Democratic Republic of the Congo

Key Developments

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has issued a ten-year national mine action strategy and work plan for 2023 to 2032. Officially signed by the Vice Prime Minister in March 2024, the strategy aims to ensure all mined areas are cleared by the end of 2025; that survey of cluster munitions remnants (CMR) and other explosive remnants of war (ERW) is completed rapidly; and that a decentralised explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) capacity is established to tackle residual contamination. However, the security situation worsened throughout 2023 and into 2024, with intense fighting in several provinces, particularly North Kivu and Ituri. This unrest hindered clearance operations and reduced the presence of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). Despite these challenges, the Congolese Mine Action Centre (CCLAM), the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS), and other stakeholders sought to manage the escalating threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including improvised mines, which are increasingly being used by armed groups in Beni and south Ituri.

A new director was appointed in early 2023 to coordinate CCLAM. DR Congo submitted two Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) Article 7 reports in 2024, which declared release of eight hazardous areas by DanChurchAid (DCA) between April 2022 and December 2023 in Tanganyika and Kasai provinces. Remaining contamination was reported to cover 350,667m² across 29 hazardous areas. The long-delayed survey in the territory of Aru in Ituri province finally started in early 2024, with no new hazardous areas having been identified by April. International operator The Development Initiative (TDI) resumed mine action activities in 2023. It is developing the capacity of the national operator SYLAM so it can become an additional operator with explosive hazard capability alongside AFRILAM.

Five-Year Overview

In 2019, after nearly two decades of mine action in the country, it was expected that DR Congo would soon fulfil its Article 5 obligations. In 2020, however, it sought and received an 18-month extension. Less than a year later, it submitted a fourth extension request, asking for 42 more months to complete clearance and extending the deadline to the end of 2025. The request was soon overtaken by new data that tripled the estimate of contamination. The national strategy and work plan for 2023–32 took on board the new estimates of mined area, but surprisingly retained the deadline of 2025. DR Congo will once again fail to meet this legal deadline although there are signs that the mine action programme has turned a corner.

Recommendations for Action

DR Congo should complete the necessary survey to identify all mined areas.
DR Congo should ensure the accuracy of its mine action information management system and its consequent reporting under the APMBC, regularly updating its database and disaggregating reported contamination by type of ordnance and by suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) and confirmed hazardous areas (CHAs).
DR Congo should improve the designation of hazardous areas differentiating battle areas and mined areas.
DR Congo should urgently conduct the delayed survey in Dungu territory (Haut-Uele Province).
DR Congo should further detail its plans for sustainable capacity to tackle previously unidentified hazards.