Belgian court rules that country committed crimes against humanity during colonial rule in Congo

A court in Belgium has ruled that the state is guilty of crimes against humanity for the forced removal of five mixed-race children from their families in the Belgian Congo during the colonial era. The women, now in their 70s, were taken from their parents at ages as young as 2 and sent to religious schools, where they suffered from poverty, malnutrition, and physical abuse. The state has been ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, setting a historic precedent for state-sanctioned abductions. The victims and their lawyers view the ruling as a victory and a major step towards justice for the thousands of children who were forcibly taken from their families in Belgium's African colonies.