Since 1994 the country has been ravaged by civil war aggravated by an influx of refugees from Rwanda and Uganda as well as intervention by neighboring powers. The country is a dictatorship ruled by Joseph Kabila. An attempt is being made to move the country toward an elected representative government. A draft constitution was drawn up in 1998 but has not yet been implemented.
In spite of these difficulties, freedom of religious belief and
practice are fairly well respected. Exceptions are that the government has
banned foreign radio broadcasts which stopped some Catholic radio programs. In
addition, Christian churches in refugee areas may have been targeted and some
Catholic church officials have been arrested on charges of subversion. These
incidents appear to be more related to the war and the political situation than
to an attitude of religious discrimination on the part of the government.
2003 U.S. State
Department International
Religious Freedom Report on Democratic Republic of the Congo
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