The following information was obtained in 5 and 7 March 2003 telephone interviews with, respectively, the Director General of the National Development Support Centre (Centre national d'appui au développement), a Congolese non-governmental organization that coordinates activities for certain Congolese civil society groups and organizations, and the president of Journalists in Danger (Journaliste en danger, JED), a Congolese non-governmental organization that defends freedom of the press.

Duty passports are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Chancellery Branch. As with other types of passports (diplomatic and regular), senior officials of the ministry have signing authority (minister-counsellor, senior counsellor, etc.). Unlike regular passports, which may be issued by embassy offices abroad, duty passports are issued only in Kinshasa upon presentation of a travel order.

Unlike regular passports, for which applicants must pay administration fees, duty passports are issued free of charge to any person holding a travel order, such as a public servant going to a mission or a journalist accompanying a government delegation abroad. The travel order must be signed by the office of the presidency or by an appropriate departmental authority.

However, in very rare cases, a public servant without the diplomatic status required to obtain a diplomatic passport may, for the purpose of an extended mission outside the country, apply for a duty passport for his or her family members. The president of JED gave the example of a public servant who would have to live in Belgium for a long time because he is a representative of the Congolese government in a Brussels-based firm.

The two interviewees indicated that, even for an ordinary passport, it would be unthinkable, without taking major risks, to apply to government authorities for a passport for a person wanted by security forces.

The following information, available on the United States Department of State Website in a document entitled "Visa Reciprocity and Country Documents Finder," may also be of interest.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been using a new type of passport since 31 May 2000; all previous versions are no longer valid (US 15 July 2002). The same source added that "[n]ew DRC diplomatic/service passports are invalid if they are issued outside of Kinshasa, and/or have an issuance date before February 25, 2000. New DRC tourist passports may be issued by in-country DRC passport authorities in major cities as well as DRC embassies/consulates outside of the DRC" (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Centre national d'appui au développement [Kinshasa]. 5 March 2003. Telephone interview with the Director General.

Journaliste en danger (JED) [Kinshasa]. 7 March 2003. Telephone interview with the President.

United States (US). 15 July 2002. United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. "Visa Reciprocity and Country Documents Finder: Democratic Republic of Congo [Kinshasa]." http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/reciprocity/Country%20Folder/C/Congo_Kinshasa.htm [Accessed 27 Feb. 2003].

Additional Sources Consulted

A request for information sent to the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and to a representative of the RDC to the United Nations in New York has not yet received a response.

Africa Confidential 2002

Belgium. October 2002. Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons. Documentation Centre for Asylum Agencies (CEDOCA). Rapport de mission à Kinshasa (République démocratique du Congo) du 16 juin au 5 août 2002.

IRB databases

Jeune Afrique/L'Intelligent 2002-March 2003

Keesing's Record of World Events 2002

LEXIS/NEXIS

Resource Centre country file.

Internet sites, including:

Africatime

AllAfrica

Digitalcongo.net

European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI.net)

Observatoire de l'Afrique centrale

Le Potentiel [Kinshasa]