Congo Democratic Republic of the Issues - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

heads of the Great Lakes states and UN pledged in 2004 to abate tribal, rebel, and militia fighting in the region, including northeast Congo, where the UN Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), organized in 1999, maintains over 16,500 uniformed peacekeepers

Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Republic of the Congo: the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River is indefinite except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area

Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Uganda: Uganda rejects the DRC claim to Margherita Peak in the Rwenzori mountains and considers it a boundary divide; there is tension and violence on Lake Albert over prospective oil reserves at the mouth of the Semliki River

Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Zambia: boundary commission continues discussions over Congolese-administered triangle of land on the right bank of the Lunkinda River claimed by Zambia near the DRC village of Pweto

Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC)-Angola: DRC accuses Angola of shifting monuments

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 212,120 (Central African Republic), 209,798 (Rwanda), 56,653 (South Sudan) (refugees and asylum seekers), 41,836 (Burundi) (2022)

IDPs: 5.53 million (fighting between government forces and rebels since mid-1990s; conflict in Kasai region since 2016) (2022)

Trafficking in persons

current situation: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congolese abroad; most trafficking is internal and involves the forced labor of men, women, and children in artisanal mining, agriculture, domestic servitude, sex trafficking, or child recruitment by armed groups; some traffickers are family members or others who promise victims or victims’ families educational or job opportunities and instead force victims to work as domestic servants, street vendors, gang members, or in commercial sex; some Congolese women and girls who migrate to other countries in Africa or the Middle East are exploited in sex trafficking or forced labor in agriculture, diamond mines, or domestic service; they may be fraudulently recruited by traffickers with false promises of jobs or education

tier rating:

Tier 2 Watch List — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the DRC was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List because of several accomplishments; the government drafted and launched its first national anti-trafficking action plan; authorities increased law enforcement efforts, including investigating and prosecuting more trafficking crimes; a number of traffickers were convicted, including a high-ranking army officer and the leader of an armed group; however, authorities continued to lack standard operating procedures for identifying victims and referring them to care; there were credible allegations that the army abducted women and girls for sexual slavery and recruited and used child soldiers (2020)

Illicit drugs

country of origin of methamphetamine destined for overseas markets

NOTE: The information regarding Congo Democratic Republic of the on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Congo Democratic Republic of the 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Congo Democratic Republic of the 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.