from the League of Nations and the UN.