GENOCOST & FONAREV Timeline

UN Mapping Report

The UN publishes a 550-page report documenting the most serious crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1993 and 2003. The report states that some of these crimes could meet the legal definition of genocide, under certain conditions and subject to further investigation. The report explicitly notes that such a qualification would require separate judicial proceedings.

Source: Rapport Mapping, OHCHR, 2010

The term "Genocost" is coined in London by the diaspora

The term originates in London, from the grassroots work of the Congolese Action Youth Platform (CAYP), through the advocacy, commemorations and awareness campaigns led by Congolese civil society organisations in the diaspora. The concept is carried by activists — not by the Congolese state.

Source: Congolese Action Youth Platform (CAYP)

Annual diaspora commemorations

The term circulates within activist circles and the Congolese diaspora. Commemorations on 2 August are held every year in several cities, including London, Nottingham, Toronto and Cape Town. This date marks the start of the Second Congo War in 1998, characterised by the RCD uprising against the government of Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

Source: Genocost.org, archives d'événements

Creation of the ad hoc FONAREV Commission

A presidential ordinance establishes the ad hoc FONAREV Commission, following advocacy by First Lady Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi on combating conflict-related sexual violence.

Source: Actualite.cd, mars 2023

Law No. 22/065 — official creation of FONAREV

The Genocost concept is incorporated into the Congolese legal framework. The law officially establishes the National Fund for Reparations for Victims of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Victims of Crimes against Peace and the Security of Humanity (FONAREV). FONAREV's legal mandate: identify victims, provide psychosocial support, accompany them through legal processes, and deliver financial reparations.

Source: Loi n° 22/065 du 26 décembre 2022, Journal officiel de la RDC

FONAREV workshop with civil society, Kinshasa

The ad hoc FONAREV Commission organises, with the technical support of the Global Survivors Fund, a two-day workshop with civil society actors grouped within the Advocacy Alliance for Reparations (APR), to amend the implementing measures of the law.

Source: Actualite.cd, 31 mars 2023

First official commemoration, Kinshasa

First national commemoration of Genocost held in Kinshasa, with no physical memorial yet built at this date.

Source: Présidence de la RDC ; Actualite.cd

FONAREV's first field mission, Bunia (Ituri)

A FONAREV delegation travels to Bunia, in Ituri, to meet victims of sexual violence and displaced people. The Kingozi displacement camp visited holds more than 14,000 people. Ituri province has at the time around 1.7 million displaced people, that is 40% of its population.

Source: Actualite.cd, 8 septembre 2023

1st National Victim Identification Forum

FONAREV organises in Kinshasa its first National Forum for the Identification of Victims and the Ecosystem (FIV), with the aim of producing a reference document on the protection of victims' rights, in accordance with Article 51 of Law No. 22/065.

Source: Actualite.cd, 28 novembre et 1er décembre 2023

Commemoration moved to Kisangani, monument erected

After Kinshasa in 2023, the commemorative ceremony moves to Kisangani. The centrepiece takes place at the cemetery of the victims of the "Six-Day War" in the commune of Makiso, where a monument is erected. Prime Minister Judith Suminwa represents the President, welcomed by FONAREV's director general, Kevin Ngunga.

Source: Présidence de la RDC, 2 août 2024

FONAREV financial figures: $212M raised, 2.5% to victims

Over the period, the fund collects around 212 million dollars. Less than 2.5% of this sum is actually distributed to victims. Funds financed prestige memorials, concert productions, international travel, and, according to financial investigators, private accounts. The commemoration of 2 August 2025 alone costs more than 1.6 million dollars.

Source: Afrik.com, septembre 2025

Inauguration of the Kinshasa Memorial by President Tshisekedi

The Genocost Memorial is inaugurated in Kinshasa by President Félix Tshisekedi, in the presence of political and diplomatic figures, artists, sportspeople and influencers. The memorial comprises 93 stelae and an eternal flame, including a "wall of millionaires" bearing the names of victims. During the ceremony, the President calls on Parliament to adopt a resolution officially recognising the genocides committed on Congolese soil.

Source: Présidence de la RDC ; Actualite.cd, 2–3 août 2025

Simultaneous commemoration in Paris

The event is commemorated on the same day at the DRC Embassy in Paris by the Congolese diaspora, at the invitation of Ambassador Émile Ngoy Kasongo.

Source: Ambassade de la RDC à Paris, août 2025

Complaint filed in Brussels for FONAREV embezzlement

A complaint is filed in Brussels against the Tshisekedi family for embezzlement and money laundering of funds linked to FONAREV. This is the first direct judicial challenge to a member of the presidential entourage over the fund's management.

Source: Afrik.com, septembre 2025

Parliamentary resolution and advocacy at the Council of Europe

The Congolese Parliament adopts a resolution symbolically recognising Genocost. The Minister of Human Rights, Samuel Mbemba, takes the request for international recognition as far as the Council of Europe in Lisbon.

Source: Conseil de l'Europe, octobre 2025

Memorandum from more than 60 civil society organisations

More than sixty civil society organisations, including CAYP and LIDDFC, submit a memorandum to the Congolese institutions in order to obtain concrete progress on the recognition of Genocost, justice for victims and reparation mechanisms. The warning signal is ignored.

Source: CAYP, mémorandum mars 2025

FONAREV event at the Luxembourg Palace, Paris

A high-level dialogue is held at the Salle Médicis, in the Luxembourg Palace, on the theme "Genocost and genocides committed in the DRC". The Minister of Human Rights Samuel Mbemba conducts advocacy before French senators for international recognition. Journalists, lawyers, researchers and artists are gathered to relaunch the awareness campaign.

Source: FONAREV, SenePlus, Instagram, juin 2026

CAYP — founder of the concept — publicly denounces FONAREV

CAYP publishes a text entitled "A new government farce". The organisation recalls that the term Genocost was not born in the offices of the administration but from CAYP's grassroots work in London in 2013. The text accuses the Congolese institutions of having multiplied forums, colloquia, conferences and petitions while victims are still waiting for truth, justice and reparations. CAYP specifically targets a petition launched by FONAREV, asking why the State is requesting from citizens what it still refuses to implement itself.

Source: Congolese Action Youth Platform, juin 2026

Planned commemoration at the Kinshasa Memorial

The official commemoration of Genocost is planned at the Kinshasa Memorial, in the presence of President Félix Tshisekedi.