According to UNHCR, as of mid-2020 the Republic of Congo (RoC)–which is facing the double threat of COVID-19 and Ebola–was hosting 43,656 refugees and asylum seekers and 304,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Refugees and asylum seekers are primarily from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, and Rwanda. On March 15, […]
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International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
ICRMW, International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
2017
2017
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2003
2003
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 11/19
Relevant Recommendations or Observations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture
18. The Committee recommends that the State party:
[...]
(b) Continue, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, its efforts to identify refugees and asylum seekers and to ensure their protection, in accordance with international law, by respecting, in particular, the principle of non-refoulement, including during specific police operations;
(c) Ensure that the detention of asylum seekers and refugees is used only as a measure of last resort and, where necessary, for as short a period as possible;
(d) Ensure that the legal safeguards are respected, in accordance with article 11 of the Convention;
(e) Ensure that investigations are carried out effectively and that refugees and asylum seekers allegedly subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by State or private actors, including victims of rape and domestic violence, have access to remedies, as set out by the Committee in its general comment No. 2 (2007) on the implementation of article 2 by States parties;
[...]
2015
2015
2015
Committee on the Rights of the Child
71. § "71. The Committee calls on the State party to finalize and adopt the Refugee Bill with a view to ensuring a child rights-based approach to asylum and the determination of refugee status. It encourages the State party to subsequently take all necessary measures to guarantee the full implementation of the national law, in line with international human rights and refugee law, and refers the State party to its general comment No. 6 (2005) on the treatment of unaccompanied and separated children outside their country of origin. The Committee urges the State party to protect children, especially girls, against sexual abuse and other related incidents, to investigate cases of abuse fully and to prosecute and sentence the perpetrators of such crimes. It recommends that the State party take all the necessary measures to improve the living conditions of asylum - seeking and refugee children. It also encourages the State party to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness."
2014
2014
2014
> UN Special Procedures
> UN Universal Periodic Review
REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS
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Year of Ratification (Treaty) / Transposed (Directive) / Adoption (Regulation)
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HEALTH CARE PROVISION
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COVID-19
Country Updates
According to UNHCR, as of mid-2020 the Republic of Congo (RoC)--which is facing the double threat of COVID-19 and Ebola--was hosting 43,656 refugees and asylum seekers and 304,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs). Refugees and asylum seekers are primarily from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, and Rwanda.
On March 15, 2020, the first positive case of COVID-19 was reported. As of 31 January 2021, the RoC had recorded 7,887 cumulative COVID-19 cases and 117 deaths.
The government’s COVID-19 response included the establishment of a State of Health Emergency on 31 March 2020 and nationwide lockdown measures from 1 April 2020, which included movement restrictions, curfews, and shutdowns of schools and non-essential businesses. UNHCR reported that asylum seekers and refugees faced difficulties coping with surging food prices and decreased business activity, depriving people of their incomes, as well as the geographic inaccessibility of COVID-19 testing sites.
UNHCR’s health-related activities included: “[installing] 20 refugee housing units (RHUs) at the Bouemba site to serve as a reception centre for suspected COVID19 cases, equipping the facilities with beds, water supply and latrines. In Gamboma, UNHCR also supported the rehabilitation of the COVID-19 patients isolation site. Overall, UNHCR equipped and supported 8 health centres during the COVID-19 response, as well as established four isolation and quarantine centres, with room for a total of 60 patients. UNHCR also equipped an additional three isolation centres in areas hosting refugees and asylum-seekers.” The refugee agency also gave out core relief items and cash assistance to vulnerable populations.
In September 2020, a meeting on preventing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in private places took place with the participation of civil society, humanitarian actors, the penitentiary, and doctors, amongst others. At the meeting, the Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture in Congo (ACAT) and its International Federation (FIACAT) called for improved conditions for prisoners in the country in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. They denounced the conditions in prisons, which include poor health, transport, drinking water, and electricity provision. The director general of the prison administration also conducted a presentation on the problems of managing the response to COVID-19, where he stated that as soon as positive cases were reported in the country, a crisis unit was set up as part of the strategy against the virus in prisons (maisons d’arrêt). He further claimed that no new detainees had been received in the prisons (maisons d’arrêt) and outlined the activities within the centres. These included employing detainees in making masks, the continued education and preparation for state exams, as well as the disinfection and fumigation of centres.
On 28 January 2021, the RoC’s National Human Rights Commission and the UNDP held a seminar in which they launched a human rights monitoring platform, responsible for documenting and disseminating material on human rights, as well as training librarians and archivists. The president of the National Human Rights Commission said that the platform would serve the monitoring of recommendations made by the Universal Periodic Review, CEDAW and other international mechanisms for the protection of human rights. It is not yet clear to what extent this monitoring mechanism will seek to review the treatment of refugees and other vulnerable non-citizens in the country.
