Democratic Republic of the Congo: The national driver's licence, including its appearance, security features, additional functions for which the licence is used, and the year it was introduced; whether there was recently a period during which the licence was not issued or during which it was difficult to obtain; the groups of people, if any, who have difficulty getting a national driver's licence; procedure to replace an expired national driver's licence

Sources consulted by the Research Directorate indicate that the national driver's licence issued in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is pink, plastic-coated and difficult to forge (DRC 25 June 2010; ibid. 24 June 2010; CDH 24 June 2010).

During a 25 June 2010 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative from the Ministry of Transport and Communication Routes (ministère des Transports et Voies de communication) of the DRC stated that the current driver's licence, which includes the inscription "Republique démocratique du Congo," was distributed shortly after the fall of President Mobutu's regime in 1997 to replace the former driver's licence that had "Republique du Zaire" on it. Information on the security features of the national driver's licence and any other functions for which it is used could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

During a 24 June 2010 telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a representative of the Centre des droits de l'homme et du droit humanitaire (CDH), a non-governmental organization (NGO) that defends and promotes human rights and is based in Lubumbashi in the Katanga province of the DRC (CDH n.d.; FMO 10 July 2007), stated that, between 2008 and 2009, the Ministry of Transport and Communication Routes had temporarily stopped issuing driver's licences because of confusion caused by parallel circuits that were issuing false driver's licences. Corroborating information or information on people who had difficulty getting a driver's licence in the DRC could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

With respect to the replacement of damaged driver's licences, two sources consulted by the Research Directorate explained that, as required by the Ministry of Transport and Communication Routes, Congolese citizens wanting to renew their driver's licence must present both a photocopy of their former driver's licence and a certificate of physical fitness and pay US$50 (DRC 25 June 2010; ibid. 24 June 2010). During a 24 June 2010 telephone interview, a representative from the embassy of the DRC in Ottawa stated that the driver's licence to be replaced must not be expired (DRC 24 June 2010).

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

Centre des droits de l'homme et du droit humanitaire (CDH). 24 June 2010. Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. N.d. "Qui sommes-nous?" [Accessed 24 June 2010]

Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 25 June 2010. Ministère des Transports et Voies de communication. Telephone interview with a representative.

_____. 24 June 2010. Embassy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Ottawa. Telephone interview with a representative.

Forced Migration Online (FMO). 10 July 2007. "Centre des droits de l'homme et du droit humanitaire (CDH)." [Accessed 25 June 2010]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the Commission nationale de délivrance des permis de conduire (CONADEP) in Kinshasa were unsuccessful.

Internet sites, including: Afrol News, AllAfrica.com, European Country of Origin Information Network (ecoi.net), Gouvernement de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC), Grioo.com, InfoSud-Belgique (InfoSud), Internationale de l'éducation (IE), Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF), Le Phare [Kinshasa], Le Potentiel [Kinshasa], Réseau des médias francophones (MEDIAF), United Nations — Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), United States — Department of State, World Tourism Directory.