Summary of the Court Hearing and Debate
25 October 2020
3 hours 30 minutes (incl. 2 short breaks)
Three years after the release of Milo Rau's award-winning documentary, the "Congo Tribunal"’s work was resumed: the international jury of the Congo Tribunal - a world economic court of civil society initiated by Milo Rau - travelled to Kolwezi in southern Congo, where the two largest cobalt mines in the world are operated by the Swiss company Glencore. On 1 October, the investigators-in-charge, Sylvestre Bisimwa and Céline Tshizena, opened the hearings in the mining region of Katanga, D.R. Kongo. They investigate the responsibility of political elites and multinational companies in a number of human rights violations, cases of environmental pollution, and corruption. On 25 October, the hearings are summarised, debated, and conclude in a preliminary verdict at the Schauspielhaus Zürich.
The hearings in Zurich are held by: Miriam Saage-Maaß, Vice Legal Director of European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), also on stage are Colette Braeckman, Africa correspondent of the Belgian newspaper "Le Soir", Marc-Antoine Vumilia, Congolese author and director, Dorothée Baumann-Pauly, Director of Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights, Nina Burri, expert in international criminal law, responsible for business and human rights at "Brot für alle", Oliver Classen, media spokesperson and project manager at "Public Eye", Daniel Binswanger, head of the culture section of "Republik" and Prof. Dr. Mathias Binswanger, economist and Professor of Economics.
The debate in Zurich is hosted in cooperation with the Schauspielhaus Zürich. The main language is English. The event can be witnessed online – the live broadcast will be streamed on the Facebook pages of both the Schauspielhaus and the International Institute of Political Murder.
