Law No. 06/006 of 9 March, 2006 on the organization of presidential, legislative,
provincial, urban, municipal and local elections which stipulates in Article 4 that
all Congolese citizens, irrespective of their gender, have the right to take part
in voting. Article 9 of the same law authorises them to freely choose to be
candidates at all levels.
Law No. 15/013 of 1 August, 2015 on the modalities for the implementation of
the rights of women and gender equality, which in its preamble refers to
international, regional and sub-regional human rights legal instruments ratified
by the DRC and confirms in Article 1, the commitment of the Congolese State to
implement Article 14 of the Constitution and to respect the specific rights of
women.
110. These legislative measures and many others adopted in specific thematic areas prohibit and
punish all forms of discriminations and harmful practices which undermine the health and the
general well-being of women. To ensure their implementation, the DRC has put in place
institutional mechanisms and adopted some administrative measures to promote and
guarantee the specific rights of women.
111. It is within this context that one must situate: (i) the creation of the Ministry of Women,
Family and Children’s Affairs, (ii) the establishment of different national, provincial and local
mechanisms and other operational structures for the promotion and protection of the rights
of women, in particular, the Joint National, Provincial and Local Coordinating Technical
Committees for Combating Sexual Violence (CTC), the National , Provincial and Local
Grassroots Women’s Councils, provincial and local synergies to combat sexual violence
(CPLVS), the National Steering Committee for Resolution 1325.
112. These structures benefit from government support through budgetary allocations. This
allows them to plan and carry out their activities. Some civil society organizations working to
promote and protect the rights of women also receive some money from budgetary sources.
These organizations include CAFCO, REFAMP, UNAF, LIZADEEL, etc.
113. To improve the role and the place of women in the Congolese society, the DRC government,
with the support of the international community, has been determined for the past ten years,
to eliminate discriminations to which women fall victim in all facets of national life. This
ambition, stipulated in the new Republican Constitution adopted on 18 February, 2006, has
particularly resulted in the adoption of the National Gender Policy (PNG) which is a unique
reference and guiding framework in terms of gender promotion in the country. This policy is
the gender implementation instrument of the National Strategic Document for Growth and
Poverty Reduction (DSCRP II).
114. The National Gender Policy (PNG) has been broken down by the government into different
strategies developed and implemented in the country, among which are the National Gender
Integration Strategy for Gender Sensitive Planning and Budgeting, the National Gender
Strategy for Combating Gender-based Violence (SNVBG), the National Gender Strategy for
Combating Maternal and Child Mortality and the National Strategy for the Political Participation
of Women in Democratic Governance which is in the process of being finalized.
115. With regard to educating the public on the prohibition of gender-based discrimination,
several awareness raising campaigns and advocacy measures have been carried out, namely:
o The elimination of discriminatory provisions contained in the Family Code ( To
date, this Code has already been revised);
o The fight against sexual violence (campaign: “I denounce” , carried out by the
government, NGOs and partners)
o Access by all “Boys and Girls to School” (etc)
116. Apart from the administrative and institutional measures, the DRC regularly produces
reports in order to assess the implementation of international and regional legal instruments
and texts which it has ratified to ensure the promotion of the rights of women, such as CEDAW,
30