UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 77) Sexual violence is classified as a crime and is punished by article 332 of the Congolese Criminal Code, which punishes the crime of rape. However, certain cases in which the crime has gone unpunished may be attributed to the failure of the victims to lodge a complaint or to the inertia and shortcomings of the judicial system.

Para 78) Efforts to combat the scourge are headed by NGOs, public institutions and United Nations agencies, which utilize extrajudicial means such as:
- The organization of information, education and communication sessions in order to change behaviour;
- The launch of the Zero Tolerance campaign, whose activities will last two years;
- Creation of hostels for the victims of violence;
- Establishment of an observatory for violence control;
- Revision of the legal framework to take into account legal issues affecting women (Criminal Code, Tax Code, Family Code, etc.).

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.

National Report:
Para 61) Existing Congolese law provides that, “irrespective of any property derived from the dissolution of the marriage, the surviving spouse has property and usufruct rights over the main residence, the right to remain in occupation at that residence and, where applicable, the right to a survivor’s pension, annuity or portion of the death benefit”. Surviving spouses may not be declared unworthy to inherit for refusing to participate in customary mourning rituals. Cruelty to or maltreatment of a widow or widower at mourning ceremonies is punishable under the Criminal Code.
Para 62) The principle of spousal equality has been carried over into the draft personal and family code, which is in the process of being adopted. The draft also contains a number of new provisions. For instance, it stipulates that, “if none of the relatives of a deceased person is entitled to inherit, the surviving spouse receives the inheritance in full”. The new code will significantly mitigate the widely condemned effects of widowhood practices and even prohibit them in certain cases. The draft also stipulates, inter alia, that “a woman may not be considered as part of her deceased husband’s estate. Customary practices that require a widow to marry one of her deceased husband’s relatives are thus prohibited.” These practices are punishable under the draft Criminal Code.
Para 63) Customs and traditions that remove or restrict women’s right to occupy or acquire customary land or land in urban or peri-urban areas have been declared null and void.

UN Compilation:
Para 16) CRC was concerned about the … the multiple gender-based discrimination against girls.
Para 36) [CRC] was concerned about the unequal parental responsibilities of the mother and the father, ingrained in law and in practice.

National Report:
Para 88) The overall framework for the protection of the rights of the child is determined by Act No. 4-2010 of 14 June 2010 on protection for children in the Republic of the Congo.

Para 89) Section III of the Act concerns protection against violence, neglect, ill-treatment and exploitation and prohibits the following:
- Indecent exposure, sexual molestation or rape in the presence or on the person of a child (art. 54);
- Genital mutilation, honour crimes and forced marriage of children (art. 62);
- The trafficking, sale and all forms of exploitation of children (art. 60).

UN Compilation:
Para 8) Several treaty bodies welcomed ... the 2011 Law prohibiting traffic and sexual exploitation of indigenous children and women.