UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 83) Act No. 2011-493 of 29 July 2011 introduced cost-free caesarean sections, treatment for ectopic pregnancy and emergency care for newborn children born by caesarean section as well as other major obstetrical procedures.

Para 84) The Congo has made genuine progress towards Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. Maternal mortality has been reduced from 781 deaths per 10,000 live births in 2005 to 560 in 2010.

UN Compilation:
Para 78) While noting the preparation in 2009 of the road map on efforts to reduce maternal, infant and neonatal mortality, UNICEF noted that maternal and child and infant mortality as well as HIV infection were aggravated by factors such as early pregnancies, sociocultural standards and the low status of women and girls.

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 74) Programmes and strategies are developed in partnership with the United Nations. UNICEF is totally committed to such programmes, as described earlier in the replies to the recommendations on the rights of children to education and training. To attain this objective, a programme for 2014-2018 has recently been developed by UNICEF and the Republic of the Congo.

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 to ... access to employment ...

Para 95) During the period 2007-2011, the education sector benefited from 12 per cent of extrabudgetary expenditure, i.e. 3 per cent of GDP. Free schooling has made it possible to improve the school enrolment rate. As an illustration, during the 2010/11 school year, the total number enrolled in school was 12,895, of whom 6,627 were girls.

Para 96) In 2009-2010, the number of persons enrolled in literacy courses and non-formal education was 11,702, of whom 7,021 were girls or women; in 2008-2009 the figure was 9,802.

Para 97) Under the project in support of basic education (PRAEBASE), pilot programmes for young school dropouts have been carried out: 1,244 young persons, including 627 girls, benefited from education programmes providing apprenticeships for trades in order to enable them to join the workforce.

Para 98) Between 2005 and 2011, the net primary school enrolment ratio rose from 87 per cent to 92 per cent; however the ratio of girls to boys in school fell from 0.97 per cent to 0.81 per cent in secondary education.

Para 113) The following measures have been adopted:
-Development of the national strategy on education for girls and promotion of the "Child- and girl-friendly school" model.

National Report:
Para 50) On 25 October 2016, the Congo and the United Nations Population Fund signed a partnership agreement on combating gender-based violence, one outcome of which was the launch of a project on preventing and combating gender-based violence. The Ministry of the Interior and Decentralization is heading the project, which involves police officers, gendarmes, lawyers, doctors, psychologists and other professionals. The project led to workshops to draft and endorse a training manual for police staff and senior officers and training guidelines on combating gender-based violence. Both documents were approved on 9 August 2018.
Para 51) … In addition, a meeting on reviving the National Observatory on Gender-based Violence was held in Brazzaville on 9 September.
Para 58) A particular cause for concern is violence against women, which is addressed in a bill currently before the parliament. Training and awareness-raising campaigns have been carried out in preparation for its adoption. In 2015, 600 police officers underwent training on gender-based violence and inequality in Pointe-Noire. In Brazzaville, training has been provided for 80 victim-support centre workers and 35 members of the police force and the social affairs, health-care and justice sectors. In Pointe-Noire, a marine patrol squad consisting of 11 women has been formed. From 25 to 27 August 2015, judges, police officers and workers in the health-care and social affairs sectors attended a seminar on the criminal nature of violence against women. They were also trained in caring for victims, counselling them and identifying cases. Police stations and hospitals have been equipped with computer tools, office supplies, digital cameras and video cameras and essential medicines.
Para 59) As part of its implementation of the National Gender Policy and the Programme to Combat Gender-based Violence, the Government has worked with the Post and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency and mobile telephone operators (Airtel-Congo, MTNCongo, Azur and Congo-Telecom) to set up a toll-free emergency hotline, 14 44, which has been operational since 4 March 2018. This shows the commitment of the Congolese public authorities to combating gender-based violence.
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.
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 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 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.