Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1990
CONGO
For most of 1990, the People's Republic of the Congo remained
a single-party state ruled by the Marxist-modeled Congolese
Workers Party. (PCT), with power concentrated in the hands of
President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, his appointed Cabinet, and the
PCT Political Bureau. Sassou has been Chief of State and Head
of Government since 1979 and had sought to coopt and placate
rival ethnic groups with political posts or economic
concessions. Nevertheless, Northerners from the Cuvette
region dominated important government institutions, including
the army and security services. The National Assembly served
primarily to give advice on and approve legislation rather
than initiate it.
The year witnessed potentially significant steps toward a more
open society. In a series of announcements, President Sassou
and the ruling Congolese Workers Party (PCT) outlined a
framework for political liberalization, including abandonment
of Marxist-Leninist principles, adoption of a multiparty
system, and legislation guaranteeing most basic human rights
and liberties. Popular pressure forced acceleration of the
reform process, and during the latter half of the year the
Sassou Government suffered an erosion of its traditional
authority and revised its own reform timetable. On December
27, the National Assembly approved legislation establishing a
multiparty system. It is unclear, however, whether the
liberalizing trends will continue, accelerate, or be reversed;
and Congo entered 1991 with its human rights picture in flux.
For most of the year 1990, the State Security Organization
(DGSE) under the direction of the Presidency investigated and
neutralized dissident activity that seriously threatened the
State, the party, or the President. PCT "core groups" were in
all ministries, labor organizations, and mass organizations
with the stated goal, not consistently attained, of monitoring
the activities of workers and neighbors. By the end of the
year, military forces were no longer used for internal
security purposes, which have been turned over to a
reorganized police.
The economy is highly dependent on petroleum earnings.
Declining oil prices since 1985 have forced the Government to
cut budget expenditures, seek debt relief, and cooperate with
international financial institutions in formulating a
structural adjustment program. Long rhetorically hostile to
capitalism, the Government never forbade private property and
enterprise. In July 1989, the PCT openly embraced an economic
policy centered upon private sector initiative, foreign
investment, and liberalization of markets. Congo's economic
difficulties have been a major force behind political reform
efforts.
Despite the unprecedented changes, human rights in Congo
remained circumscribed in 1990. Violations included arbitrary
arrest and mistreatment and torture of detainees in criminal
cases. There were also restrictions on the freedoms of
speech, press, association, and assembly, as well as worker
rights and the right to equal protection for women.
Generally, however, Congo enjoyed a much more open atmosphere
for the discussion of human rights issues in 1990. Tangible
progress came with the abolition of restrictions on foreign
travel, the creation of independent human rights groups, as
well as the cessation of political arrests, the release of
detainees, and grant of amnesty for political offenses.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
The death of Auxence Ickonga in January remained a subject of
speculation throughout 1990. Appointed in late 1989 to a post
charged with investigating government corruption, the official
cause of Ickonga 's death was heart failure, but circumstantial
evidence suggested poisoning. No autopsy was allowed by the
Government.
In October, in the towns of Sibiti and Loubomo, government
forces used excessive force to quell student demonstrations
which had turned violent, resulting in the death of several
persons. The students were demonstrating for a more rapid
move toward democracy and increased support for education.
b. Disappearance
There were no cases of disappearance for political motives.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Detainees and suspects are regularly beaten in the course of
interrogation at police stations and state security centers.
The practice continues both because of official indifference
and the poor training of the police in the rights and proper
treatment of suspects. Local police do not hesitate to use
truncheons to control crowds in public areas, notably train
stations and the port of Brazzaville. The police also
sometimes allow thieves to be beaten by the public when they
are caught in the act of stealing. It is likely that in
recent years torture was used to extract information from
political detainees (who were normally held incommunicado).
All political detainees, however, were freed on August 15, and
there have been no subsequent reports of further political
detentions. There have been no public admissions,
investigations, or trials of officials for past abuses.
Prison conditions are, in general, extremely poor. The
country's three large prisons, all built during the colonial
era, are inadequate to house humanely Congo's prison
population. Female prisoners have frequently been sexually
assaulted and in some cases given birth in prison. Food and
proper medical attention is often unavailable to inmates.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile .
In the past, despite constitutional guarantees to the
contrary, arbitrary arrest and detention often took place.
The Code of Penal Procedure requires that a detainee be
brought before a judge within 3 days and that a prisoner must
be either charged or released within 6 months. However,
criminal justice officials did not regularly respect this law,
and authorities were legally exempt from following these
procedures in cases involving "state security.
"
Although in the past, suspects of political crimes were often
not formally charged or given access to a lawyer, their place
of detention was generally known, and their families were
usually, though not always, allowed to visit them in
detention. Such detainees might be kept for any length of
time without trial or formal charge. The judicial processes
for those suspected of common crimes have been similarly
irregular. The time between arrest and trial varies
enormously from a few weeks to several years, depending on the
seriousness of the case and the social station of the person
arrested. There is a system of bail, but it also functions
irregularly and with arbitrary interference. These abuses
occur because of both official indifference and insufficient
resources to employ sufficient judicial personnel.
On August 15, the Government announced the release and pardon
of all political detainees. The exact number held at that
time was unknown, but various lawyers, jurists, and public
officials estimated the number at between 20 and 50 (a
moderate decrease from the numbers held over the past several
years). Amnesty International (AI) reported that some 26
dissidents were still being held in May 1990 after their
arrest in July 1987 for alleged participation in the abortive
Anga coup, Several in this group were army officers
(including former President Yhombi-Opango) , while others were
civilians belonging to rival ethnic groups. The Government
claimed the number had been reduced to 14 by the summer, and
all were released in August. In December the National
Assembly passed an amnesty for all offenses against state
security, including those who had not been formally brought to
trial.
In July the Government arrested without warrants Celestine
Nkoua (a former journalist and bookstore owner) and Clement
Mierassa (a former PCT Central Committee member) for alleged
conspiracy against the State. They had been signatories of an
"open letter" to President Sassou calling for more rapid
political reforms. Neither person was mistreated in
detention, and both were freed on August 15.
The Government has never used forced exile as an instrument of
political control, and it invited voluntary exiles in France
to return home in the wake of the July announcements on a
multiparty system.
e. Denial of a Fair Public Trial
The Congolese legal system is primarily based on the
Napoleonic Code but has also been influenced by the "people's
justice" of the Marxist-Leninist tradition. The regular
courts modeled on the French judiciary are neither fully
independent nor a mere instrument of executive power. The
Supreme Court is subject to considerable executive control,
while the ordinary courts carry out justice with only
occasional political interference. In addition, there exists
a special Revolutionary Court of Justice composed of
presidentially selected political appointees which handles
political crimes. The Government has, however, tried no cases
in this forum since 1986.
Within the limits of the system's scarce resources, the
functioning of the criminal justice system is relatively fair
in nonpolitical cases. Defendants have the right to be
present, to have a lawyer at public expense in serious cases,
to confront witnesses and to present evidence, and they enjoy
the presumption of innocence. Following French practice,
judges rather than juries sit in judgment of accused
criminals. There is a right to appeal, and higher courts
sometimes overturn the decisions of lower courts. One
concession to "popular justice" is the constitutional
provision that nonprofessional judges may be elected to serve
on lower courts, subject to party approval. According to the
law, any citizen may become a judge but may adjudicate
administrative cases only in collaboration with trained judges.
Congo's traditional courts still handle many local disputes,
e.g., property, and operate in urban as well as rural areas.
Many domestic disputes are also adjudicated in traditional
ways in the context of the extended family.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Government rarely interferes with the private lives of
citizens who are not suspected of activity that implies
opposition to the Government. It maintains, however, a
surveillance apparatus, including a network of informers, to
collect information on those suspected of antigovernment
activity. In investigating such activity, the Government does
not hesitate to violate rights of privacy or home or to
intercept written correspondence or telephone conversations.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press.
The year witnessed considerably greater official tolerance of
free speech, the exercise of which is constitutionally
guaranteed but which has been limited in practice. In the
past, the Government had allowed criticism of policies and
programs judged not to be politically sensitive (generally
economic and international issues) . It has been less tolerant
of public challenges to its domestic political authority,
allowing ordinary citizens to air their opinions, but
detaining prominent public figures for speaking out publicly
against government policies. Since summer, however, Congolese
citizens have increasingly tested the limits of official
tolerance for political comment.
The State owns and operates all of the country's general
circulation media except for one Catholic newspaper. La
Semaine Africaine. Broadcasts on Congo's several radio
stations and one television channel endorse government
policies, although limited coverage of opposing views is
allowed. Radio and television have begun to broadcast more
complete coverage of domestic developments, including the
activities of government opponents. All published articles
are reviewed by state censors, who in the past rejected
articles critical of the Government. Journalists have been
harassed or imprisoned for articles critical of the Government
and have had to exercise self-censorship. Over the past year,
however, the range of acceptable criticism has steadily
broadened, and since midsummer it has included an increasing
range of controversial political issues. La Semaine
Africaine, whose editor has been jailed in the past, has since
August published several outspoken issues without subsequent
incident. Mimeographed tracts are a favored mode for
political expression, and they increased in circulation in the
latter half of 1990; open distribution of such tracts,
however, was not permitted.
Western news clips, especially of international events, are
often used on Congolese television. Foreign newspapers,
especially from France, are widely available, and foreign
journalists generally travel freely if they procure the proper
authorizations (which are usually granted). In the past,
however, issues of foreign publications carrying specific
articles critical of the Government have been prevented from
sale (and sometimes withdrawn from the mails), and foreign
journalists have been expelled for examining sensitive topics
too closely. There were no reported incidents of this nature
during the latter half of 1990.
Primary and secondary education in Congo, a state monopoly
which long emphasized the tenets of "scientific socialism",
enjoyed a measured liberalization in 1990. The Government now
permits private schools at all levels, and it introduced
curriculum changes in state schools, e.g., in addition to
Marxism, other political-economic approaches can now be
seriously studied. Congolese university teachers exercise
academic freedom in their classrooms, unimpeded by either the
Government or party youth organizations. Unrest in Congolese
schools in 1990 centered upon employment issues.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association.
Private associations must receive official approval and hold a
public general assembly stating their aims and rules, after
which they may meet freely without permits. Such approvals
have traditionally been granted unless the group had a serious
potential to embarrass or threaten the Government. In April
the Government abruptly canceled the scheduled general
assembly of a new human rights organization, apparently
concerned it might become a threat, but then 4 months later it
granted permission for the meeting to take place.
Nonrecognized groups may be harassed, and their meetings
subject to dispersal at the whim of the Government and police,
but such intervention became increasingly rare as the year
progressed.
Nascent political groups began after midyear to meet in
private homes without permission, and political parties in
addition to the PCT were authorized to begin activities in
January 1991. There were no large public political gatherings
in 1990. The Government is actively encouraging the creation
of associations. Many Congolese professional organizations
are affiliated with international umbrella organizations.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by law, but the Government
is officially atheist, and there are serious infringements on
religious rights. Religious groups must have the same
official permission to function as any other association.
Under a 1978 law which recognized only those sects which were
judged to exercise a social function, members of only seven
denominations had official permission to assemble and worship
publicly in 1990: Evangelicals (Protestant), Catholics, The
Salvation Army, Muslims, Kibangouists , Japanese Shinto
Tenrikyo, and the Church of Zepherin Lassy. Representatives
of the first four form a religious council which the
Government consults as a body it regards as representative of
religious opinion. Religious groups which, in the
Government's view, contain tenets that reject temporal
authority, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, are specifically
banned. Other groups worship without official authorization,
though they have occasionally been disrupted by local
authorities. A changing government view of religious
self-expression was evidenced by the allocation in 1989 of
National Assembly seats for religious representatives and by
the high visibility of the symbols of several religious
groups, including unrecognized organizations, displayed during
the August 1990 National Day parade
The Catholic Church, the largest single religious community,
maintains a seminary for the training of its clergy and has
missions throughout the country. Foreign missionaries from
recognized churches are allowed to work in Congo, but those of
other faiths are not. The recognized churches may maintain
links with their international structures and some do so.
There is no evidence that adherence to any faith, officially
recognized or not, causes a disadvantage to the adherent in
any secular, civil function.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Government exercises limited control over the internal
movement of its citizens through highway checkpoints outside
the major towns. Citizens are free to change their place of
work or residence as they wish. In July the Government
abolished internal travel visas and eliminated the
requirements that citizens obtain exit visas to leave the
country and surrender their passports after they return.
There are no known cases of Congolese being refused the right
to return to Congo or of Congolese being denied citizenship.
Congo hosts several hundred refugees from Burundi, the Central
African Republic, Chad, and Zaire; and during 1990 there was a
new influx of refugees from Rwanda and South Africa.
Political refugees (especially in the case of Zairians) are
often indistinguishable from those foreigners in Congo engaged
in economic pursuits. Refugees are subject to surveillance
and occasional harassment and expulsion, but there have been
no widespread or systematic forced repatriations, and refugees
are not generally expelled unless they break Congolese laws.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government.
Under the 1979 Constitution, the Congolese people did not
enjoy the right to change their government. The President of
the Central Committee of the Congolese Workers Party (PCT) was
automatically President of the Republic. After coming to
power in a surprise Central Committee maneuver in 1979, Denis
Sassou-Nguesso was reelected by regular party congresses in
1984 and 1989. The President was the most powerful single
person in government, and his power was only somewhat limited
by the need to maintain support in the PCT ' s political bureau
and Central Committee. The Congolese military has
traditionally been subservient to the President and indirectly
to the party, and its officers are integrated into key
government and party positions. The military, however,
remained neutral toward internal political developments during
the year, and members were forbidden to engage in political
activities after January 1, 1991. The military leadership is
drawn largely from the same northern ethnic groups as the
President, but most of the rank and file hail from the south.
From 1968 through 1990, meaningful participation in government
was possible only by joining the PCT, the "supreme social and
political organization" according to the 1979 Constitution.
Despite expansion over the past few years, its membership is
less than 13,000 (out of a population of some 2 million). A
relatively small part of the PCT made most major decisions.
In 1990 the PCT began a managed transition to a multiparty
system. In July, the Central Committee advocated expanded
party membership and multipartyism, and in September it
announced that competing political parties will be legalized
effective January 1991. Over 50 new parties were registered
by December. The Government in September also sought to meet
the growing call for rapid political change by promising that
a transition government headed by a prime minister would be
named and in place by January 1991 and that a conference of
parties to tackle wholesale political changes will be held in
May. In December, in response to continuing popular pressure,
the Government announced that a national conference would meet
beginning February 25, 1991.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Government's attitude toward human rights organizations
moderated considerably in 1990. Congo previously had no
domestic human rights organizations, but three such groups
received association status in 1990. All have criticized
aspects of the Goverment ' s human rights practices. The
Congolese Association of Women Lawyers, headed by a female
magistrate and law professor, addresses a wide range of legal
issues; one of its commissions deals with human rights.
The National Committee on Human Rights, is headed by Dr.
Norbert Lamini, who serves as head of the Human Rights
Department of the Congolese National Commission for UNESCO.
Its some 200 members are primarily intellectuals holding
positions in law, journalism, the legal profession, or the
middle ranks of the civil service. The Committee's declared
goals include the development and exchange of information on
human rights, the elimination of all forms of discrimination,
and the defense of individual rights within Congolese society.
The Congolese Human Rights League was conceived in July by
prominent Congolese attorney Martin Mberi. It is pledged to
fight for women's and youth's rights, as well as the end of
arbitrary detention, torture, and the death penalty. Mberi
has also advocated a multiparty system and independence for
the judiciary and trade unions, and he is considered likely to
be a contender for political office under the new system.
The Government traditionally has been uncooperative when faced
with human rights inquiries and hostile to investigations by
international human rights organizations. It has expelled
foreign journalists for investigating human rights issues. At
year's end, it remained unclear, the extent to which the
Government in the future would tolerate vigorous investigation
and criticism of its own human rights policies from
international and domestic groups.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, and Social Status
The Constitution provides for equal treatment regardless of
race, sex, religion, language, or social status, and most
discrimination in these areas is social rather than official.
However, the Government's degree of tolerance or intolerance
of various social practices that may violate human rights
varies greatly.
Northerners exert disproportionate influence in politics and
the security forces. The only other important ethnic
distinctions are between Congo's various Bantu peoples and the
northern Pygmies who number about 7,000, or less than 1
percent of the population. Bantu villagers occasionally
harass the Pygmies. Government policy calls for their
integration into the economy and society, and a roundtable on
the problem was held in Brazzaville in April. Knowledge of
French, the official language, is essential for social and
political advancement, but none of Congo's various language
groups are otherwise specifically favored or disfavored.
Women have the same legal rights as men in commerce, politics,
and society, and they are often the chief decisionmakers among
some ethnic groups. A few women have attained high official
status in the country. There is, however, a large disparity
between the salaries of men and women, and women are often
relegated to a secondary role both in the modern sectors of
society and in rural areas. Polygamy is legal and widely
practiced. The husband, father, or other male head of family
has considerable legal or actual control over the activities
of female family members, though this control is often
moderated by the influence of the extended family.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that violence against women is not
widespread in Congo, but there are no studies or statistics
available. Abortion at state hospitals is illegal, though
many exceptions are granted. Family violence against women is
generally handled in the context of the extended family rather
than in the formal judicial system. Female circumcision is
not practiced among the Congolese but can be found among West
Africans resident in Brazzaville or Pointe Noire. The
Government is ahead of societal norms in its advocacy of
women's rights, but it has not addressed the issue of violence
against women. The PCT women's organization has a role in
educating the public on women's rights, and the new human
rights organizations have women's sections.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The status of worker rights was in radical transition during
1990 as the Congolese Trade Union Confederation (CSC) became
one of the main focal points of political change in Congo.
The Labor Code adopted in 1975 affirms the right of workers to
associate. In practice, however, Congolese labor unions have
been grouped together under the umbrella of the CSC, an
official state institution under party control and outside of
which no independent unions were permitted.
The CSC has had a legal right to strike but never exercised it
until July. Wildcat strikes have always occurred with
relative impunity. In 1990 the CSC spearheaded the drive for
political reform outside the PCT framework and used strike
actioin for this purpose. In July the ruling PCT forced the
CSC to reimpose authority over the Post and Telecommunications
Workers' Union (FESPOSTEL) which had decided to withdraw from
the CSC the previous day. The party later postponed the
imminent scheduled meeting of the CSC congress to September.
During the September meeting, the possibility that the CSC
would vote resolutions calling for secret ballots in union
elections, independence from PCT control, multiple parties,
and a national convention to discuss political reform led the
PCT Political Bureau peremptorily to dismiss the congress.
The CSC subsequently called a successful 3-day general strike
forcing the party to reconvene the congress which then elected
its leaders by secret ballot and passed all the feared
resolutions. Subsequently, the CSC led a series of strikes
aimed ostensibly to secure economic gains for its members, but
which in practice were significant in undermining the
authority of the Government. Strikes in Brazzaville and
Pointe Noire practically paralyzed the Government in the fall.
In 1990 the CSC remained affiliated with the Communistcontrolled
World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) and the
Organization of African Trade Union Unity.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
At its July meeting the PCT Central Committee abolished the
"determinant trilogy," which placed representatives of the
CSC, party, and government on the management boards of all
ministries and state-owned enterprises and served as Congo's
form of collective bargaining. The National Assembly repealed
the appropriate legislation in December. Henceforward, the
workers' interests will be furthered by the unions alone. The
CSC has in the past bargained with other state institutions on
behalf of the workers but without their participation. CSC
unions have sometimes persuaded the Government to grant
workers increased wages or benefits. There are no export
processing zones, and Congolese labor law and practice are
uniform throughout the country.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
There were no reports of forced or compulsory labor which is
legally prohibited.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The minimum age for employment is 18 years (17 for
apprentices) . Enforcment of child labor laws is vested in the
Ministry of Labor with respect to government enterprises and
other major employers, but there is little enforcement outside
the modern wage sector, especially in small family enterprises
or family farms in the large subsistence agricultural sector.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The legal minimum monthly wage is $100 for all urban workers
except domestics, for whom the monthly wage is $86. Outside
the Government, large corporations, and foreign enterprises,
these minimums are often ignored. The minimum wage does not
provide a decent standard of living for a worker and his
family. Minimum wage earners and many others in the informal
sector are dependent upon the extended family (including other
salaried family members), and some subsistence farming (in
which most of the rural population is still engaged) . The
Labor Code mandates working conditions which include a 40-hour
workweek (some job categories excepted), at least 1 day of
rest per week, family and medical benefits, and severance
pay. In practice, exceptions are made (for example, paying
the regular wage for overtime in certain categories of private
sector nonindustrial employment). There is a code of
occupational safety and health, although it, too, is not
rigorously enforced.
