Human trafficking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(DRC) is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to
trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...
in persons, specifically conditions of
forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
and
forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" ap ...
. The majority of this trafficking is internal, and much of it is perpetrated by armed groups and government forces outside government control within the DRC's unstable eastern provinces. The
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second institution in the central executive branch of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the first institution being the President, who has the title of head of state. Description ...
does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The government did not show evidence of progress in prosecuting and punishing labor or sex trafficking offenders, including members of its own armed forces, providing protective services for the vast majority of trafficking victims, or raising public awareness of human trafficking. In addition, the government's anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts decreased during the 2010 reporting period.


Realms

A significant number of unlicensed Congolese artisanal
miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...
s – men and boys – are exploited in situations of
debt bondage Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...
by businessmen and supply dealers from whom they acquire cash advances, tools, food, and other provisions at inflated prices, and to whom they must sell the mined minerals at prices below the market value. The miners are forced to continue to work to repay constantly accumulating debts that are virtually impossible to repay. In
North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...
,
South Kivu South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu District in 1989, when the exis ...
, and Katanga provinces, armed groups and Congolese national army (
FARDC The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the armed forces, state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARD ...
) troops reportedly use threats and coercion to force men and children to mine for minerals. A number of policemen in eastern DRC reportedly arrested people arbitrarily in order to extort money from them. Those who could not pay were forced to work until they had "earned" their freedom. Congolese girls are forced into prostitution in tent- or hut-based
brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
s or informal camps – including in markets and mining areas – by loosely organized networks, gangs, and madams. Congolese women and children are exploited internally in conditions of involuntary
domestic servitude A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
and taken, in smaller numbers, to
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
, and European nations for commercial sexual exploitation. Some members of
Batwa Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
, or
pygmy In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
groups, are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in agriculture, mining, and domestic work in eastern DRC. Indigenous and foreign armed militia groups, notably, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), Patriotes Résistants Congolais (PARECO), various local militia (
Mai-Mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...
), the
Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo The Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (french: Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, known by the acronym APCLS) is an armed militia group which operates in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Cong ...
(APCLS), and the
Lord's Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...
(LRA), continued to abduct and forcibly recruit Congolese men, women, and children to serve as laborers, porters, domestics, combatants, and in sexual servitude. In 2009, the LRA continued operations in areas in and near the DRC's
Orientale Province Orientale Province ( French: ''Province orientale'', "Eastern province") is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary ...
, violently abducting more than 1,700 Congolese citizens, including children. Some of these abductees were later taken to
southern Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Con ...
or the
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
. Likewise, abducted Sudanese and Central African citizens experienced conditions of forced labor and sexual servitude at the hands of the LRA after being forcibly taken to the DRC. In 2009, the FARDC resumed recruitment, at times through force, of children for use as combatants, escorts, and
porters Porters may refer to: * Porters, Virginia, an unincorporated community in Virginia, United States * Porters, Wisconsin, an unincorporated community in Wisconsin, United States * Porters Ski Area, a ski resort in New Zealand * ''Porters'' (TV ser ...
, a practice which observers believed to have ended by 2008. From November 2008 to October 2009, 623 confirmed cases of unlawful child soldier recruitment were attributed to the FARDC, 75 percent of which were attributable to ex-CNDP (National Congress for the Defense of the People, a former Congolese rebel group) elements absorbed into the FARDC in 2009. In April 2009, for example, 100 children, ages 13 to 15, were recruited by the FARDC along the
Bunyakiri Bunyakiri is a town in Kalehe Territory, South Kivu South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was ...
-Hombo axis. An unspecified number of children recruited by the CNDP during past reporting periods remain within integrated FARDC units. In addition, FARDC elements pressed hundreds of civilians, including children, into forced labor to carry ammunition, supplies, and looted goods, to fetch water and firewood, to serve as guides, or to construct military facilities and temporary huts. Those who resisted were sometimes killed. Others died under the weight of their heavy loads. Elements of the national army perpetrated severe human trafficking abuses in 2010, including forcibly recruiting hundreds of children and using local populations to perform forced labor. Some army commanders blocked efforts to remove children from their units. Furthermore, a number of FARDC commanders accused of child soldiering and forced labor abuses in previous reporting periods remained in leadership positions within the army and were not investigated, disciplined in any way, or brought to trial. Therefore, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is placed on Tier 3. The government continued to lack sufficient financial, technical, and human resources to effectively address trafficking crimes and provide basic levels of security and social services in most parts of the country. The military lacked the capacity to demobilize armed groups or adequately prevent the trafficking violations committed by members of its own forces. The country's criminal and military justice systems, including the police, courts, and prisons were practically nonexistent; there were few functioning courts or secure prisons in the country. Some advances, however, were noted during the reporting period in demobilizing children from fighting factions, including from the national army, and in sensitizing military officials about the illegality of committing forced labor abuses."Democratic Republic of the Congo"
''Trafficking in Persons Report 2010''
U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...
(June 14, 2010).
U.S. State Department's
Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) is an agency within the United States Department of State charged with investigating and creating programs to prevent human trafficking both within the United States and internation ...
placed the country in "Tier 3" in 2017.


History

Between 1996 and 2003, the
Rwandan Patriotic Front The Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF–Inkotanyi, french: Front patriotique rwandais, FPR) is the ruling political party in Rwanda. Led by President Paul Kagame, the party has governed the country since its armed wing defeated government forces, winn ...
/Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPF/RPA) entered the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
to kill
Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the prin ...
refugees and anti-
Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic grou ...
s who had fled to the DRC to escape the
Rwandan Genocide The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
. RPF/RPA was led by General
Paul Kagame Paul Kagame (; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who is the 4th and current president of Rwanda since 2000. He previously served as a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Uganda-based rebel ...
, who ended the genocide of Tutsis in
Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
. After allying with the
Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFLC; french: Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre; AFDL) was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgrun ...
(AFDL), Kagame was given reason for “entree into the DRC for the sole reason of going after Hutu refugees.” The Tutsi-led armies killed innocent citizens, including women, children, and the elderly. In the
First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...
, the conflict that resulted from this invasion,
Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinati ...
, leader of the AFDL and opponent to
President Mobutu Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...
, took power in May 1997. He subsequently exiled Mobutu from the DRC. The desired elimination of Hutus by Kabila was unsuccessful and disliked by Rwanda, which led to the Second Congo War. In 1998, a group of African powers, headed by Rwanda, sought to remove Kabila from power. His assassination in office led to the rise of
Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...
, his son. The war ended with the
Pretoria Accord The Pretoria Accord was a July 2002 agreement made between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in an attempt to bring about an end to the Second Congo War. Rwanda agreed to the withdrawal of the estimated 20,000 Rwandan troops ...
s in 2002, signed between the DRC and Rwanda. Since the beginning of the wars, the country has seen numerous
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
violations, as well as
human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. In 2011, the United Nations Human Development Index marked the DRC as 187 out of the 187 countries used for calculation.


Gender-Based Violence

From 1996 to 2013, more than 200,000 victims, specifically women and children, were the target of gender - based, sexual violence. More than 8,000 cases of assault from women or girls were reported between January and September of 2008. According to a 2011 report, there is a possibility of over 2 million sexual violence victims across the DRC.
Gender-based violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence includes any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification. Types of gender-related violence include: * Violence against women (sometimes referred to simply a ...
is used as a method of power during times of conflict. Conflict and gender-based violence symbiotically assist in the “destabilization of region and its people.” The
United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
states that human trafficking in the DRC predominantly occurs through the
forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" ap ...
of women and children,
child labor Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
in mines, and child soldiers. Reliance on women as providers of survival materials, like
water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...
, kindling, and
food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
, makes them more susceptible to abduction. In the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the prominent form of human trafficking is “conflict-based sexual slavery of women and girls. Information collected by the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) from the Democratic Republic of the Congo from January 2010 to December 2013 shows “3,635 incidences of sexual violence (rape and gang rape) by armed groups and state agents.” Within those cases, 73% of those victims were women, 25% were girls, and 2% were men. Additionally, almost 50% of the actions were committed by Congolese state agents, and 35.2% of acts within that category committed by FARDC. The
United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies ...
(UNFPA) conducted a study that showed that 39% of sexual, gender-based violence in the provinces of
North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the so ...
,
South Kivu South Kivu (''Jimbo la Kivu Kusini'' in Swahili), (french: Sud-Kivu) is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Bukavu. History South Kivu Province was created from Sud-Kivu District in 1989, when the exis ...
, Orientale, Katanga and
Maniema Maniema is one of 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Kindu. Toponymy Henry Morton Stanley explored the area, calling it Manyema.Stanley, H.M., 1899, Through the Dark Continent, London: G. Newnes, Vol. One , ...
, was related to
armed conflict War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
and committed by armed people. A survey that was taken from the North Kivu province "showed that 22% of women and 10% of men were victims of sexual violence within the conflict."
Sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...
has also occurred between different ethnic communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the
Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...
province, there has been violence between the militias of the
Twa Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...
and the
Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire * Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...
. Violence and conflict has moved to the Kasaï province, the
Kasaï-central Kasaï-Central is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Central and Kasaï provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Kasaï-Occidental province. Kasa ...
province, and the
Kasaï-Oriental Kasaï-Oriental (French for "East Kasai") is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami, and Sankuru provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the form ...
province. The anti-government militia Kamuina Nsapu and the pro-government militia Bana Mura’s targeting of civilians has led to increased sexual violence. Examples of actions committed include “victims being raped in front of relatives, a pregnant woman having her fetus ripped out and at least one victim being forced to perform sex acts on a family member before being executed.” In 2017, the
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...
(MONUSCO) confirmed 804 cases of sexual violence (507 women, 265 girls, 30 men, and 2 boys). Of those cases, 72% were found to be a result of non-state armed groups. These groups include the “Twa militia and Tanganyika and the Force de resistance patriotique de l’Ituri (FRPI) operating in Irumu territory in
Ituri Ituri is one of the 21 new provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the dismemberment of the former Orientale province. Ituri wa ...
.” On May 1, 2015, an attack on Kikamba in South Kivu led to the rape of 100 women. In 2017, three cases of sexual violence were resolved within the courts. A FARDC colonel was convicted for “command responsibility for rape as a war crime” in the village of Musenyi. A commander in the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda was convicted for utilizing sexual violence as a war crime in Nzovu. A member of parliament was convicted, along with his militia, for the abduction and rape of 39 children on the grounds of a crime against humanity.


Trafficking of Children

A form of trafficking that also occurs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is child labor in Rwandan-held mines. In the Kivu and Katanga Provinces, mining serves as the main source of production. A 2010 report revealed that, of the 742 people working in or near the mines, 40% of those people were
slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. Within that percentage, some of the slaves were as young as five years old. Additionally, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) “executed unarmed children suspected of belonging to the Kamuina Nsapu armed group and supported and collaborated with various proxy militias the recruited and used children.” Sexual violence is also prevalent within the practice of trafficking children. In 2017, there was an increase in the number of occurrences of sexual violence from FARDC and the Congolese National Police, with many of the victims being children. 41% of the actions committed by members of FARDC and 42% of those committed by Congolese National Police included acts upon children.


Prosecution

The government made little progress in investigating or prosecuting suspected trafficking offenders during the reporting period. The government's judicial
writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...
did not cover many areas of the country where human trafficking occurs, and it remained hamstrung by a critical shortage of magistrates, clerks, and lawyers. Corrupt officials allegedly
embezzled Embezzlement is a crime that consists of withholding assets for the purpose of conversion of such assets, by one or more persons to whom the assets were entrusted, either to be held or to be used for specific purposes. Embezzlement is a type ...
meager financial resources from government agencies responsible for combating human trafficking, further disabling the government from pursuing training, capacity building, or victim assistance. In February and March 2010, the government recruited 2,000 new magistrates, who will be appointed and receive training during the upcoming reporting period. Existing laws do not prohibit all forms of labor trafficking. However, the July 2006 sexual violence statute, Law 6/018, specifically prohibits sexual slavery, sex trafficking, child and forced prostitution, and pimping, prescribing penalties for these offenses of 10 to 20 years' imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
. The Child Protection Code (Law 09/001) which criminalizes and prescribes penalties of five to 20 years' imprisonment for child slavery and trafficking,
child commercial sexual exploitation Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a commercial transaction that involves the sexual exploitation of a child, or person under the age of consent. CSEC involves a range of abuses, including but not limited to: the prostitution ...
, and the enlistment of children into the armed forces – was published in May 2009. However, it remains unimplemented and without the necessary budget. During the reporting period, child protection police in
Bukavu Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu pr ...
arrested a Congolese woman for allegedly tricking a 13-year-old Congolese girl into accompanying her to
Burundi Burundi (, ), officially the Republic of Burundi ( rn, Repuburika y’Uburundi ; Swahili language, Swahili: ''Jamuhuri ya Burundi''; French language, French: ''République du Burundi'' ), is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley at the ...
, where she intended to force the girl into prostitution; police transmitted her dossier to the Bukavu court for prosecution in February 2010. The status of the March 2009 case involving the arrest of a Bukavu nightclub owner for allegedly prostituting 10 girls and seven boys in his facility is unknown; the nightclub has reopened. In June 2009, a military tribunal in
Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...
convicted five Mai-Mai members of, among other things,
crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
; these defendants were also initially charged with, but not convicted of, perpetrating acts of forced labor against local populations. Bedi Mubuli Engangela (a.k.a. Colonel 106), a former Mai-Mai commander suspected of
insurrection Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...
and war crimes, including the conscription of children, appeared before a military tribunal in early 2010 and remains in detention at Malaka Prison in
Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...
; the court awaits the conclusion of the investigation before setting a trial date. Unlike in previous reporting periods, the government neither brought charges against nor prosecuted any individual suspected of conscripting or using child soldiers. In November 2009, the UN Group of Experts on the DRC published the names of 21 current FARDC commanders alleged to have committed human rights abuses. 13 are implicated in the unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers and three are alleged to have obtained or maintained the forced labor of local populations. Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Pierre Biyoyo, formerly of the Mudundu-40 armed group and the first person convicted by Congolese courts of conscripting children, has not been re-apprehended since his escape from prison in June 2006 and is currently serving as the Commander of FARDC's Sector 3 of the Amani Leo campaign in
Walungu Walungu is a territory of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo It was the site of a plane crash on May 25, 2005 when a chartered Maniema Union Antonov An-28 aircraft, owned by Victoria Air, crashed into a mountain near Walungu, about 3 ...
, South Kivu. "Captain Gaston", an armed group commander allegedly responsible for the mid-2006 murder of an NGO child protection advocate, remained at large in Kitshanga, North Kivu, during the reporting period. His January 2007 arrest warrant has not been executed and, after being promoted by the FARDC to the rank of Major, he is leading a FARDC battalion between Ngungu and Karuba.


Protection

The government assisted in the identification and
demobilization Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and militar ...
of child soldiers during the reporting period, but offered minimal protection to other types of trafficking victims; NGOs provided nearly all of the shelter, legal, medical, and psychological services available to trafficking victims. The government lacked procedures for proactively identifying victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups or referring victims to protective services. Under the National Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Plan, all ex-combatants, including child soldiers, pass through a common process during which they disarm and receive information about military and civilian reintegration options. During this process, the National Demobilization Agency (UEPN-DDR), in cooperation with the UN Mission to the DRC (MONUC), separated and transported any identified children to NGO-run centers for temporary housing and vocational training. 2,816 children were demobilized from armed groups, including the FARDC, through this process in 2009. With the assistance of FARDC commanders, a local NGO demobilized 119 children from FARDC units in South Kivu during the first quarter of 2010. While some of these child soldiers were part of FARDC forces that were fighting in North Kivu in 2008, most of the children originated from former armed groups that had integrated into the FARDC. While the FARDC high command was generally supportive of MONUC's efforts to remove children from its forces during the reporting period, it lacked sufficient command and control to compel many FARDC commanders to comply with standing orders to release their child soldiers, or to prevent ground troops from recruiting additional children or subjecting local populations to forced labor. Certain FARDC commanders actively blocked efforts by MONUC to separate children from their ranks and some FARDC elements continued to harass, arrest, and physically mistreat children formerly associated with armed groups, including potential trafficking victims. In March 2010, a local NGO trained over 200 FARDC officers on the rights and protection of children in South Kivu; they also educated police, local authorities, and local youth throughout the province on child rights and international and national legislation related to trafficking between January and April 2010. Although the national government did not address forced labor in the mining sector, provincial Ministries of Education in Orientale, Kasai Oriental, and Katanga coordinated with NGOs to reintegrate children working in mines into the formal education system. Katanga's provincial Ministry of Interior continued to provide funding for the Kasapa residential "welcome center" in
Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: ( French), (Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katanga ...
to provide street children, including trafficking victims, with protective services and educational programming. It is unknown whether this center provided protective services to trafficking victims in 2009. Government officials recognized the growing problem of child prostitution in the DRC, though authorities have yet to take concrete action against it. The government did not show evidence of encouraging victims to assist in investigations against their traffickers. It offered no legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. There are, however, few foreign trafficking victims within the DRC, and the government has consistently allowed for the safe repatriation of foreign child soldiers in cooperation with MONUC.


Prevention

While the government initiated awareness-raising efforts against human rights abuses, including forced labor, committed by its own forces during the year, it made no significant efforts to prevent other forms of human trafficking. The Ministry of Human Rights drafted, but did not disseminate, a document on the country's current trafficking situation, including challenges to addressing it and recommendations for action. In July 2009, the FARDC's
Goma Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the weste ...
headquarters issued a press statement reminding all soldiers and commanders of their duty to protect the civilian population and noted "zero tolerance" for human rights abuses, specifically citing the crime of forced labor, among others. The notice warned commanders that they would be held accountable for actions committed by troops under their command; this notice was not enforced with concrete law enforcement action. In April 2010, Major Andoga, of the 1331th Battalion, conducted a sensitization campaign on human rights violations and the military's zero tolerance policy in both Kinshasa and the eastern provinces. Although the National Ministry of Labor is responsible for investigating forced child labor and it employs 150 inspectors nationwide, the ministry did not conduct any forced child labor investigations in 2009. Inspectors often lacked means of transport or resources to carry out their work. The provincial Ministry of Labor in Katanga participated in a tripartite dialogue with unions and mining companies on the effect of the financial crisis on youth labor; the dialogue achieved no meaningful outcomes. Newly established provisional Worst Forms of Child Labor Committees in Katanga, Kasai Orientale, and Orientale (
Ituri District Ituri District (french: District de l'Ituri, nl, District Iruri), later Kibali-Ituri District, was a district of the Belgian Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It roughly corresponded in area to the present Ituri Province. Belgian Co ...
) provinces – composed of staff from various provincial ministries and community members – developed annual work plans for 2010. With
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
funding, the members of the Katanga committee researched, drafted, and printed a brochure on its mandate that was distributed to local authorities, religious and traditional leaders, and community organizations as part of an awareness-raising campaign. The Kasai Orientale committee met with the governor and provincial assembly, after which the governor committed the provincial government to fighting child labor and establishing secondary schools. The government did not take any known measures during the reporting period to reduce the demand for forced labor or commercial sex acts.


See also

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Sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the east of the country in particular, has been described as the "Rape Capital of the World," and the prevalence and intensity of all forms of sexual violence has been described as the worst in the world. ...
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Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Prostitution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is legal but related activities are prohibited. The Congolese penal code punishes pimping, running a bawdy house or brothel, the exploitation of debauchery or prostitution, as well as forced pros ...
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Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Women in the Democratic Republic of t ...
General: *
Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is investigated by the DRC's police. Crime by type Murder The Democratic Republic of the Congo had a murder rate of 13.55 per 100,000 population in 2015. Corruption Sexual violence T ...
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Human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo In all areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the human rights record remained considerably poor, and numerous serious abuses were committed. Unlawful killings, disappearances, torture, rape, and arbitrary arrest and detention by securit ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Trafficking In The Democratic Republic Of The Congo Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Human rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Crime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Women's rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo