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Congo (Democratic Republic)

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Map of Democratic Republic of Congo Last reviewed: 17 March 2008

Country information

Map of the Democratic Republic of Congo

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO TODAY

Country Facts

Area: 2,345,410 sq km
Population: 58,784,400 (estimated)
Capital City: Kinshasa (approx 8 million)
People: Over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the 4 largest tribes – Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbtu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population.
Language(s): French (official), Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba.
Religion(s): Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other sects and indigenous beliefs 10%.
Currency: Congolese franc
Major political parties: Parti du Peuple pour la Réconstruction et la Démocratie (PPRD), Mouvement pour la Libération du Congo (MLC), Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD), Mouvement Social pour la Renouveau (MSR), Parti Unifié Lumumbiste (PALU), Forces du Renouveau, Union des Democrates Mobutistes (UDEMO), Coalition des Democrates Congolais (CODECO), Union Nationale de Federalistes en Congo (UNAFEC), RCD-Nationale (RCD-N), Union pour la Démocratie et le Progrès Social (UDPS)
Head of State: President Joseph Kabila (elected 2006)
Prime Minister: Antoine Gizenga
Foreign Minister: Antipas Mbusa Nyamwisi
Membership of international groupings: UN, African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community(SADC), and Community of East and Southern African States (COMESA).

HEALTH  

Health requirements: Health Needs  

ECONOMY

Basic Economic Facts (2006 estimates)

GDP: US$9.1 bn
GDP growth: 6.2% (2008 est).
Inflation: 9% (2008 est).
Major Exports: Diamonds, oil, cobalt, copper.
Major Trading Partners (2005): Exports - Belgium, China, Chile, Finland. Imports - South Africa, Belgium, France, Kenya.
Exchange Rate: Franc Congolais 510 = $1 (2007).

DRC's economy is dominated by the mining sector – copper, cobalt and diamonds. But decades of mismanagement and corruption, together with the war, caused virtual economic collapse. In January 2001, the government announced a comprehensive change to economic policy, freeing up the currency, lifting foreign exchange restrictions and ending the monopoly on diamond export sales. But progress in reversing decades of decline is slow.

DRC is potentially one of the richest countries in Africa, with rich mineral resources, timber (75% of the country is forested) and extensive energy resources in HEP. It is however one of the poorest. Real GDP per capita fell from $380 in 1960 to $115 by 2004. The tense political situation, corruption and smuggling, as highlighted by the UN Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Mineral Resources of October 2003, have resulted in a shortage of development capital that has stifled the development of the mining and other sectors. The DRC signed up to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in 2005 and is a member of the Kimberley Process.

IMF Country Reports - Democratic Republic of Congo
Government Diamond Office

HISTORY

DRC (formerly Zaire) gained independence from Belgium in June 1960. Following a period of political instability, General Mobutu, the Chief of the Army, came to power in an army coup in 1965 and remained largely unchallenged throughout the 1970s and 1980s. President Mobutu presided over endemic corruption and reputedly built up a large personal fortune. Moves towards democratisation in the early 1990s did not succeed in removing him from power. But an already-fragile state was further weakened by the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when in October 1996 dissident groups, led by Laurent Kabila and strongly supported by Rwanda and Uganda, rose in revolt. They entered Kinshasa on 17 May 1997. Laurent Kabila declared himself President. Mobutu fled to Morocco where he subsequently died.

Internal and external dissatisfaction with the new President grew until late summer 1998, when a new rebel group announced itself, again backed by Rwanda and Uganda, and a second conflict broke out. SADC states led by Zimbabwe and Angola intervened on the side of the Kabila Government. By mid-1999 front-lines had stabilised, with 3 belligerent groups respectively controlling a third of the country, each backed by different regional states. A cease-fire was signed in Lusaka in August 1999. The United Nations Security Council established a peacekeeping force known as MONUC to facilitate the implementation of the Lusaka Accord. It has a budget exceeding US$1 billion and is now over 17,000 strong making it the largest current UN peacekeeping mission.

In January 2001 President Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards. His son, Joseph Kabila, took over as the new head of State on 26 January 2001 and proved more amenable to negotiations. Foreign forces gradually departed, and a protracted Inter-Congolese Dialogue led to an agreement between the belligerents and members of the political opposition on the formation of a transitional national government (TNG). This was agreed by the parties on 2 April 2003 in Sun City (South Africa). The TNG was promulgated on 30 June 2003, formally ending a war that had cost an estimated 4 million lives.

The Transitional National Government (TNG) was made up of 3 major belligerent groups, a number of smaller ex-rebel movements, civil society and political opposition representatives. The TNG had a '1 + 4' leadership, with a President (Joseph Kabila) and Vice Presidents (Jean-Pierre Bemba, Azarias Ruberwa, Arthur Z'Ahidi Ngoma and Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi). The TNG was hindered by continuing violence in the east of the country, massive humanitarian needs, widespread corruption and periods of high tension between former belligerent groups who were making up the government.

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

The DRC's relations with its neighbours were very poor between 1994 and 2005, particularly with Rwanda and Uganda. This was due to allegations of Congolese support for Rwandan and Ugandan rebel groups based on Congolese territory and to Rwandan and Ugandan military interventions into the DRC in 1996 and 1998.

There have however been improvements in regional tensions in recent years. In mid-to-late 2002 the DRC signed peace agreements with both Rwanda and Uganda, after which both countries withdrew their troops from the Congo. The US led Tripartite Commission between the Great Lakes countries also aims to resolve regional peace and security issues by fostering dialogue between regional governments. This has led to some normalisation in relations between the DRC and both Uganda and Rwanda, though tensions remain, largely due to the continued presence of rebel groups on DRC territory. The DRC’s relations with its other neighbours, particularly Angola, are generally cordial.

Sanctions

The EU and member states imposed an arms embargo on the DRC (then Zaire) by means of Declaration of 7 April 1993 and adopted Council Regulation (EC) No 1727/2003 on 29 September 2003. The United Nations imposed an arms embargo in July 2003 – Security Council Resolution 1493 (2003), extended by SC Resolution 1552 (2004), 1596 (2005), 1649 (2005) and 1698 (2006). No licences will be issued for the export to the DRC of goods and technology on the Military List which forms Part II of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994, as amended. UN sanctions (UNSCRs 918, 997 and 1011) also impose restrictions on the sale or supply of arms and related material to persons in States neighbouring Rwanda, including DRC, when the goods in question are intended for use in Rwanda.

Relations with the UK

Diplomatic Representation

The UK has an Embassy in Kinshasa. DFID have an office in the DRC and run an extensive development programme. The DRC has an Embassy in London. 

Recent Visits

Outward: Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (January 2002), Clare Short, then Secretary of State for International Development (July and February 2002), Adam Ingram, Minister for the Armed Forces (August 2003), Chris Mullin, Minister for Africa (June 2004). Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development (December 2003, April 2004, November 2005 and September 2006), John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister (December 2006).

Inward: Foreign Minister Okitundu (March 2002, January 2002), President Joseph Kabila (February 2004), President of the National Assembly, Olivier Kamitatu (March 2004). President of the Senate Marini (March 2004) Vice President Azarias Ruberwa, November 2004. Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba (March 2005).

Policy

For UK policy statements in parliament see the Hansard website.

GEOGRAPHY

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lies on the equator and has borders with 9 African countries – Congo (Brazzaville), the Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Angola. It has a small coastline on the Atlantic. The central region has an equatorial climate with high temperatures and heavy rainfall, with different climatic cycles in the northern and southern regions.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

Trade and Investment with the UK

UK exports to DR Congo in 2004 amounted to £26.82 million.
UK imports from DR Congo in 2004 were valued at £9.7 million.

Development

DRC could be one of the wealthiest countries in Africa, with some of the most valuable and diverse natural resources in the world. But war and decades of misrule and mismanagement have devastated the economy leaving the physical and social infrastructure shattered. DRC ranks 167 out of 177 countries on the UN Human Development Report 2007. Most Congolese are desperately poor, living in extreme poverty on less than $1 a day. Human Rights abuses occur on a massive scale with extremely high levels of sexual violence against women and children. There are over 1 million internally displaced people in eastern DRC requiring humanitarian assistance.

However, with an end to civil war in 2003 and with successful democratic elections in 2006, the DRC now has an unprecedented opportunity to escape a cycle of conflict and suffering and realise its potential. The UK Government is committed to helping the people and government of DRC sustain peace and reduce poverty. In 2003 the Department for International Development (DFID) took the decision to establish a major bilateral development programme in DRC and in recent years DFID has increased its support to DRC significantly. In 2006 the UK was the largest bilateral donor to DRC's first democratic elections in 40 years and the UK is currently the second largest bilateral donor contributing around £70 million per year.

DFID has 3 strategic objectives in DRC:

  • building a capable and accountable state
  • delivering a peace dividend for poor people
  • reducing remaining violent conflict and its impact.

DFID has major programmes focused on a wide range of sectors in DRC including education, health, water and sanitation, roads, humanitarian assistance, natural resources, security sector reform and democracy and accountability. Across its work DFID focuses on providing immediate benefits and meeting emergency humanitarian needs, combined with major long-term development programmes to transform the future for the Congolese. Much of DFID's work is based in rural and war affected areas of DRC where poverty levels are higher. Its programmes are designed to make sure that vulnerable or marginalised groups, such as women and children or those living with HIV/AIDS, are not excluded.

United Nations Development Programme
World Bank
DFID Country Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo

POLITICS

The TNG, originally planned for 2 years, was (constitutionally) extended twice. The new constitution was passed, approved by referendum in December 2005 and promulgated on 18 February 2006. The first democratic elections for over 40 years took place in July and October 2006. Joseph Kabila was elected President with 58.05% of the vote in the second round. He was inaugurated as President on 6 December 2006 for a 5-year term.

The elected National Assembly held its opening session on 22 September 2006. The PPRD party of President Kabila took 114 of 500 seats, the largest number of any political party, and controlled more than 200 through its political allies. On 19 January 2007 a 108 seat Senate was indirectly elected, with the PPRD again taking the largest share of seats (22), with the MLC (party of Jean-Pierre Bemba) obtaining 14. Parliamentarians have a 5-year mandate.

Political veteran Antoine Gizenga was named as Prime Minister on 30 December 2006. President Kabila and PM Gizenga announced a government of 60 Ministers on 5 February 2007, which saw several new names enter the Congolese political scene. Jean-Pierre Bemba was forced into exile in Portugal following violence between armed elements under his command and the Congolese army in March 2007 and has yet to return to the country. Political progress since the elections has been extremely slow.

The DRC also continues to be affected by violence and insecurity, especially in the east where the insurgency of rebel General Nkunda, and the continued presence of Rwandan rebels, have displaced hundreds of thousands and created an ongoing humanitarian disaster. The ill-disciplined and poorly-paid Congolese armed forces continue to pose a threat to civilians across the country, and the needs of the Congolese population remain immense.

BBC News Country Profile: Democratic Republic of Congo
BBC News: Africa

HUMAN RIGHTS

Abuses of human rights and humanitarian standards by the remaining rebel militias and Congolese army continue at a high level, particularly in the east of the country. There are frequent reports of summary execution of civilians, widespread rape and sexual violence, banditry and forced labour. Ethnic tensions are high in the east and north-east of the country, where violence displaced large numbers of civilians during 2007 and humanitarian needs are acute. Reports of intimidation and arbitrary arrest of human rights workers, journalists and political leaders have remained high since the election period. Justice for victims of human rights abuses has been sparse, but in 2006 some trials were carried out in the DRC, and perpetrators of abuses sent to prison. 2006 also saw the transfer of former militia leader Thomas Lubanga to the International Criminal Court, on charges of war crimes, followed in 2007 by fellow Ituri militia leader Germain Katanga.

Human Rights Annual Report 2006

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