DR Congo: Love is not a crime
Campaign content
Update – June 19, 2024: Today, the Attorney General of the DRC issued an injunction to prosecute the perpetrators of "deviant practices of a sexual and homosexual nature," under the direction of the new Minister of Justice, Constant Mutamba. Despite the absence of a law criminalizing being LGBT+, the repression is intensifying, with already two arrest warrants issued against trans activists in the city of Bukavu. This decision severely threatens human rights and exacerbates discrimination. Sign our petition and show the government of the DRC that we reject these violations of fundamental rights.
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In the DRC, a bill from MP Constant Mutamba Tungunga, member of the DYPRO, threatens LGBT+ rights by proposing the punishing of same-sex relations with 5 to 15 years of “penal servitude”, a prison sentence that cannot be suspended. This law, if adopted, would also impose fines of up to 30 million Congolese Francs, or about 9,800 Euros.
These fines would devastate lives in a country where the average monthly income is estimated at only 45 Euros, among the lowest in the world.
This is the third time in 14 years that such an initiative has been proposed. It is a sign of the continuing fight against equality. This proposal criminalizing same-sex love and “all actions associated with homosexuality” would have devastating consequences, reinforcing discrimination and violence against an already vulnerable community.
We are calling on your support to block this discriminatory bill. Your signature is crucial to show the government, the Parliament, and the President of the DRC that the international community will not tolerate attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBT+ people. Together, we can defend the dignity and freedom of all people.
We, the undersigned, urge the Government, the Parliament, and the President of the DRC to:
- Wholly reject the bill proposed by MP Constant Mutamba which seeks to criminalize same-sex sexual relations between consenting adults by classifying them as unnatural sexual practices.
- Repeal all legislative provisions, such as articles 175 and 176 of the DRC Penal Code, that discriminate against LGBT+ people on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, and which are often used to criminalize people based on their real or perceived SOGIE.
- Establish legal instruments and judicial mechanisms and tools to guarantee privacy, access to information, and freedom of expression, association, and assembly to LGBT+ people as fundamental rights.
- Integrate respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, sexual orientation, and gender identity into the human rights training offered to security forces, including the police, intelligence agents, and the army.
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