The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister has been accused of racism after blacking up his face during a charity event in Brussels . Foreign Minister Didier Reynders painted his face and dressed up as an '19th century African nobleman ' as he joined charity organisation Les Noirauds ( The Blacks ) for a fundraising rally . The 56-year-old liberal politician later posted pictures of himself during the event on social media , captioned : 'The singing blacks ' . Ciriticised : Belgium 's Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders posted this picture of himself on Twitter after he appeared at a charity event dressed as a '19th century African nobleman ' Reynders has since faced criticism from minority organisations and prominent Belgians of African descent , who have said the minister 's behaviour was 'unacceptable ' . Wouter Van Bellingen , the director of Minority Forum , called the Deputy PM 's actions 'deplorable ' , adding that Belgium still lacks a national anti-racism plan , despite making a commitment to devise one 14 years ago . Peter Bouckaert , from Human Rights Watch , tweeted : 'Belgium FM @ Dreynders I have question : will u wear # blackface outfit 2 next meeting with African leaders ? Shame on you ! ' . Twitter user Olivier Wah added : 'Considering what Belgium did in The Congo , this sucks to the max , right ? No shame ? ' 'In other civilised countries his political career would n't . survive this , but in Belgium he just continues , ' said . Nigerian-born author Chika Unigwe . Under fire : Reynders has been criticised by minority organisations and prominent Belgians of African descent , who have called his actions 'unacceptable ' Questionable actions : The liberal Deputy PM , pictured far right , captioned this image 'les noirauds en ballade ' , which rouchly translated means 'the singing blacks ' Other users of the microblogging site called the Foreign Minister 's actions 'racist ' and 'disgusting ' . Les Noirauds is an organisation under royal patronage founded in 1876 , which collects money for children 's charities . Members of Les Noirauds blacken their faces and dress in white top hats , ruffled collars , bright green trousers and stockings , emulating what they call # 19th century African noblemen ' . The group , accompanied by Reynders , appeared during a charity rally in Brussels last Saturday accompanied by a band dubbed the 'Conservatoire Africain ' ( African conservatory ) . Despite the criticism on Twitter , very little response has come from withing the Belgian political sphere , with even the left-leaning Green Party saying Les Noirauds were innocuous folklore . Reynders , who on his website stresses the importance of . Central Africa in Belgium 's foreign policy , posted pictures of . himself with blackened face on his blog and Twitter , describing . how he collected funds for children 's charities . The Democratic Republic . of Congo , is the largest country in central Africa and was a Belgian colony until 1960 . Millions of Congolese . are estimated to have died and the country was decimated in the . late 19th and early 20th centuries when Belgian King Leopold II . ran Congo as his personal fiefdom .
Didier Reynders , 56 , blackened up his face for Brussels charity event . Score: 6