CULTURAL RESTITUTION & COLONIAL ART LEGACIES
International debates and institutional efforts around the restitution of African and colonial-era artefacts held in Western museums, including legal, diplomatic and artistic dimensions
2 articles
Belgian Diplomat to Stand Trial for Role in 1961 Assassination of Congo's Lumumba
DEUTSCHE WELLEBelgian diplomat faces trial over 1961 DR Congo leader killing
3/17/2026, 6:37:00 PM
Etienne Davignon, the sole surviving suspect in the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, has been ordered to stand trial in Belgium on war crimes charges. The case marks a landmark moment in Belgium's long-delayed reckoning with its colonial past in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lumumba was killed shortly after Congolese independence, and the trial represents one of the first judicial attempts to hold Belgian officials accountable for their role in the murder.
Belgium to Put Former Diplomat on Trial Over Lumumba Assassination
FRANCE 24"Enfin la Belgique regarde son histoire en face" : vers un procès pour l'assassinat de Lumumba
3/17/2026, 3:49:54 PM
Sixty-five years after the assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, Belgian justice is reopening the case. Former diplomat Étienne Davignon has been referred to trial for "participation in war crimes" in a closed-door ruling in Brussels that remains open to appeal. The case marks a landmark moment in Belgium's long-delayed reckoning with its colonial past in the Democratic Republic of Congo.