Democratic Republic of the Congo: State of Siege in Ituri and North Kivu Extended
On May 21, 2022, the Congolese Parliament adopted legislation that extended the state of siege for the 22nd time since May 2021 in the North-Kivu and Ituri regions. According to article 144 of the country’s Constitution, a state of siege is declared for a period of 30 days and may be extended every 15 days by … Continue reading “Democratic Republic of the Congo:…
Contributor:
Boring, Nicolas
Date:2022-06-28
Article
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Ex-warlord Found Ineligible to Run for Presidency
(Sept. 5, 2018) On August 24, 2018, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Independent National Electoral Commission (Commission Electorale Nationale Independente, CENI) declared Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo ineligible to run in the country’s upcoming presidential election. (Décision No. 028/CENI/BUR/18 du 24 août 2018 déclarant irrecevable les candidatures des indépendants, des partis, et des regroupements politiques à […]
Contributor:
Boring, Nicolas
Date:2018-09-05
Article
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Party Names Ex-warlord for Presidential Election Following ICC Acquittal
(Aug. 29, 2018) On June 8, 2018, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber acquitted Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, former vice president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), of the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. (Press Release, ICC, ICC Appeals Chamber Acquits Mr. Bemba from [sic] Charges of War Crimes and […]
Contributor:
Boring, Nicolas
Date:2018-08-29
Article
Republic of the Congo: President Announces Referendum on New Constitution
(Oct. 1, 2015) On September 22, 2015, Denis Sassou Nguesso, the President of the Republic of the Congo, announced that a referendum would be held on the adoption of a new Constitution. (Congo: Denis Sassou Nguesso annonce un référendum sur un projet de nouvelle Constitution [Congo: Denis Sassou Nguesso Announces Referendum on a Project for […]
Contributor:
Boring, Nicolas
Date:2015-10-01
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: President Adopts Laws on Elections, Traditional Leaders
(Sept. 8, 2015) The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Kabila, issued two laws on August 25, 2015. One of the new statutes sets the status of traditional leaders, and the other adopts the pattern of distribution of seats of representatives for each local elective constituency. (DRC Head Enacts Laws Distributing […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2015-09-08
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Legislature Removes Census Requirement for Elections
(Jan. 29, 2015) On January 23, 2015, the Senate of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) passed an amendment to a recently adopted electoral law that would ease the process of staging elections for the presidency of the country. The House of Representatives concurred on January 25; the measure now goes to President Joseph […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2015-01-29
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Militia Leader Sentenced
(Nov. 10, 2014) On November 7, 2014, a military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo gave a sentence of ten years of imprisonment to Jérôme Kakwavu, an army general who had been a rebel leader. The court found him guilty of two murders, the rapes of two women, and torture of two people, […]
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; International Criminal Court: Convicted War Criminal Sentenced
(May 30, 2014) On May 23, 2014, the International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Germain Katanga, a militia leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to 12 years of imprisonment. Katanga had been convicted in March 2014 of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from his role as the leader of the Patriotic […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2014-05-30
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Rape Convictions of Only Two of 39 Accused Controversial
(May 13, 2014) On May 5, 2014, a military court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) found two soldiers guilty of rape and 24 others guilty of looting and other crimes. The two were among 39 soldiers accused of assaulting more than 130 women in South Kivu province in 2012; it was the […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2014-05-13
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; International Criminal Court: Militia Leader Convicted of War Crimes
(Mar. 20, 2014) On March 7, 2014, the International Criminal Court (ICC) convicted Germain Katanga, a former militia leader in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, of four counts of war crimes and one crime against humanity. He was acquitted of other charges, including using child soldiers, rape, and sexual slavery. The decision, delivered by […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2014-03-20
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Rights Groups Decry New Amnesty Law
(Feb. 14, 2014) On February 4, 2014, the legislature of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) approved a new law giving amnesty for acts of war committed from 2006 to the present. It will come into effect once President Joseph Kabila signs it, something he is expected to do in the near future. The […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2014-02-14
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Provincial Assembly Revises Law on “Jungle Justice”
(Nov. 26, 2013) On November 20, 2013, the legislative assembly in Sud-Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) voted to revise the law of the province in order to end the practice of “jungle justice.” The amended law was then sent to the Governor to be promulgated. (Provincial Assembly Votes Against Jungle […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2013-11-26
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: New Tax Measures Adopted
(Jan. 31, 2013) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has adopted an array of changes to its tax regime through ordinances issued by the President. While for the most part the changes became effective on January 1, 2013, some of the changes came into force as of October 18, 2012. One of the amendments […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2013-01-31
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Germany: Sexual Violence Trial Begins
(May 17, 2011) On May 4, 2011, the trial of two men from Rwanda accused of ordering others to carry out massacres and multiple rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) got underway in Stuttgart, Germany. The men are being tried on 39 counts of war crimes and 26 of crimes against humanity […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2011-05-17
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Constitutional Amendment on Elections
(Feb. 9, 2011) On January 20, 2011, revisions of certain articles of the 2006 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were adopted in Kinshasa. (Law 11/002, Journal Officiel de la République Démocratique du Congo, Feb. 1, 2011, at 1 (on file with author).) The revisions are significant for the presidential elections scheduled […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2011-02-09
Article
Congo: New Law on Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(Jan. 11, 2011) The Senate and the National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville) passed a law on the rights of indigenous peoples on December 30, 2010. The legislation had the backing of the government and will become law as soon as it is signed by the President. It will be the first […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2011-01-11
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; International Criminal Court: War Crimes Case Confirmed
(Oct. 26, 2010) On October 19, 2010, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it was charging a former official of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with war crimes. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo is accused of ordering an armed group in his command in 2002 into the Central African Republic (CAR), which borders the Congo […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2010-10-26
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; United Nations: Rapes to Be Investigated by U.N. Official
(Sept. 30, 2010) On September 28, 2010, Margot Wallstrőm, the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, began a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to organize a U.N. response to the mass rapes in late July and early August of this year in the eastern region of the country. More […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2010-09-30
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Mining Banned in Three Provinces
(Sept. 16, 2010) On September 11, 2010, Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), ordered that mining be suspended in three provinces in the eastern part of the country, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema. He had previously suspended mining operations in the Walikale region, in North Kivu. The areas under […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2010-09-16
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; International Criminal Court: ICC Begins Prosecuting Former Warlords
(Dec. 1, 2009) It was reported on November 23, 2009, that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has now begun trying two former Congo rebel leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, for their alleged involvement in crimes committed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2003. (International Criminal Court […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2009-12-01
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: ICC’s Jurisdiction Challenged
(June 4, 2009) It was reported on June 1, 2009, that the International Criminal Court (ICC) commenced a proceeding to consider a motion brought by an alleged Congolese militia leader, Germain Katanga, who was arrested and transferred to the ICC in 2007 to face three counts of crimes against humanity and six counts of war […]
Contributor:
Goitom, Hanibal
Date:2009-06-04
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Amnesty for Some Acts of War
(May 22, 2009) On May 7, 2009, President Joseph Kabila Kabange of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a law that grants amnesty for certain acts of war and insurrection committed in the country. It had previously been adopted by the Senate and the National Assembly. The legislation covers acts committed between June […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2009-05-22
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the: Nine Convicted of Conspiracy
(Oct. 6, 2008) On September 30, 2008, a court in Matadj County, in the western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sentenced nine people convicted of criminal conspiracy, taking part in a movement, and rebellion. Four others were acquitted. The nine were followers of the Bundu Dia Kongo sect, a political and religious […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2008-10-06
Article
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Uganda: Border Demarcation Planned in Lake
(Sept. 17, 2008) The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda are planning to clearly mark their border in Lake Edward. The work will be done by a team composed of representatives of the two countries and will proceed with technical assistance from Germany. The project was announced by the resident district commissioner of […]
