"It was a courtesy visit because with our very complicated and busy schedules, we have not yet had the opportunity to meet. It was first and foremost a courtesy visit to get to know each other and to have the opportunity to discuss bilateral relations in the field of justice, but also to hear from the Minister of State about her projects and priorities in the area of justice reform.

So, we talked about all the projects that the minister is implementing regarding the situation of judges. You know that there has been a recruitment of many judges and also the working conditions of judges. This includes conditions in prisons, the rehabilitation of prisons, separating children, separating women.

Therefore, there are many things that are in progress and many people who are still in pre-trial detention who must either be judged... There are so many projects that are underway. The Minister of State explained this situation to me.

We also talked about the security situation in the east of the DRC, the war raging in the east of the country which many Congolese are obviously suffering from what is happening. The Minister of State also explained to me the steps that the DRC is taking on the international stage to denounce the aggression it is facing.

First of all, we fully support this effort to strengthen justice. I always say that justice is like the referee in a soccer game. If you don't have a referee who functions well, the match can't proceed properly. Anyone could be offside and goals could be scored in any manner.

So, someone has to be able to call the fouls and ensure that the rules are respected. This is the importance of justice. It is important for the business climate, it is important for the fight against corruption, it is important for security, it is important in a variety of areas.

Of course, Belgium supports this, and also supports it within the European Union, which backs the rehabilitation of certain prisons and the reform itself, and then Belgium has also focused a lot on what is called transitional justice," said the Belgian ambassador.

And to add:

"These are mechanisms that help a society collectively manage the trauma sometimes linked to major episodes of violence. So, we've seen in certain areas or in some regions where communities sometimes have real problems, really tensions between different communities, tensions whether it be over territory or other things.

Transitional justice sometimes allows us to act more quickly and to ensure a certain form of dialogue, of truth, to understand what happened, to name what happened, and to consider reparations. And there, in this area, Belgium has often supported this type of mechanism, and we do it as well in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We support transitional justice. There is already a first Commission that has been set up in Kasai, for example. I was at the opening and the launch and I hope that soon we will also be able to launch this type of process in other regions. I am thinking, for example, of the east of the country or even in Mai-Ndombe."

Gisèle Tshijuka