New Law Protects Disability Rights in the DR Congo

Stella is a painter from DR Congo. Stella since her birth has neither arms nor legs.
©CBM/Shambuyi

The new law closes the legal gap on the rights and obligations of persons with disabilities and creates an effective framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities to ensure their full participation in national life.

A new precedent has been set in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities.

The President of the DRC has signed the first law on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities, which provides the opportunity to move from social integration to social inclusion.

Organic Law No. 22/003 of May 2022 defines the implementation policies and programmes in the DRC aimed at strengthening and promoting the rights of persons with disabilities: the right to education, the right to work, the right to fair remuneration, the right to accessibility and the right to representation.

"This law is a good example of our strategy to strengthen government systems. It creates excellent opportunities to maximise our impact for persons with disabilities."
Mbacke Niang, CBM Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

It has a double advantage: on the one hand, it closes the legal gap on the rights and obligations of persons with disabilities. Secondly, it creates an effective framework for the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities to ensure their full participation in national life on an equal basis with all other citizens, to improve their quality of life and to enjoy all the fundamental rights enshrined in national laws and regional and international legal instruments ratified by the DRC.

This Organic Law also strengthens the system at central, provincial, territorial and OPD levels. It allows for the establishment, organisation, and implementation of a policy to develop specialised structures for the benefit of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable persons.

Charly, a 26-year-old woman born with a physical disability and abandoned by her parents at the age of 7, was identified thanks to a project funded by CBM. She is undergoing vocational training at the project partner's RAC centre in DR Congo.

CBM/Samy Ntumba Shambuyi

The new law has the following objectives:

  • Respect for the dignity and individual autonomy of persons with disabilities,
  • Non-discrimination,
  • Full and effective participation in social activities,
  • Respect for diversity and acceptance of persons with disabilities,
  • Accessibility and,
  • Respect for the developmental abilities of children with disabilities.

The Minister Delegate responsible for persons with disabilities and other vulnerable persons launched the campaign to disseminate the said law. CBM Country Director Amadou Cissé and representatives from the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), the Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention were present at the event.

CBM supports the dissemination of the law, the training of experts from the Ministry's administration and organises a trip to share experiences with the Federation of Disabled People's Organisations of Togo. Currently, the country office is working with the ministry to provide technical support.