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 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 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.
Para 36) [CRC] was concerned about the unequal parental responsibilities of the mother and the father, ingrained in law and in practice.
Para 52) [CRC] expressed its concern about the widespread violence against children, particularly girls …

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 41) JS1 indicated that many children continued to be victims of physical violence or corporal punishment. Violence, especially sexual violence against girls, remained a major problem.

National Report:
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.