20. Juli 2022

Das US-Außenministerium (US Department of State, USDOS) beschreibt in seinem Menschrechtsbericht vom April 2022 (Beobachtungszeitraum 2021) folgendes zur rechtlichen Lage und Strafverfolgung von homosexuellen Personen:

„While no law specifically prohibits consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults, individuals engaging in public displays of consensual same-sex sexual conduct, such as kissing, were sometimes subject to prosecution under public indecency provisions, which were rarely applied to opposite-sex couples. A local NGO reported authorities rarely took steps to investigate, prosecute, or punish officials who committed abuses against LGBTQI+ persons, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government.” (USDOS, 12. April 2022, Section 6)

Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko (RSM), eine kongolesische Nichtregierungsorganisation mit Hauptsitz in Bukavu, die sich für Rechte von LGBTQI-Personen in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo einsetzt, zitiert in einem undatierten Beitrag auf ihrer Website ihren Geschäftsführer, Jeremie Safari, der Folgendes zur Lage von homosexuellen Personen äußert:

„There is not any legislation that criminalizes homosexuality and therefore it’s not a crime in DRC. But unfortunately the Police and the National Security Agency ‘ANR’ Officers use the article 176 of the Congolese Penal Code that criminalizes activities ‘against good morale’ to oppress the LGBTQI+ Community, pretending that [it] is against good morals. This leads to blackmail, harassment, discrimination of all kinds from many different places including schooling and health care, homelessness, sexual assault, death threats, illegal jailing and many more infractions on human rights.” (RSM, ohne Datum)

In den Schlussbemerkungen des Ausschusses zum Staatenbericht über die Umsetzung des Paktes über wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte der Vereinten Nationen (UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, CESCR) vom März 2022 wird die strafrechtliche Lage und Diskriminierung aufgrund der sexuellen Orientierung wie folgt thematisiert:

„Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

28. The Committee is concerned that the Criminal Code, and particularly article 176, is often used to criminalize same-sex relationships. It notes with concern that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons face stigmatization and discrimination in the enjoyment of their economic, social and cultural rights, including in access to work, housing, health care and education (art. 2 (2)).” (CESCR, 28. März 2022)

Im Februar 2022 veröffentlichte der internationale Verband für Lesben, Schwule, Bisexuelle, Transsexuelle und Intersexuelle (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, ILGA) in Zusammenarbeit mit der in der DR Kongo angesiedelten Nichtregierungsorganisation WEKA Organisation (WEO) einen Schattenbericht für den oben zitierten Ausschuss zum Staatenbericht über die Umsetzung des Paktes über wirtschaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Rechte der Vereinten Nationen, der folgende Informationen zu Diskriminierung von Homosexuellen enthält:

„The Congolese society is deeply homophobic. A survey conducted by the Centre de Recherche pour la Paix et le Développement in 2015 found that 96% of Congolese people do not believe that society should accept homosexuality. Moreover, a 2014’s study also found that 95% of Congolese people would not tolerate having a homosexual neighbor. Although the exactness of these estimates might not be 100% accurate, the statistics indicate a societal set-up where it can be expected that violations against LGBTI persons will occur and that the majority of society will furthermore overlook these groups.

In terms of legal protection, the Constitution of the DRC establishes that no person or group of people shall be discriminated against in the enjoyment of their rights and freedoms. However, discrimination against LGBTI persons is widespread, and people from this group are often rejected by their communities. As a result, discrimination against LGBTI persons paves the way for several types of human rights violations, such as threats, reprisals, insults, arbitrary arrests and / or detentions, ostracism, social exclusion, denial of justice, among others. […] For instance, during 2021, 179 cases were reported to WEO and partner organisations, revealing 226 verified human rights violations against LGBTI persons based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.” (ILGA/WEO, Februar 2022, S. 3-4)

„During 2021, there were 25 violations of the right to equality and freedom from discrimination committed against LGBT persons in DRC. Article 11 of the DRC Constitution protects the right of every person to equality before the law. Thus, the fact that same-sex sexual conduct remains criminalised in DRC under vague petty offences such as ‘being a common nuisance’ makes it nearly impossible for this right to be fulfilled for gay and lesbian persons living in DRC. Moreover, 23 LGBTI persons were arrested after they had sought protection from the Police, leaving this community effectively barred from accessing the security services. For instance, four gay men were arrested while visiting a detainee based on the argument that they ‘looked like homos’. Thus, the four men suffered arrest purely because of what the Officer in Charge perceived to be their sexual orientation.

Likewise, in October 2021, a group of 7 men, including LGBTI activists, were trapped in the offices of Weka organisation by a mob of angry community members. The community members were hurling homophobic insults at the men trapped inside the offices and threatened to break in. The Police came to the aid of the men by escorting Weka volunteer lawyers to the premises and dispersing the mob. However, the Police themselves proceeded to insult the men trapped in the house and arrested all 7 of them directly thereafter. The Police searched the premises and confiscated condoms, lubricants and anti-retroviral medicines. The men were charged with the offence of ‘having carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ and were subjected to anal examinations.” (ILGA/WEO, Februar 2022, S. 5-6)

Das USDOS beschreibt in seinem Menschrechtsbericht vom April 2022 (Beobachtungszeitraum 2021) folgendes zu gesellschaftlichen Einstellungen zu Homosexualität und deren Auswirkungen:

„Identifying as LGBTQI+ remained a cultural taboo. LGBTQI+ individuals were subjected to harassment, stigmatization, and violence, including ‘corrective’ rape. Some religious leaders, radio broadcasts, and political organizations played a key role in supporting discrimination against LGBTQI+ individuals.

LGBTQI+ persons in South Kivu Province reported that in 2018 a coalition of revivalist churches in Bukavu published materials characterizing LGBTQI+ persons as acting against the will of God. The publications contributed to a deteriorating environment for LGBTQI+ rights in the area. Advocates in the eastern part of the country reported arbitrary detentions, acts of physical violence, including beatings, being stripped naked, sexual abuse in public settings, and rape. In some cases LGBTQI+ persons were forced by threats of violence to withdraw from schools and other public and community institutions.

In June LGBTQI+ persons who participated in Pride Month activities were subjected to harassment, physical violence, and threats when photographs became public. An NGO supporting LGBTQI+ rights reported receiving hate mail and threats of violence. The NGO reported there was rarely condemnation when LGBTQI+ persons were attacked and that LGBTQI+ individuals faced difficulties pursuing claims of discrimination in employment. [….]

A human rights NGO reported that a gay man was severely beaten by a mob, which included several security force members, after he was lured to meet another man at a local hotel. Human rights activists alleged that some in the mob were members of the Republican Guard. The mob later attacked the man’s house and stole his money, causing the man to go into hiding and to be disowned by his family.

LGBTQI+ activists reported that there were many cases of ‘corrective’ rape against both men and women during the year. When the survivors came to a health clinic for care, they were either rejected for being LGBTQI+ or the staff at the health clinic tried to talk them out of being LGBTQI+.” (USDOS, 12. April 2022, Section 6)

Die oben genannte WEKA Organisation (WEO), die sich für Menschrechte in der DR Kongo einsetzt, hat im Dezember 2021 einen Bericht zu Menschenrechtsverletzungen aufgrund von sexueller Orientierung und Geschlechtsidentität in Südkivu (Beobachtungszeitraum 2021) veröffentlicht, der auch auf den Umgang von Familien mit LGBT-Personen eingeht und in diesem Zusammenhang folgende Vorfälle in der Region Südkivu zusammenfasst:

„Over the past two years, the DR Congo National Police and Army has had shifting attitudes toward LGBT persons in the country. From 2019 up to 2020, it was recorded that Police officers increasingly refrained from taking the law into their own hands when confronted with LGBTI persons. An encouraging record of instances where the Police has acted to protect the rights of LGBTI persons has also been kept in these reports. During 2021, however, it appears that the encouraging upward trend of the treatment of LGBTI persons by the Police took a turn for the worst. Various cases of mass arrests were recorded. The public also appear to be increasingly hostile and even violent toward LGBT persons.” (WEO, Dezember 2021, S. 2)

„LGBT persons often face ostracism and rejection from their families when they come to know about their sexual orientation and gender identity. There were nine recorded cases where family members of LGBT persons evicted them from the family home on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity [in Südkivu, Anmerkung ACCORD]. […] In another case, the parents of a gay man found out about his sexual orientation after he was arrested in the bar incident and appeared on the news. They subsequently sent him away from the family home. A young lesbian woman was also told to leave the family home after her sexual orientation came to light.” (WEO, Dezember 2021, S. 23)

„There were 12 verified violations of dignity committed against LGBT persons by their family members on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity during 2021 [in Südkivu, Anmerkung ACCORD]. Nine of these violations took place where family members of LGBT persons evicted them from the family home on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. There were two cases in which the LGBT parents were denied contact with their children by the children’s other parent. There was also a case in which a gay man was assaulted by a mob led by his brother.” (WEO, Dezember 2021, S. 26)

Rights Africa, ein Netzwerk, das Nachrichtenartikel, Videos, Reportagen und Kommentare zu Menschenrechten und Minderheiten, einschließlich sexueller Minderheiten, veröffentlicht, berichtet im August 2021 zu einem Vorfall in Kamituga:

„Six LGBT activists were beaten up, threatened and driven out of town by homophobic residents of Kamituga near the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to an online news site based in that region. […]. According to information from Laprunellerdc.info, acts of violence, harassment and death threats have intensified in recent months against these LGBT activists in this mining town in Mwenga territory. Our local sources state that the local community, traditional chiefs and local community leaders accuse these sexual minorities of being in conflict with customary practices and being ‘satanic and diabolical’. On July 31 [2021], six LGBT activists were victims of death threats from unknown people; followed by insults from local residents who threatened to stone them. That day at around 8 am, while these LGBT activists were at their homes, crowds of people came around the house with whips, chanting threats. These people forced the door, entered and beat them. According to our sources, the victims managed to escape and took refuge with one of their own elsewhere in Kamituga, but did not stay there due to continued threats. Reportedly they then went to Lugushwa, where they live in hiding. ‘The victims were forced to rent a house where they live together; because having been driven out by their respective families due to their sexual orientation. Now we learn they are in Lugushwa,’ a local source said on condition of anonymity. The Mayor of Kamituga town, Alexandre Bundya M’pila contacted by Laprunellerdc.info, said he had not heard about this incident. He promises to give full details once he finds out. But in reaction, Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko (RSM), a local organization of LGBT activists in South Kivu, denounces these persecutions against its members, and pleads for them to be evacuated to the city of Bukavu in order to guarantee their safety.” (Rights Africa, 4. August 2021)

Das Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), ein unabhängiges Verwaltungstribunal, das für Entscheidungen in Asyl- und Einwanderungsverfahren in Kanada zuständig ist, veröffentlichte im März 2022 eine Anfragebeantwortung zur Demokratischen Republik Kongo, die sich mit der Behandlung von Personen basierend auf ihrer sexuellen Orientierung, Geschlechteridentität, deren Ausdruck sowie Geschlechtsmerkmalen (SOGIESC), befasst. Die Anfragebeantwortung deckt den Zeitraum 2020 bis Februar 2022 ab und kann auf Englisch unter folgendem Link abgerufen werden:

·      IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Democratic Republic of the Congo: Treatment of individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) by society and authorities, including legislation, state protection and support services (2020–February 2022) [COD200957.E], 22. März 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2071920.html

Die Asylagentur der Europäischen Union (European Union Agency for Asylum, EUAA) hat im September 2021 eine Anfragebeantwortung zur Lage von LGBT-Personen veröffentlich, die unter folgendem Link abgerufen werden kann:

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum (ehemals: European Asylum Support Office, EASO): LGBT people in DRC [Q30 -2021], 9. September 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2060187/2021_09_Q30_EASO_COI_Query_Response_LGBT_DRC.pdf

Die oben angeführte Anfragebeantwortung der EUAA wurde von der Asylum Research Centre (ARC) Foundation, eine gemeinnützige Organisation mit Sitz im Vereinigten Königreich, die Herkunftsländerinformationsrecherchen anbietet, und dem Dutch Council for Refugees (DCR), eine unabhängige NGO mit Sitz in Amsterdam, kommentiert und ergänzt:

·      ARC – Asylum Research Centre, DCR – Dutch Council for Refugees: Commentary on EASO COI Queries on the DRC, Iran and Iraq: LGBT persons, 11. Jänner 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2066331/Commentary-on-EASO-COI-Queries_LGBTQI_DRC-Iran-Iraq_January-2022_FINAL.pdf

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 20. Juli 2022)

·      ARC – Asylum Research Centre, DCR – Dutch Council for Refugees: Commentary on EASO COI Queries on the DRC, Iran and Iraq: LGBT persons, 11. Jänner 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2066331/Commentary-on-EASO-COI-Queries_LGBTQI_DRC-Iran-Iraq_January-2022_FINAL.pdf

·      CESCR – UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of the Democratic Republic of the Congo [E/C.12/COD/CO/6], 28. März 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2072082/G2229422.pdf

·      EUAA – European Union Agency for Asylum (ehemals: European Asylum Support Office, EASO): LGBT people in DRC [Q30 -2021], 9. September 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2060187/2021_09_Q30_EASO_COI_Query_Response_LGBT_DRC.pdf

·      ILGA World / WEO - WEKA Organisation: Shadow report on social, economic and cultural rights of LGBTI people in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Submitted for the DRC review at the 71st Session of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Februar 2022
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CESCR/Shared%20Documents/COD/INT_CESCR_CSS_COD_47507_E.docx

·      IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: Democratic Republic of the Congo: Treatment of individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) by society and authorities, including legislation, state protection and support services (2020–February 2022) [COD200957.E], 22. März 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2071920.html

·      Rights Africa: Congo: Anti-LGBT violence drives out 6 activists, 4. August 2021
https://rightsafrica.com/2021/08/04/congo-anti-lgbt-violence-drives-out-6-activists/

·      RSM - Rainbow Sunrise Mapambazuko: About Us, ohne Datum
https://www.rainbowsunrisemapambazuko.org/about_us

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2021 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Democratic Republic of the Congo, 12. April 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2071135.html

·      WEO – WEKA Organisation: The South Kivu Report of Human Rights Violations on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity 2021, Dezember 2021
https://www.wekaorganisation.org/_files/ugd/6e72a3_e4b56dd1cb294050b79c8fbb070a763e.pdf