Racial discrimination against Africans is "endemic" in Belgian institutions and Belgium should apologize for the crimes committed during the colonization of the Congo and make reparations, United Nations experts said.
The main causes of today's human rights violations lie in the lack of recognition of the true extent of violence and injustice of colonization, according to the interim report of the working group of UN experts on people of African descent in Belgium.
The position of the United Nations Working Group is that racism is still present in Belgium, reports Tanjug.
"We are concerned about the human rights situation of people of African descent in Belgium who continue to experience racism and racial discrimination. There is clear evidence that racial discrimination is endemic in institutions in Belgium," the UN experts said in the report.
Experts are also of the opinion that Belgium should consider reparations to the people of Congo "as a means of reconciliation" with the aim of closing a dark chapter in history.
It added that the Belgian government should "apologize for the crimes committed during colonization".
The working group, which will present its final conclusions in September, praised the Belgian government for its readiness to fight racism, according to the statement.
The Belgian Prime Minister's office announced that the government will carefully read and evaluate the report before making any comments, the agency reports.
Belgium's rule in the Congo has long been criticized as one of the worst examples of colonial abuse and resulted in a significant population decline, due to massive violence, famine and the spread of disease.
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