U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants World Refugee Survey 2005 - Congo Kinshasa

Refoulement/Asylum  There were no reports of refoulement from the Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). The Government, however, nearly refouled two Sudanese girls accused of espionage but ultimately determined they were refugees and allowed them to remain. Law 021/2002 enacted in 2002 (Refugee Law), codified the right to asylum of the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (1951 Convention) and the 1969 African Refugee Convention. The Refugee Law and a 2003 decree designated the National Commission for Refugees (CNR) of the Ministry of the Interior to decide asylum cases and an Appeals Commission to review them but neither did so, leaving the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to fill the role. Asylum seekers had to present themselves to local authorities within 30 days of entry.

Detention  Authorities commonly detained people, often targeting refugees, immigrants, and other foreigners but there were no reports that the Government detained refugees or asylum seekers for illegal entry. In July, the military and local authorities detained 283 Rwandan immigrants and Congolese of Rwandan ancestry in a military camp in Bunyakiri for two weeks and, with UNHCR's assistance, deported them to Rwanda, which granted them asylum. UNHCR reported that those deported were not refugees but second-generation Congolese nationals of Rwandan origin.

The Refugee Law required the Government to provide identification documents to refugees free of charge but, since it had not done so since 1997, UNHCR issued identity cards to individual adult urban refugees and families in rural camps and settlements. The Refugee Law granted refugees the same access to courts as nationals, but the Congolese judicial system functioned poorly.

Right to Earn a Livelihood  The Refugee Law granted refugees the same right to work as nationals. Many refugees, such as Angolan farmers in the Bas-Congo region, owned and farmed land and ran businesses. In cities, refugees informally traded and did tailoring and mechanical repair. In camps and rural settlements, refugees farmed or worked for NGOs or villagers.

Freedom of Movement and Residence  Refugees had to obtain one-time travel authorizations from local authorities but many traveled without authorization. Authorities occasionally harassed traveling refugees and nationals alike, even with travel authorization, sometimes detaining them for more than a week if they could not pay a bribe for release and reportedly beat them in detention. The Refugee Law granted refugees freedom of movement on par with other foreigners.

With the exception of a few camps, such as Kilueka, Kimaza, and Nkondo, in most rural settlements refugees integrated among Congolese villagers. Refugees did not require special permission to move to urban areas.

Although, the Refugee Law required the Government to provide free renewable international travel documents, applicants had to demonstrate specific reasons for travel, such as resettlement, medical evacuation, or education plans, or a plane ticket. The Minister of Foreign Affairs issued fewer than 10 such documents although some 30 refugees applied for them.

Public Relief and Education  In urban areas, UNHCR provided refugees education and health services, and for six months, rental assistance and a living allowance of to $130 to $200 per month. In rural settlements, UNHCR provided education and health services, but gradually decreased aid, particularly to refugees from Angola and Congo-Brazzaville in the Bas-Congo camps. In December, UNHCR built a health center in Nkondo camp in Bas-Congo and provided a six-month supply of medicines to 800 Angolan refugees who chose to remain after more than 40,000 others repatriated during the previous 18 months. The Refugee Law granted refugees the right to assistance, healthcare, and education on par with nationals, and the 2003 decree required the Government, according to its means, to meet refugee needs, including food, lodging, health, and education. The Government allowed assistance but continued insecurity hindered relief agencies.

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)  There were about 2.3 million IDPs in Congo-Kinshasa with the greatest displacement in the east. More than 700,000 returned to their areas of origin. The June 2003 peace accord remained in effect, and in May 2004, seven militias signed a cease-fire agreement in Bunia, Ituri District. But security improved little, and continued conflict forced at least 150,000 to flee from North Kivu and South Kivu provinces and Ituri District. In South Kivu, fighting displaced 25,000 in late April and tens of thousands more in May and June, following the mutiny of dissident officers against a government-appointed regional military commander in Bukavu. Shortly thereafter, another 36,000 people from South Kivu, the majority of them Congolese Tutsis, fled clashes between the national army and rebels. By early July, the Congolese Popular Armed Forces, the ethnic Lendu militia, and others started fighting again, displacing 35,000 people in the northern Ituri region. In October, in Kilwa, Katanga Province, at least 3,500 Congolese refugees fled to Zambia. Nearly all repatriated within a few weeks. The UN Security Council increased the number of peacekeeping troops to 16,700 in October but was unable to ensure safety in many rural areas despite a Chapter VII mandate under its Charter authorizing all necessary action to protect civilians imminently threatened by violence.

Only 30 percent of children in the east had basic education. In Maniema Province, west of the Kivus, fighting and looting destroyed 80 percent of healthcare facilities. The Government did not curtail IDPs' right to work or freedom of movement, but the conflict did. Armed groups forced between 20,000 and 40,000 children to join their ranks. Seventy percent of women interviewed in IDP camps in Kalemi reported that combatants raped, kidnapped, or otherwise abused them.

In October, UNHCR and WFP aided 1,500 families who returned via the Uvira transit center. That same month, the Government deployed 5,000 troops to protect displaced Tutsis threatened by other ethnic groups. The Government did not obstruct aid, but violence isolated hundreds of thousands of displaced people. In October, Doctors Without Borders temporarily pulled out of Kilwa due to clashes. Refugees International reported that UN and humanitarian agencies left thousands of IDPs living in Kinshasa and Kalemie, Katanga Province without aid.

Other Important Developments  In August, the Government signed a tripartite agreement with the Central African Republic and UNHCR for the return of an estimated 10,000 Congolese refugees who fled fighting in 1998. UNHCR began assisting the repatriation in October.

Copyright 2005, U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants