Freedom of Expression & Belief and Assembly & Association in Republic of the Congo – World Countries for Kids

Although the constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, the government regularly pressures, threatens, and imprisons journalists. While there are many media outlets, several are owned by government allies who influence their coverage. Widespread self-censorship by journalists hampers independent reporting in practice. The government offers subsidies to state-run media but has simply refused to do so for some other outlets, and quite a few newspapers have closed in recent years, citing financial problems.

The Sel-Piment newspaper’s interim editor Augias Ray Malonga was arrested in Brazzaville in late December 2021 and was released in January 2022. Publication of Sel-Piment was suspended for six months by Congo’s media regulator later that month, after it republished an article alleging the republic’s treasurer was corrupt. Also in 2022, the media regulator suspended a private broadcaster VOX TV for a week, accusing it of spreading information that could “disturb public order.”

Although religious freedom is respected in general, pastors are hesitant to make statements that could be interpreted as hostile to the government. In 2015, the government banned the use of niqab, a full-face veil, in public, citing security and terrorism threats.

Academic freedom is more or less non-existent. Most university professors dodge discussions of or research on politically sensitive topics. In 2018, the government informed that it would ban a book, published in Paris, about extensive human rights abuses perpetrated by the military in the Pool region between 2016 and 2017.

The government maintains an extensive surveillance apparatus, which includes secret police and local informants. Electronic communications of private individuals are under government surveillance. Surveillance is allegedly prevalent in public spaces in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. Citizens who speak out against the government are very often arrested.

The government curbs freedom of assembly. Groups must obtain official authorization from local and federal authorities to hold public assemblies, and permission is very often denied. Government forces every now and then employ violence against protesters or disperse assemblies.

Even though the constitution guarantees freedom of association, NGOs need to register with the Interior Ministry. Organizations that are perceived to be critical of the government often encounter a far more taxing registration process. Arbitrary arrests of civil society personalities have continued in recent years, contributing to a drop in their activities. Groups that are still operational commonly limit their reporting on human rights abuses or word condemnation of authorities carefully to avoid retaliations or harassment.

Even though union rights are nominally protected, laws offering protection to union members are not always enforced. The government has at times intervened in labour disputes by harassing and arresting labourers and pressurizing union leaders, particularly those who are part of the republic’s largest labor union, the Congolese Trade Union Confederation (CSC).