Power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is in the hands of the President. A transitional government, in place from June 2003, was replaced following an election in 2006 the first free election since independence in 1960. The country has been divided into territory under the control of the government and that held by rebels and warlords. Legally, the judiciary is independent, but it is subject to government pressure and is ineffective and corrupt. Legislation is based on Belgian and customary law.

Discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, sex or religious affiliation is illegal, but these provisions are not enforced.

Security forces commit serious human rights abuses with impunity. The law prohibits torture, but security officials beat and torture detainees, sometimes to settle private disputes for government officials. Security forces are poorly trained, poorly paid and undisciplined. Armed groups terrorise citizens. The governments of Uganda and Rwanda are accused of supporting some of the rebels. Armed groups take their orders from warlords and others.

Unspeakable crimes are committed against women and children, and politically motivated killings are reported. Mobs have killed street children with the complicity of security forces. Ethnicity is often the reason for extra-judicial killings. Illegal detention facilities are operated by security forces, and rape and sexual violence are used as weapons of war.

Amnesty International reports that tens of thousands of girls have been victims of systematic rape and sexual assault committed by combatant forces. Allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual abuse by personnel of MONUC (United Nations Mission in the DRC) are being investigated. Corruption is endemic.

Freedom of speech and of the press are circumscribed. Journalists practise self-censorship as a result of arrests, detention or abuse. Low literacy levels and the high cost of newspapers make radio the mass medium for information.

Subsistence agriculture is the backbone of the economy, and the informal sector is growing. The wealth of the country has only benefited the elite, while 80% of the population live on less than a dollar a day. The extent of HIV/AIDS has resulted in devastation for families and rising expenditure for authorities. Absenteeism from work, re-training of replacement labour and health costs are problems to be addressed.

The DRC is a source for men, women and children internally trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation. It is estimated that 30,000 children work for and are abused by armed groups.

Demobilisation of children is taking place, but much remains to be done. Between 25,000 and 50,000 child refugees, war orphans and children accused of witchcraft or sorcery live on the streets. Child "sorcerers" accused of having mystical powers are abandoned. Discrimination and violence against street children are increasing. Numerous reports tell of police abuse of street children who pay for the right to sleep in abandoned buildings or give to police a percentage of what they steal or earn. Street children are rented by groups wanting to disrupt public order.

The funding of programmes for children is almost non-existent. Education is not compulsory, free or universal. Parents have to pay fees and teachers' salaries, since they are among the many civil servants who have not been paid and are owed months of salary arrears by the government. Many children cannot attend school because of the costs. UNICEF puts net primary school attendance at 51%, but UNESCO statistics show the rate Net Enrolment Rate (NER) at 23% in 1999. Many girls are denied education as parents with few resources struggle to send their sons to school.

Students protesting excessive school fees have been arrested. Infrastructure is in serious disrepair, and public education has deteriorated seriously.

The only statistical information indicates that a 3-year programme should begin at age 3.

Primary education should begin at age 6, and compulsory education should continue to age 13. No recent statistics are available.

Secondary education should begin at age 12 and last for 6 years. No other statistical information is available.

4,559 students study abroad, mainly in France (3,176), Belgium (277), Morocco 205), Italy (146) and Germany (116).

Persons with disabilities are subject to discrimination and receive little by way of services. They are exempt from some civil laws. Some private schools use private funds to provide education and vocational training to students who are blind or have other physical disabilities. No information is given on educational opportunity for the disabled in public education, but since the conditions are very poor in public schools it is unlikely that disabled children are included.

The UNHCR estimates that approximately 370,000 Congolese refugees live in neighbouring countries. The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, and the government has established a very basic system for providing protection to refugees. An estimated 196,000 refugees from Angola, Sudan, and Burundi are in the DRC.

With the aid of local Congolese and Rwandan authorities, children and young men are recruited to militias. Some parents of child refugees say their children, sent to the camps to get some schooling, instead are being recruited into armed groups.

There are at least 200 regionally based ethnic groups that speak distinct languages. There is no majority ethnic group; the largest ethnic groups are the Luba, Kongo and Anamongo. Four indigenous languages, Kiswahili, Lingala, Kikongo and Tshiluba, have official status and are widely spoken. French is the language of government, commerce and education. Ethnic discrimination is common among all ethnic groups and is evident in hiring patterns. Political influence is held by individuals from Katanga.

Pygmies (Batwa) face social discrimination. Past reports indicate they were targeted for cannibalism or as part of burial ceremonies. Some tribes use them as slaves. Access to education is limited for Pygmies, while Katangans are reported to have most access to government services.

Academic freedom is reported to have improved. Harassment and intimidation have lessened. But in areas where the government has little control, freedom of speech is restricted and little education is taking place.

The situation of women in the DRC is one of the worst anywhere. Women are relegated to a secondary role in society. They account for the majority of primary agricultural labourers and small-scale traders; in the formal sector they are paid less than men. They rarely occupy positions of authority. A married women requires her husband's permission to open a bank account or accept employment. Legally, a woman can inherit her husband's property or receive a property settlement in divorce, but settlements under traditional law deny them these rights. Widows are often stripped of all possessions and lose their children to the deceased husband's family.

Polygyny is illegal but practised. Domestic violence against women is common. Armed groups use rape as a weapon of war. Impunity allows sexual violence against women and children to continue. However, female genital mutilation is not widespread and is illegal.

The legal minimum age for full-time employment without parental consent is 18. Minors aged 15 to 18 may work with the consent of a parent or guardian; children under 16 should not work for more than 4 hours per day. These laws are not enforced, and child labour is common in all parts of the country. The informal sector and subsistence agriculture dominate the economy, and this is where many children work. Reports of forced child labour accuse parents of making children leave school to beg, hunt or engage in prostitution to earn money for their families.

Children are used by armed groups in forced labour; they are involved illegally in the mining of natural resources. MONUC has reported that the majority of the mine pit teams are aged 11 to 15. The re-recruitment of former child solders to serve as miners for armed groups is reported, and active or former child soldiers work on behalf of their commanders. Violence against street children has increased. Soldiers and police subject them to harassment. MONUC reports that Ituri armed groups recruit and train children as combatants. 40% of Ituri militias are said to be children under 18. The report notes allegations that Uganda and Rwanda have aided and abetted Ituri armed groups to recruit and train children. Children who fail to obey orders are brutalised. Reports suggest that child soldiers have been initiated into war using fetishist rituals involving cannibalism.

Workers, except magistrates and military personnel, have the right to form and join trade unions, but only a small percentage of the country's workers are organised. Most citizens are engaged in subsistence agriculture or informal sector trading. The law provides for the right to bargain collectively, but it is not used in practice. The government sets public sector wages by decree, and the unions act in an advisory capacity. Public sector unions organised several strikes over salary levels and arrears, and striking air traffic controllers received some back pay.

Civil servants, including teachers, have very low salaries, ranging between US $4 and $20 per month; salary arrears remain unpaid. Civil servants, including police and soldiers, supplement their incomes through bribes and other corruption. The average wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family, and most workers rely on the informal sector work to survive. Minimum wage laws have been suspended. The maximum legal work week is 48 hours.