Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
| Right | Section | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Freedom of Association | History | According to Article 10 of the 1963 Constitution of the Republic of the Congo, "Freedom of association is guaranteed to all under the conditions established by law. Meetings or groups whose purpose or activity would be illegal or contrary to public order shall be prohibited." 1963 Constitution of the Republic of the Congo: English translation of the French original text of the Constitution of Constitution of the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), December 8, 1963. 87 (2016) Title II: Public Liberties and Liberties of the Human Person: https://heinonline-org.proxygw.wrlc.org/HOL/Page?collection=cow&handle=hein.cow/zzcg0022&id=2&men_tab=srchresults |
| Freedom of Expression | History | The right to freedom of expression in the Republic of the Congo was formally asserted in the Constitution adopted shortly after gaining independence from France on August 15, 1960.
Article 9 of the 1963 constitution states, “No one may be incommodated because of his opinions in so long as their manifestation does not disturb the public order established as law. Free communication of thought and opinion shall be exercised by word and the press subject to respect for the laws and regulations”. Article 19 of the 2001 constitution also provides, “Any citizen has the right to express and to freely diffuse his opinion by words, in writing, by images or all other mean of communication…Censorship is prohibited.” Article 25 of the 2015 guarantees freedom of expression. The article also expressly prohibits government censorship of the free media. References: “Constitution of the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville).” HeinOnline. Accessed June 7, 2024. https://heinonline.org/HOL/Page?handle=hein.cow/zzsn0036&id=4&collection=cow&index= (p.86) “Congo (Republic of the) 2001.” Constitute Project. Accessed June 13, 2024. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Congo_2001.
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| Freedom of Religion | History | The first assertion of freedom of religion was in the 1991 Constitution of the Republic of the Congo under Title II, Article 26. This article articulates freedom of conscience and belief in religious and philosophical ideas and includes the specification that no one should be relieved from fulfilling a civic duty because of religious opinion. The current Constitution of the Republic of the Congo was ratified on September 22, 2015. Articles 15 and grant religious freedom, equality, and protections. The preamble, Articles 1 and 61 declare the Republic of the Congo as a secular state.
Constitution of the Republic of Congo, Refworld, UNHCR 1992. https://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain/opendocpdf.pdf?reldoc=y&docid=52930da94 https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Congo_2015.pdf?lang=en |
| Freedom of the Press | History | Article 25 of Republic of Congo’s 2015 Constitution protects press freedom: “Any citizen has the right to express and to freely diffuse his opinion by words [par la parole], writing, images or by any other means of communication. The freedom of information and communication is guaranteed. It is exercised within respect for the law” (Constitute Project, “Congo (Republic of the)'s Constitution of 2015” ). |
| Privacy Rights | History | The only mention of privacy rights today is that of the home in Article 20 of the 2015 Constitution (Constitute Project, “Congo (Republic of the) 2015” ). The same right appeared in the 2001 Constitution in Article 14 (Constitute Project, “Congo (Republic of the) 2001” ).
https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Congo_ 2015? lang=en https://constituteproject.org/constitution/Congo_ 2001? lang=en |
| Voting Rights and Suffrage | History | Under Title I, Of The State and Of Sovereignty, Article 6, suffrage is direct or indirect and is free, equal and secret. Established by the law all Congolese 18 years of age, enjoying their civil and political rights are electors. (“Congo (Republic of the)'s Constitution of 2015” ). |