A well known example in Belgium is the notebook of Lieutenant-General Emile Storms, who describes in chilling detail the massacre of the Lusinga chief Iwa Ng’ombe and presents the remains as spoils of war, proof of his crushing victory over this stubborn king to install another, more compliant chief.
An example in Germany are the memoirs of German officers of the Swakopmund camp. They were published in 1907 and cruelly describe the collection of human remains by the Germans in South-West Africa, particularly the Herero skulls, through a triumphant image of skulls piled up like bricks.
Examples like these help Gracia Lwanzo Kasongo to raise a fundamental question: how can restitution be carried out when the beneficiary community is opposed to it? How can this theoretical misunderstanding be addressed, and how can it be addressed fairly, taking into account the needs articulated by the community?
She first examines the legal frames and challenges governing the restitution of human remains. She pays particular attention to the case of the Wamba community, which calls into question conventional inter-state methodologies.
Then she explores the potential of relational justice to mitigate dilemmas.
