Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cluster munition remnants (CMR) contamination is believed to be light, and operators report the discovery and destruction of small number of unexploded submunitions each year during battle area clearance (BAC). In 2024, national operator AFRILAM and international operator DanChurchAid (DCA) destroyed 13 and 4 submunitions, respectively, in Tanganyika province.

The ongoing armed conflicts in DR Congo, which escalated throughout 2024, hindered progress in mine action and expanded contamination from explosive remnants of war (ERW). The situation worsened in early 2025 when the M23 armed group seized control first of Goma, the capital of North Kivu, and then Bukavu. These developments forced the temporary suspension of activities by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and other mine action operators, and subsequently limited their operations to non-technical survey (NTS), marking of unexploded ordnance (UXO), and risk education. At the same time, a sharp decline in funding—most notably the end of South Korean support to UNMAS and the suspension of United States (US) funding following the change in administration— threatened to bring mine action activities in DR Congo to a standstill in 2025.

• DR Congo should make every effort to ensure that the domestic process to ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) is completed in 2025 and that it submits its instrument of ratification to the CCM depositary – the UN Secretary-General.

• In the meantime, and in order to demonstrate its political commitment to the CCM, DR Congo should submit voluntary Article 7 reports each year. The reports should include an updated estimate of cluster munition- contaminated area based on clearance conducted, including operations in Tanganyika province in 2023 and 2024.

• In line with the National Mine Action Work Plan 2023–32, DR Congo should conduct survey to determine the location and extent of cluster munition-contaminated areas and other ERW by the end of 2026 and update an action plan for land release.

• DR Congo should comply with its obligations under international human rights law to clear CMR on territory under its jurisdiction as soon as possible.

Click here to download the full "Clearing Cluster Munition Remnants 2025" report for Democratic Republic of Congo.