UPR Sexual Rights Database

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.

National Report:
Para 75) Currently, there is no provision under domestic legislation to define discrimination against women. However, the lack of a legal definition notwithstanding, efforts are being made to ensure that women are equal as regards ownership of property, access to employment and political activity. Women may own land through matrilineal or patrilineal filiation, through inheritance or by marriage.

Para 76) The Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Integration of Women into Development has introduced a bill on the representation of women in political, administrative and elected positions. The Supreme Court has given a favourable opinion on the bill. Irrespective of the bill, Congolese women already play an active part in all sectors of public life.

UN Compilation:
Para 20) CEDAW and UNICEF welcomed the 2009-2013 National Gender Plan of Action ...

National Report:
Para 8) The instruments ratified by the Congo since the second cycle of the universal periodic review include the following: … CRPD and the OP thereto, on 14 February 2014.

National Report:
Para 60) Congolese women play an effective role in peaceful conflict resolution. In November 2014, 80 women received training in peaceful conflict resolution. The training was supported by UNDP and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. On 21 November 2017, the Congo conducted a tripartite meeting in Brazzaville on promoting women’s participation in mechanisms for the prevention of conflicts and the consolidation and maintenance of peace in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. In May 2018, the Congo approved a national action plan to implement Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security.

National Report:
Para 77) The data included in the Government’s 2015 study on the Sectoral Education Strategy for the period 2015–2025 show that girls and boys enjoy nearly equal access to preschool and primary education. The data show that their rates of retention until the end of primary school are the same: 85.3 per cent of boys and 84.5 per cent of girls complete primary school. However, boys have higher rates of access and participation than girls at the lower secondary level. These gaps become wider as children progress through the education system. A report on the 2014–2015 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted by the National Statistical Institute with the support of UNICEF backs up these findings.
Para 78) In the age group 12–24, more than 8 in 10 young women (84 per cent) and nearly 9 in 10 young men (89 per cent) are literate. Literacy rates are higher in urban areas (91 per cent of young women and 93 per cent of young men) than in rural areas (62 per cent of young women and 74 per cent of young men). For both young women and young men, higher literacy rates lead to significant increases in household socioeconomic status: the literacy rate is 49 per cent for young women from the poorest households versus 98 per cent for those from the wealthiest and 64 per cent for young men from the poorest households versus 98 per cent for those from the wealthiest.
Para 79) In all, 23 per cent of children in the first year of primary school attended a preschool the previous year, with almost no difference between boys (23 per cent) and girls (24 per cent). The proportion of children who start their schooling at the preschool level is 38 per cent for those from urban areas versus 7 per cent for those from rural areas. Household wealth is a major driver of inequalities in school readiness: the proportion of children currently in the first year of primary school who were in a preschool education programme the previous year stands at 5 per cent for those from the poorest households versus 59 per cent for those from the wealthiest.
Para 80) Primary and secondary school attendance rates offer valuable information on inequalities between children of different genders and social backgrounds. In all, 97 per cent of primary school-age children (6–11 years) attend a primary or secondary school. The primary school attendance rates for boys and girls are almost equal (96 per cent versus 97 per cent). …
Para 81) Two thirds of secondary school-age children (12–18 years) attend a secondary or higher education institution. There is no difference in secondary school attendance between boys and girls. …
Para 82) The primary school survival and completion rates remain high. More than 9 in 10 children who enter the first year of secondary school (96 per cent) reach the final year. A child ‘s sex and place of residence have little bearing on the survival rate.
Para 83) The primary school completion rate in the Congo is 91 per cent. It is slightly higher for girls (92 per cent) than for boys (90 per cent) and is almost the same in urban and rural areas.
Para 85) The gender parity index across both the primary and secondary school levels is 1.00, which shows that, nationally, there is little difference in primary and secondary school attendance between girls and boys.
Para 86) At the primary school level, the gender parity index is greater than or equal to 1.00 in 10 of the country’s 12 departments. The two departments in which it is lower are Lékoumou (0.97) and Bouenza (0.99).
Para 87) The secondary school attendance rate is lower for girls than for boys in several departments, as reflected in a gender parity index of less than 1.00. These departments are Kouilou (0.74), Lékoumou (0.84), Bouenza (0.78), Pool (0.83), Plateaux (0.90), Sangha (0.85) and Likouala (0.91).

National Report:
Para 82) Female genital mutilation is prohibited in the Congo by article 62 of Act No. 4-2010 of 14 June 2010 on the protection of children in the Republic of the Congo. Campaigns to raise awareness about such practices are organized as part of the effort to combat sexual violence.