The Country of Return Information Project functions as a network of NGOs for the collection and transfer of specific information on reintegration possibilities for potential returnees and their counsellor. All questions you may have on reintegration possibilities and on which you don’t find the answer in this country sheet can be directed to the helpdesk: “Country of Return Information and Vulnerable Groups”. E-mail: [email protected] COUNTRY SHEET DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO (DRC) The Country of Return Information Project and Vulnerable Groups runs until June 2009 and is funded by the European Community. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that JUNE 09 may be made of the information provided. Sole responsibility for its content lies with the author. 1 DISCLAIMER This Country Sheet is for informational purposes only and no rights can be derived from its contents. The CRI-partners will do their utmost to include accurate, corroborated, transparent and up-to-date information, but make no warrants as to its accuracy or completeness. Consequently, the CRI-partners do not accept responsibility in any way for the information in this Country Sheet and accept no liability for damages of any kind arising from using the information in this Country Sheet. The information in this Country Sheet has been retrieved in collaboration with local partners. This Country Sheet contains links to websites that are created and maintained by other organizations. The CRI-project does not take any responsibility for the content of these websites. The CRI-partners are the partners who participate fully in the CRI-project: Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, Asociación Comissión Católica Española de Migración, Caritas International Belgium, Consiglio Italiano Per I Rifugiati, Coordination et Initiatives pour les Réfugiés et Étrangers and Dansk Flygtningehjælp. The Country Sheet Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a product of the CRI project. CRI-country sheets are prepared mainly on the basis of publicly available information, completed with data gathered by local partners in the specific countries, and will be updated periodically. Our local partners in RDC are: ¬ Regional Programme of Development Training and Exchanges (Prefed) ; a non-governmental organization for development based in Kinshasa, with a radius of action in all the country ; ¬ La Voix des Sans-Voix pour les Droits de l’Homme (VSV) ; a non-governmental organization for human rights based in Kinshasa with a radius of action in all the country ; 2 TABLE OF CONTENT 1. Access to territory (from country of asylum to return area) 5 1.1. Documentation 5 1.1.1. Travel documents needed for returnees 5 1.1.2. Documents needed in the country of return 6 1.1.3. How to obtain necessary documents (conditions, processing time) 6 1.1.4. Price of necessary documents 7 1.2. Travel to country of origin 7 1.2.1. By air 7 1.2.2. By land 9 1.2.3. By sea 11 1.3. Entry procedure 11 1.3.1. By air 11 1.3.2. By land and by sea 11 1.4. Impacts of former acts and statuses upon entry 11 1.4.1. Impacts of former refugee or subsidiary protection status 11 1.4.2. Impacts of unsuccessful asylum claim 12 1.4.3. Impacts of former illegal exit from country of origin 12 1.4.4. Impacts of crime committed outside the country of origin 12 1.5. Customs regulation 12 1.6. Access to return area 13 1.6.1. Limitations on internal travel 13 1.6.2. Territories impossible or dangerous to approach 14 1.6.3. Means of internal travel 14 2. Physical security (in return area) 15 2.1. Ongoing armed conflicts 15 2.2. Regions with high insecurity risks 15 2.3. Crime 17 2.3.1. Regions with extremely high crime rate 18 2.3.2. Risk of becoming a victim of human trafficking or forced prostitution 20 2.3.3. Risks men face 20 2.3.4. Effectiveness of protection 21 3. Social security and reintegration 22 3.1. Regions with no reintegration and return opportunities 22 3.2. Housing, accommodation 28 3.2.1. Property restitution and/or compensation 29 3.2.2. Housing programs by return area 31 3.2.3. Opportunities of building a house 32 3.2.4. Opportunities of buying real estate 33 3.2.5. Opportunities of renting a house or apartment 36 3.2.6. Other middle term accommodation possibilities 38 3.2.7. Temporary shelters available until being able to ensure long-term accommodation 38 3.3. Livelihood – basic « survival » 38 3.3.1. Employment 38 3.3.2. Contact information relevant to the issue of recognition of degrees obtained 3 elsewhere 42 3.3.3. Education and retraining programmes 43 3.3.4. Starting a new business 44 3.3.5. Social security 47 3.3.6. Charity organisations with a general scope (services, contact information) 51 3.3.7. Useful data to calculate the cost of living (price of petrol, basic food, etc.) 51 3.4. Health 52 3.4.1 General health situation by regions (epidemics, etc.) 52 3.4.2. Drinking water and sanitation in regions 53 3.4.3. Health care system (including psychological care) 57 3.5. Persons with physical disabilities 61 3.6. Persons with mental disabilities or disorders (including traumatized people) 62 4. Specific cases 66 4.1 Women 66 4.1.1. Specific risks for women 67 4.1.2. Specific support for vulnerable women 67 4.2. Children 71 4.2.1. Children in general 71 4.2.2. Orphans 75 4.3. Elderly people 76 4.3.1. Pension system in general 76 4.3.2. Availability of accommodation and care for elderly persons 77 4.3.3. Housing options and care for the elderly (state, NGO) 78 ABBREVIATIONS 79 4 1. Access to territory (from country of asylum to return area) 1 1.1. Documentation The following information has been taken from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, from the Directorate General of Migrations (DGM) and the Ministry of the interior. These institutions are qualified to either to give or to control travel documents. 1.1.1. Travel documents needed for returnees 2 ¬ Entry permission ¬ Passport ¬ Passport substitute (abolished in some countries such as France) ¬ Polling card or national identity card ¬ Consular registration card ¬ Vaccination certificate ¬ Full residence permit or residence card or anther identity card from the country of asylum delivered by the Ministry of Interior or the relevant departments of the country of asylum. ¬ Certification of final return ¬ A list for the Congolese returning in groups 1.1.1.1. Refugees protected by UNHCR The required document, delivered by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is entitled “UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation Form (VRF)”. The repatriation candidate receives it in the host country. The UNHCR of the asylum country informs UNHCR Kinshasa3 and the latter contacts the Ministry of Interior through the National Commission on Refugees (NCR). This Commission takes care of the tracing before the repatriation. It consists of the identification of family bonds through questioning. To put in a nutshell, it is the verification of the hosting address based on the information provided by the candidate to voluntary return. The NCR works closely with the Directorate General of Migration (DGM) and the National Information Agency (ANR). Generally, there are fewer problems for the 1 The Voix des Sans-Voix pour les Droits de l’Homme (VSV) organized many missions –between November and December 2006- with Congolese officials willing to provide information relative to return concerns. These elements are used in this document. 2 Interview of VSV with Mr Noël Kikwa, legal advisor CNR (ministry of the Interior), National Commission for Refugees (CNR), Monday 27 November 2006, 216 Kalembelembe avenue, close to the city office of Lingwala, phone: (243)998114936 3 The HCR Kinshasa is located : OUA avenue n° 6729, Ngaliema municipality Kinshasa/DRC 5 candidates returning to Kinshasa. Problems can occur if there are wrong address information or if changes have taken places without traces of the new address. 1.1.2. Documents needed in the country of return (e.g. residence permit, obligatory ID) Same documents as in 1.1.1. 1.1.3. How to obtain necessary documents (conditions, processing time) In the asylum country ¬ Passport, entry permission, passport substitute, consular registration card and the certification of final return are delivered by the Embassy, the Consulate or at the cultural services of the DRC. Among the conditions for acquiring these documents there are: -Proof of Congolese identity -Fill in a form explaining the nature of the documents applied for. -Presentation of the residence permit from the host country (in the case of final return) and the reasons for returning addressed by regular mail to the DRC Embassy. -Justification by which the returnee assures he can really come back (prove he has means to make the trip) -For students, the papers certifying the completion of their studies are necessary. ¬ Residence card delivered by the asylum country In the country of return (in DRC)4 ¬ Polling card: IEC (Independent Electoral Commission). This document was delivered during the registration and the identification for the 2006 elections and is considered as a temporary identity card. ¬ Certification of loss: document delivered by the services dependent of Ministry of Interior (notably in the local office). Today, the site for information relative to the obtaining of an identity card is the site of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). This identity card is the polling card also considered as a temporary identity card5. Other documents are necessary to obtain a passport: -Extract of criminal record.