UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 79) In the Congo, the provisions of the Criminal Code that punish pimping are still in force.

Para 80) The Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Integration of Women into Development and UNFPA are currently helping NGOs to identify prostitutes and raise awareness of the problem in Brazzaville.

Para 81) A number of initiatives have been planned as part of strategies to protect the victims of prostitution and keep the problem in check:
- A study to determine the scale of the problem in the Congo;
- The organization of information, education and communication (IEC) activities designed to raise awareness among prostitutes and the general population about the serious harm caused by the problem;
- The involvement of the National AIDS Control Council (CNLS) and the National AIDS Control Programme (PNLS) in preventive measures and treatment for prostitutes;
- Making parents aware of their responsibilities towards children.

Para 109) With regard to campaigns to raise awareness, from 17 to 19 January a workshop to launch the campaign against trafficking in persons, especially women and children in Central Africa was held in Pointe-Noire with the support of the subregional centre for human rights in Yaounde and of the UNICEF country office in the Congo. Delegates from Gabon, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo actively participated in the workshop. Fifty child victims were identified and 11 of them repatriated, with some being placed in foster families.

National Report:
Para 35) Since the first UPR, the Congo has been a party to the following international legal instruments: OP-CRC-SC, New York, 25 May 2000 (accession, 25 October 2009).

National Report:
Para 22) The national system for protecting and promoting human rights is not limited to the National Human Rights Commission but also includes other national bodies, for example … bodies newly established under the Constitution of 25 October 2015, such as: … • The Women’s Advisory Council, tasked with issuing advice on the situation of women and offering the Government suggestions for promoting women’s participation in the country’s development.
Para 23) The following institutional acts have been adopted to supplement this legal framework: … Organic Act No. 14-2018 of 15 March 2018 on the organization, membership and functioning of the Women’s Advisory Council.
Para 49) The Congo has signed a United Nations Development Assistance Framework for the period 2014–2018. On 4 March 2016, the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Integration of Women in Development entered into an agreement with UNDP on an annual workplan for a project to support gender, female leadership and HIV/AIDS prevention.
Para 51) Overall, many activities have been conducted to promote and protect women’s rights. They include an information, education and communication campaign on the growth of the teenage pregnancy rate, which took place on 22 July 2015 in Pool department and from 5 to 8 August 2015 in Sangha department. In addition, a meeting on reviving the National Observatory on Gender-based Violence was held in Brazzaville on 9 September.
Para 52) Since 2014, the Congo has increased the participation of women in political and public life and strengthened their representation in decision-making bodies.
Para 53) The Congolese Constitution of 25 October 2015 guarantees the principle of parity and affirms that women and men have equal rights. Women’s advancement and representation in all political, elective and administrative posts are guaranteed by law. These principles have been incorporated into the Electoral Act.
Para 54) The new article 61 of the Electoral Act stipulates that “women must constitute at least 30 per cent of candidates put forward for election to the National Assembly and the Senate”.
Para 55) The representation of women in decision-making bodies currently stands at 11.5 per cent in the National Assembly, 22.9 per cent in the Senate, 22.85 per cent in the Government, 12 per cent in decision-making positions in the ministries, 18.82 per cent in departmental councils, 23.5 per cent in municipal councils and 20 per cent in the Supreme Court.
Para 56) According to the most recent civil service personnel audit, women make up 49.5 per cent of public sector workers.
Para 57) Under the 2012–2016 National Development Plan, activities have been conducted throughout the Congo to support farming and market gardening partnerships and hairdressing and sewing training centres for women. Many measures have been introduced across the country to support income-generating activities, which serve to empower women. They include the distribution of hairdressing and sewing kits, agricultural processing equipment, mechanical equipment and motor vehicles. Between 2012 and 2017, 3,186 such items were distributed, including 1,692 sewing kits, 780 hairdressing kits, 40 units of agricultural processing equipment, 152 market gardening kits, 40 units of household equipment, 23 units of mechanical and motorized equipment and 459 Kavaki motor vehicles.
Para 64) This legislative framework and regular activities to support women are the tools with which the Congo is working to improve women’s lives, allow them to thrive and guarantee respect for their fundamental rights.
Para 105) According to the second Congolese National Household Survey on Poverty, the unemployment rate in the Congo is 6.9 per cent, with some disparities between men and women. … Among persons with disabilities, the rate is 19.85 per cent for men and 9.54 per cent for women, according to the 2017 General Population and Housing Census.
Para 136) Human rights organizations expect, and indeed demand, the immediate adoption of legislation on the prohibition of torture, the abolition of the death penalty and the effective attainment of gender parity. They consider that, even within the Government itself, women are not only underrepresented but also still lack access to certain positions and privileges, such as: • Posts in the core ministries of the State • The position of cabinet minister.
Para 137) No woman has ever been promoted to the rank of general in the armed forces nor held the top position in any of the constitutional institutions. Human rights organizations consider this to be a violation of the CEDAW.

UN Compilation:
Para 10) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) noted that a new Constitution had been promulgated on 6 November 2015. It had been adopted by referendum on 25 October 2015. This text … establishes the equality of men and women before the law.

UN Compilation:
Para 49) CRC remained concerned that female genital mutilation was still practised among some West African communities living in the Congo.

National Report:
Para 14) In the sphere of health, a number of decisions have been taken, including ... free treatment for malaria and tuberculosis for children aged from 0 to 15 years, free screening for HIV and AIDS and case-management for seropositive persons and persons living with HIV or AIDS.

Para 15) Two major outpatient health centres have been established at Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, together with several other screening centres in other towns. Permanent information campaigns in the media and condom distribution in streets, hotels and at border posts by State agencies and NGOs are noteworthy activities. Thanks to these grass-roots activities, the disease is regressing in the country.

Para 44) Textbooks that integrate human rights into the Congolese education system are still being prepared. An encouraging sign of progress in this direction is the integration of efforts to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS in primary schools, secondary schools and lycees using publications such as "Learn about HIV and AIDS".

Para 122) Following an intense campaign in its favour, Act No. 30-2011, of 3 June 2011, on efforts to control HIV/AIDS and protection for people living with HIV was adopted by both houses of parliament (the National Assembly and the Senate) and promulgated by the President of the Republic. It has been in force since that date and implementing legislation is now being drafted.

Para 123) In the wake of the Act's introduction, numerous activities were organized to publicize the Act. An information handbook on HIV/AIDS control and protection of the rights of infected or affected persons, which was drafted with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was approved in February 2013.