This page was last edited on 25 September 2020, at 21:55. The DRC has Africa’s largest rainforest, which is under the threat of deforestation through mining operations, agriculture, infrastructure and wood fuel. After gaining their independence from Belgium in the 1960s, new authors, such as Guy Menga and Jean Pierre Makouta-Mboukou, were inspired by older authors, such as Jean Malonga from Congo-Brazzaville, and used writing to bring attention to new issues affecting the Congo. [216] One of the primary defences for species and habitat protection in the DRC is its system of national parks and reserves, which gives protected status to nearly 12% of the DRC's rainforest. COD Alpha-3. [201], French is the official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lingala was the official language of the colonial army, the "Force Publique", under Belgian colonial rule, and remains to this day the predominant language in the armed forces. The missing funds date from 2010 and tax bodies should have paid them into the central bank. Three-fifths of the Congo basin lies in the DR Congo. ", Al Jazeera News (9 March 2018). The deal was ratified by presidential decree. [162] The DRC is a member of three electrical power pools. Registered in the Isle of Man, reached a market capitalization of $1.5 billion by 2007. Comparative figures for Zambia and Botswana are 721 km (448 mi) and 3,427 km (2,129 mi) respectively.[158]. Poaching for the exotic animal or ivory trade has been a persistent problem for species loss in the DRC, it has been made a necessity for some trying to escape poverty and a means of continuing the civil war for some rebel groups including the Lords Resistance army (LRA). [26], Leopold had designs on what was to become the Congo as a colony. On 5 September 1960, Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba from office. Some say it's a strategy to keep the president in power", "Katanda Bone Harpoon Point | The Smithsonian Institution's Human Origins Program", The Cambridge history of Africa: From the earliest times to c. 500 BC, "Patrice Lumumba: 50 Years Later, Remembering the U.S.-Backed Assassination of Congo's First Democratically Elected Leader", "Belgians accused of war crimes in killing of Congo leader Lumumba", "The 2006 Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Congo", "Congo-Zaire's 1996–97 civil war in the context of evolving patterns of military conflict in Africa in the era of independence", "ICC Convicts Bemba of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity", "DR Congo government, CNDP rebels 'sign peace deal, "Congo-Kinshasa: General Ntaganda and Loyalists Desert Armed Forces", "Rwanda defence chief leads DR Congo rebels, UN report says", "Rwanda military aiding DRC mutiny, report says", "Tanzanian troops arrive in eastern DR Congo as part of UN intervention brigade", "Katanga: Fighting for DR Congo's cash cow to secede", "A New Study Finds Death Toll in Congo War too High", "Congo's Death Rate Unchanged Since War Ended", "1,900 killed, over 3,300 abducted in DR Congo's eastern Kivu provinces", "The Democratic Republic of the Congo: Hurdle After Hurdle", "No elections in DR Congo before April 2018: minister", "DR Congo: Rebels Were Recruited to Crush Protests", "Fear and trauma haunt Congolese massacre survivors", "Surprise Winner Of Congolese Election Is An Opposition Leader", "REFILE-Opposition leader Felix Tshisekedi sworn in as Congo president", "DR Congo presidential election: Outcry as Tshisekedi named winner", DR Congo election board delays vote in three cities, DR Congo: Nearly 900 killed in ethnic clashes last month, UN says, Nearly 900 killed in ethnic violence in Congo in mid-December -UN, "DR Congo announces new govt 7 months after president inaugurated", https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50506743, "Nyamuragira Volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo | John Seach", The National Assembly adopts the laws regarding the limits of the provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "Lambertini, A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics, excerpt", "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species", "Elephant Poaching on Rise in Resistance Army Stronghold in Democratic Republic of Congo", "Devastating Decline of Forest Elephants in Central Africa", "Mountain gorilla population rises above 1,000", "Interim Constitution - Democratic Republic of the Congo (2003-2006)", "Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 2005 (rev. In 1997 Mobutu fled and Kabila marched into Kinshasa, named himself president, and reverted the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Appel inconnu ou manqué de l'République démocratique du Congo? According to the World Wildlife Fund, these unique habitats and species make the DRC one of the most valuable yet vulnerable areas in the world for biodiversity, wildlife protection and rainforest sustainability.[214]. [104], Mobutu allegedly stole as much as US$4–5 billion while in office. The church owns and manages an extensive network of hospitals, schools, and clinics, as well as many diocesan economic enterprises, including farms, ranches, stores, and artisans' shops. In April 2013, anti-corruption NGOs revealed that Congolese tax authorities had failed to account for $88 million from the mining sector, despite booming production and positive industrial performance. "Gender Inequality and Social Institutions in the D.R.Congo", "Female Genital Cutting Rates | African Women's Health Center at BWH", "DRC: 'Civilians bearing brunt of South Kivu violence, "DRC: 'Pendulum displacement' in the Kivus", "Rights Groups, DRC Lawmakers Call for 'Filimbi' Activists' Release", "Is Emmanuel Weyi "the change" the DRC needs? The lava poisoned the water of Lake Kivu, killing fish. [202] In the capital city Kinshasa, 67% of the population could read and write French, and 68.5% could speak and understand it.[203]. [41] An investigation by the Belgium's Parliament in 2001 found Belgium "morally responsible" for the murder of Lumumba, and the country has since officially apologised for its role in his death.[42]. Patrice Lumumba thus became the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then known as the Republic of the Congo, on 24 June 1960. Belgian Congolese forces under the command of Belgian officers notably fought against the Italian colonial army in Ethiopia in Asosa, Bortaï[33] and Saïo under Major-General Auguste-Eduard Gilliaert during the second East African Campaign. Several Congolese players and players of Congolese descent—including strikers Romelu Lukaku, Yannick Bolasie, and Dieumerci Mbokani—have gained prominence in world football. The 30% who live in urban areas have been the most open to Western influences. The transition from the Congo Free State to the Belgian Congo was a break but it also featured a large degree of continuity. ", "Chapter XXVI: Disarmament – No. The eastern regions of the precolonial Congo were heavily disrupted by constant slave raiding, mainly from Arab–Swahili slave traders such as the infamous Tippu Tip, who was well known to Stanley. The Democratic Republic of Congo signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In the 1870s, just before the onset of the Scramble for Africa, European exploration of the Congo Basin was carried out, first led by Henry Morton Stanley under the sponsorship of Leopold II of Belgium. Garamba National Park (1980), [82] However, there were widespread suspicions that the results were rigged and that a deal had been made between Tshisekedi and Kabila. President Laurent-Désiré Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards on 16 January 2001 and was succeeded eight days later by his son Joseph, under whom human rights in the country remained poor and included frequent abuses such as forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary imprisonment and restrictions on civil liberties according to NGOs. The country is currently divided into the city-province of Kinshasa and 25 other provinces. He traveled frequently across the continent while the government became more vocal about African issues, particularly those relating to the southern region. [226] the study reveals the only way to solve this is to find other food sources to feed people in the Congo Basin as bush meat is their only means of eating. Species loss has been cited as a problem in the DRC, brought about or exacerbated by reasons that include deforestation for mining, wood fuel, infrastructure or agriculture, war, illegal poaching and increased consumption of bush meat due to overpopulation and lack of food security. About 600,000 Pygmies are the aboriginal people of the DR Congo. Only two planes left the local airport because of the possibility of the explosion of stored petrol. The DRC has more navigable rivers and moves more passengers and goods by boat and ferry than any other country in Africa, but air transport remains the only effective means of moving goods and people between many places within the country, especially in rural areas. to be again backed by Rwanda as a way to tackle the Hutu group, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Matadi to Lubumbashi, 2,700 km (1,700 mi) by road). [217] Five of these parks and reserves are UNESCO world heritage sites, including Africa’s first national park Virunga national park. [34], In May 1960, a growing nationalist movement, the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC) led by Patrice Lumumba, won the parliamentary elections. [174] According to UNICEF, 43.5% of children under five are stunted. Besides the FARDC, the largest peacekeeping mission of the United Nations, known as MONUSCO, is also present in the country with about 18,000 peacekeepers. [189] The proportion of followers of Islam is variously estimated from 1%[190] to 12% [191], There are about 35 million Catholics in the country[2] with six archdioceses and 41 dioceses. Violence against women seems to be perceived by large sectors of society to be normal. Local authorities and elements within the security forces were suspected of lending them support. [125], In June 2010, Oxfam reported a dramatic increase in the number of rapes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and researchers from Harvard discovered that rapes committed by civilians had increased seventeenfold. [185], Figures for Congolese nationals abroad vary greatly depending on the source, from three to six million. A dense tropical rainforest in the DRC's central river basin and eastern highlands is bordered on the east by the Albertine Rift (the western branch of Africa's Great Rift System). Together, Mongo, Luba and Kongo peoples (Bantu) and Mangbetu-Azande peoples constitute around 45% of the population. All five sites are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage in Danger. [citation needed], The Rift valley has exposed an enormous amount of mineral wealth throughout the south and east of the Congo, making it accessible to mining. Other parties that emerged included the Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA) led by Antoine Gizenga, and the Parti National du Peuple (PNP) led by Albert Delvaux and Laurent Mbariko.[35]. The size of Congo, 2,345,408 square kilometres (905,567 sq mi), is slightly greater than the combined areas of Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway. In 1970 the National Spiritual Assembly (national administrative council) was first elected. All air carriers certified by the DRC have been banned from European Union airports by the European Commission, due to inadequate safety standards.[159]. The syncretic sects often merge elements of Christianity with traditional beliefs and rituals and are not recognized by mainstream churches as part of Christianity. [217], One policy being attempted to reduce the deforestation and increase biodiversity in the DRC is the UN-REDD program, which uses emissions trading system so that developed nations can offset their carbon emissions by paying developing nations with rainforest to manage and conserve their forest. [209], Frederick Kambemba Yamusangie writes literature for the between generations of those who grew up in the Congo, during the time when they were colonised, fighting for independence and after. [citation needed] The two rebel movements, along with Rwandan and Ugandan troops, started the Second Congo War by attacking the DRC army in 1998. The Force Publique gained a notable victory when it marched into Tabora in September 1916 under the command of General Charles Tombeur after heavy fighting. Four hundred thousand people were evacuated from the city during the eruption. [citation needed]. The usual term for these children is enfants sorciers (child witches) or enfants dits sorciers (children accused of witchcraft). However, the smaller-scale economic activity from artisanal mining occurs in the informal sector and is not reflected in GDP data. They came to be known as the fourth generation of Congolese music and mostly come from the former well-known band Wenge Musica [fr]. [2], At the time of independence, the country was named the Republic of Congo-Léopoldville to distinguish it from its neighbour the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. The terrain and climate of the Congo Basin present serious barriers to road and rail construction, and the distances are enormous across this vast country. Although some people speak these regional, or trade languages as first languages, most of the population speak them as a second language after their own tribal language. [45] Throughout the late 1960s, Mobutu continued to shuffle his governments and cycle officials in and out of the office to maintain control. Today, Muslims constitute approximately 1% of the Congolese population according to Pew research center. It straddles the Equator, with one-third to the North and two-thirds to the South. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 1994. Zaire established semi-clientelist relationships with several smaller African states, especially Burundi, Chad, and Togo.[47]. The Congo River itself was named by early European sailors after the Kingdom of Kongo and its Bantu inhabitants, the Kongo people, when they encountered them in the 16th century. [229] No other method has reduced species population so dramatically than conflict, when a militia reached the Garamba National Park in 1997, within three months half of the park's elephants, two thirds of the buffalo, and three quarters of its hippos vanished. Virunga National Park (1979), "[103] Mobutu institutionalized corruption to prevent political rivals from challenging his control, leading to an economic collapse in 1996. [citation needed] Taking advantage of the leadership crisis between Kasavubu and Tshombe, Mobutu garnered enough support within the army to launch a coup. "DR Congo: Cursed by its natural wealth". Several international airlines service Kinshasa's international airport and a few also offer international flights to Lubumbashi International Airport. Its findings confirmed Casement's report of abuses, concluding that the population of the Congo had been "reduced by half" during this period. The geologic activity in this area also created the African Great Lakes, three of which lie on the Congo's eastern frontier: Lake Albert (known during the Mobutu era as Lake Mobutu Sese Seko), Lake Kivu (Unknown until late 1712), Lake Edward (known during the Amin era as Lake Idi Amin Dada), and Lake Tanganyika. The last Governor-general of the Congo Free State, Baron Théophile Wahis, remained in office in the Belgian Congo and the majority of Leopold II's administration with him. Women and children are abused sexually and "abused in all possible manners". Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Namibian militaries entered the hostilities on the side of the government. [53] Talks led to a peace accord under which Kabila would share power with former rebels. In 1926 the colonial capital moved from Boma to Léopoldville, some 300 kilometres (190 mi) further upstream into the interior. Four years later the first local administrative council was elected. UN peacekeepers, MONUC, now known as MONUSCO, arrived in April 2001. Destabilisation in the east resulting from the 1994 Rwandan genocide and disenfranchisement among the eastern Banyamulenge (Congolese Tutsi) population led to a 1996 invasion led by Tutsi FPR-ruled Rwanda, which began the First Congo War.[2]. Their propagation was accelerated by the adoption of pastoralism and of Iron Age techniques. Rubber sales made a fortune for Leopold, who built several buildings in Brussels and Ostend to honor himself and his country. [155] Later in 2013, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative suspended the country's candidacy for membership due to insufficient reporting, monitoring and independent audits, but in July 2013 the country improved its accounting and transparency practices to the point where the EITI gave the country full membership. Yamusangie in an interview[210] said he felt the distance in literature and wanted to remedy that he wrote the novel, Full Circle, which is a story of a boy named Emanuel who in the beginning of the book feels a difference in culture among the different groups in the Congo and elsewhere. Also stipulated was that rebels like the RCD-N, RCD-ML, and the Mai-Mai would become part of the new armed forces. He says people believe the situation in the DRC is "stably bad" but in fact, it has become much, much worse. [206] The Belgian Parliament forced Leopold II to set up an independent commission of inquiry. During the Free State, his colonial military unit, the Force Publique, forced the local population to produce rubber. Besides the conflict in North Kivu, violence has gone up in the Kasai region. During the 1970s and 1980s, he was invited to visit the United States on several occasions, meeting with U.S. Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. There are a few rare pieces of literature dated back to before WWI, but it was not until about 1954 that literature written in French made its appearance in the Congo. Opponents within Zaire stepped up demands for reform. Corruption became so common the term "le mal Zairois" or "Zairian Sickness",[48] meaning gross corruption, theft and mismanagement, was coined, reportedly by Mobutu himself. [28], In the Free State, colonists coerced the local population into producing rubber, for which the spread of automobiles and development of rubber tires created a growing international market. Under the new constitution, the legislature remained bicameral; the executive was concomitantly undertaken by a President and the government, led by a Prime Minister, appointed from the party able to secure a majority in the National Assembly. [146] A third of the DRC's diamonds are believed to be smuggled out of the country, making it difficult to quantify diamond production levels. The armed groups are after gold, diamonds, oil, and cobalt to line the pockets of rich men both in the region and internationally. According to the data of the World Food Programme, four in ten people in Congo lack food security and about 15.6 million have been facing hunger crisis. The Democratic Republic of the Congo has been known in the past as, in chronological order, the Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, the Republic of Congo-Léopoldville, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Zaire, before returning to its current name the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [55], In the resulting M23 rebellion, M23 briefly captured the provincial capital of Goma in November 2012. Since the recent rebellions, a good part of the army in the East also uses Swahili where it is prevalent. The river basin (meaning the Congo River and all of its myriad tributaries) occupies nearly the entire country and an area of nearly 1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi). [148] Smuggling of conflict minerals such as coltan and cassiterite, ores of tantalum and tin, respectively, helped to fuel the war in the Eastern Congo. Lumumba had previously appointed Joseph Mobutu chief of staff of the new Congo army, Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC). Cobalt, copper, cadmium, industrial and gem-quality diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, and coal are all found in plentiful supply, especially in the Congo's southeastern Katanga region. An election-result dispute between Kabila and Jean-Pierre Bemba turned into an all-out battle between their supporters in the streets of Kinshasa. There is also considerable migration for commercial activities from other African countries and the rest of the world, but these movements are not well studied. [137][138][139] The Congo has 70% of the world's coltan, a third of its cobalt, more than 30% of its diamond reserves, and a tenth of its copper.[140][141]. Due to the presence of undisciplined and poorly trained ex-rebels, as well as a lack of funding and having spent years fighting against different militias, the FARDC suffers from rampant corruption and inefficiency. [135] The Congolese government started negotiating membership in the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa (OHADA), in 2009. There are already about 836 solar power systems in the DRC, with a total power of 83 kW, located in Équateur (167), Katanga (159), Nord-Kivu (170), the two Kasaï provinces (170), and Bas-Congo (170). As the neighboring French colony of Middle Congo (Moyen Congo) also chose the name "Republic of Congo" upon achieving its independence, the two countries were more commonly known as "Congo-Léopoldville" and "Congo-Brazzaville", after their capital cities. In the centre and east, the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century. The 2006 constitution, also known as the Constitution of the Third Republic, came into effect in February 2006. [226] This is a huge amount compared to the Amazon where bush meat is hunted at only 3% the rate of the Congo. MONUC took control of the city. Congolese nationalist Patrice Lumumba was elected the first Prime Minister, while Joseph Kasa-Vubu became the first President. Some 100 Banunus fled to Moniende island in the Congo River, and another 16,000 to Makotimpoko District in the Republic of Congo. BBC. info) French: République démocratique du Congo), also known as Congo-Kinshasa, Zaire, DR Congo, DRC (the official acronym), the DROC, or simply the Congo, is a country located in Central Africa.It was formerly called Zaire (1971–1997). [61], Additionally, in northern Katanga, the Mai-Mai created by Laurent Kabila slipped out of the control of Kinshasa with Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga's Mai Mai Kata Katanga briefly invading the provincial capital of Lubumbashi in 2013 and 400,000 persons displaced in the province as of 2013[update]. Amidst widespread confusion and chaos, a temporary government was led by technicians (the Collège des commissaires généraux). Though the religion was banned in the 1970s and 1980s, due to misrepresentations of foreign governments, the ban was lifted by the end of the 1980s. [169], In 2012, it was estimated that about 1.1% of adults aged 15–49 were living with HIV/AIDS. Mobutu got one, and we took the other nine. ", sfn error: no target: CITEREFDrumbl2012 (. The Congo is inhabited by several great ape species: the common chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), the bonobo (Pan paniscus), the eastern gorilla (Gorilla beringei), and possibly the western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla). "[51], By 1996, following the Rwandan Civil War and genocide and the ascension of a Tutsi-led government in Rwanda, Rwandan Hutu militia forces (Interahamwe) fled to eastern Zaire and used refugee camps as a base for incursions against Rwanda. It was formerly called Zaire (1971–1997). Ambassade des Pays-Bas au Congo Kinshasa & Congo Brazzaville, Kinshasa. The DRC is the second-largest diamond-producing nation in the world,[144] and artisanal and small-scale miners account for most of its production. The generation and distribution of electricity are controlled by Société nationale d'électricité (SNEL), but only 15% of the country has access to electricity. All of these parks have been put on the World Heritage in Danger List. [229] Although what was known as Africa's World War had ended in 2003 the eastern part of the country still has ongoing skirmishes between rebel groups and government forces. Boss Mining had rented and operated Bredenkamp's half of Mukondo. [citation needed] The Belgian authorities permitted no political activity in the Congo whatsoever,[32] and the Force Publique, a locally-recruited army under Belgian command, put down any attempts at rebellion. New destination countries include South Africa and various points en route to Europe. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most biodiverse African country.[92]. [219] Virunga national park and Salongo National Park, both of which are UNESCO world heritage sites are currently being looked at for mining and oil exploration. Despite such vast mineral wealth, the economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. [197][clarification needed][198] There are charities supporting street children such as the Congo Children Trust. A new election took place in October 2006, which Kabila won, and in December 2006 he was sworn in as President. High, glaciated mountains (Rwenzori Mountains) are found in the extreme eastern region. Kasa-Vubu's death in April 1969 ensured that no person with First Republic credentials could challenge his rule. Data are also lacking on irregular immigrants, however given neighbouring countries' ethnic links to DRC nationals, irregular migration is assumed to be a significant phenomenon. Kabila was assassinated in 2001. The DRC has produced a considerable number of refugees and asylum-seekers located in the region and beyond. [49] International aid, most often in the form of loans, enriched Mobutu while he allowed national infrastructure such as roads to deteriorate to as little as one-quarter of what had existed in 1960. 2011)", "New Study Shows Congo is Run as Violent Kleptocracy", "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor – Democratic Republic of the Congo", "UN expert on violence against women expresses serious concerns following visit to Democratic Republic of Congo", Enquête Démographique et de Santé en République Démocratique du Congo 2013–2014, "Concluding comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Democratic Republic of the Congo", "Violence Against Women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)", "Prevalence of Rape in E. Congo Described as Worst in World". To put this in perspective, the road distance across the country in any direction is more than 2,500 km (1,600 mi) (e.g. Miller, Eric: "The Inability of Peacekeeping to Address the Security Dilemma", 2010. In total, the population of the country reaches 85 million inhabitants. This led to the displacement of the hunter-gatherer groups in the east and southeast. [44] A single-party system was established, and Mobutu declared himself head of state. The people living in the south and southwest were foraging groups, whose technology involved only minimal use of metal technologies. The transitional constitution also established a relatively independent judiciary, headed by a Supreme Court with constitutional interpretation powers.[100]. On 27 November Congolese foreign minister Raymond Tshibanda told the press no elections would be held in 2016, after 20 December, the end of president Kabila's term. It is the second-largest country in Africa by area, after Algeria. The constitutional interpretation prerogative of the Supreme Court is now held by the Constitutional Court. A constitution was approved by voters, and on 30 July 2006 DRC held its first multi-party elections. Immigration to the DRC has decreased steadily over the past two decades, most likely as a result of the armed violence that the country has experienced.
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