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Democratic Republic of the Congo: Consequences for a child, aged 19, who has disobeyed the wishes of his father; ill-treatment or prejudice that may arise from disobeying one's parent given the social and cultural context

Information on the consequences for a child, aged 19, who has disobeyed the wishes of his father in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. It is interesting to note that Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005 indicates that in DRC, "the extent of child abuse was unknown and had not been investigated" (US 8 Mar. 2005, Sec. 5). A report prepared by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Children's Regional Consultation for West and Central Africa also indicates that within the region, "[v]iolence against children within the family is poorly documented and it is therefore difficult to know its causes and extent" (UN 2005).

An April 2006 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on the DRC highlights the existence of police-run child protection units in the East and recommends their expansion to other areas of the country (8). According to HRW, these child protection units are involved in "expediting cases involving children, limiting their abuse, and promoting their reconciliation with family members" (Apr. 2006, 8). No further information on police-run child protection units in the DRC could be found by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Human Rights Watch (HRW). April 2006. Vol. 18, No. 2(A). What Future? Street Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. <http://hrw.org/reports/2006/drc0406/drc0406sumandrecs.pdf> [Accessed 6 Nov. 2006]

United Nations (UN). 2005. United Nations Secretary-General's Study on Violence Against Children. Regional Consultation: West and Central Africa. Violence Against Children in West and Central Africa. <http://www.violencestudy.org/IMG/doc/Situation_analysis.doc> [Accessed 6 Nov. 2006]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Congo, Democratic Republic of the." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2005. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61563.htm> [Accessed 6 Nov. 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources, including: The Centre pour la promotion des droits de l'enfant et de la femme (CPDEF), the Conseil national pour la protection de l'enfance (CNPE), Actions pour la protection et l'encadrement de l'enfant (APEE), and two professors at the University of Antwerp's Centre for the Study of the Great Lakes Region of Africa did not provide information to the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Internet sites, including: African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child; Amnesty International (AI); British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); Child Rights Information Network (CRIN); European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net); Peacewomen.org; Radio France Internationale (RFI); Representing Children Worldwide; United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF); Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); World Health Organization (WHO).