Intro to the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a francophone country in Central Africa and the second-largest country in Africa overall. At approximately 905,000 square miles, it makes up most of the Congo Basin’s land area and is home to several diverse ethnic groups. Its resource-rich terrain contains over 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, 9 percent of the world’s diamond reserves, an estimated 750 tonnes of gold, and 3.4 million metric tons of copper. The DRC remains one of the world’s poorest countries despite access to these minerals, battling centuries of exploitation, war, genocide, and corruption since its founding during Western Europe’s Scramble for Africa. 

A 2025 report by the ​​United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) found that the DRC contained an estimated 5.8 million internally displaced people (IDPs), individuals forced to leave their homes due to unsafe circumstances but who continue to remain in their country. Their report from the previous year identifies North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri as the provinces with the highest number of displacements. It also estimates that  an estimated 1.2 million Congolese are refugees in other parts of the African continent–most notably Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia. 

Reasons for Emigration and Displacement 

Armed Conflict

Military operations in the Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces routinely compromise civilian safety and quality of life. The regions are patrolled by over 120 active militias who regularly subject civilians to ethnic, religious, and sexual violence. Of these groups, the most prevalent are the March 23 Movement (M23) and  the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

M23 was founded in 2012 as an offshoot from the Defence of the People (CNDP) militia. Its leader, Laurent Nkunda, sought to protect Congolese Tutsi from ethnic discrimination but split his crusade from government interventions after concerns that his agreement with the Congolese government wasn’t properly followed. M23 has drifted from its mission since its founding by repeatedly committing acts of violence that have killed thousands of Tutsi and non-Tutsi civilians–most recently, the rape and immolation of over 100 women in a 2025 jailbreak. Their reemergence in December 2025 has motivated more than 500,000 people to flee South Kivu.

The ADF was founded in 1995 by Ugandan Islamists working as part of the Islamic State’s Central Africa Province. It operates in North Kivu, using violence and rape to accomplish its goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate in central Africa. In 2025, intensified ADF attacks killed 186 people across the villages of Nyoto, Byambwe, Pikamaibo, and Komanda. 

The DRC’s national army, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), is also charged with crimes against civilians such as rape, torture, and looting. This violence motivated the closure of 2,500 schools within North Kivu, South Kivu, and IDP camps, affecting access to education for over 1.6 million children.

Gender-based Violence and Inequality

Violence against women remains extremely common in the DRC. A 2025 UN report documented 895 cases of rape in two weeks, averaging 60 rapes per day. Perpetrators justify these rapes as tools of war designed to exert power over vulnerable people, avoiding punishment because of problems with data collection. 

Stigma around rape causes many survivors to be ashamed of sharing their experiences, deepening the long-term psychological trauma that results and increasing the risk that severe health concerns will go untreated. An estimated 6-17 percent of sexual violence survivors become pregnant, and the assault increases their individual risk of contracting HIV by 24.7%. Other hardships faced by Congolese women include forced or early marriages and low prioritization of education for female children. As shown by a 2019 survey, the recorded rate of girls’ attendance decreases from 80% during primary school to 43% during secondary school.

Economic Fragility 

The DRC’s range of informal jobs like artisanal mining, street vending, and agricultural labor provide work for 80 percent of its people and allow the country to retain a low unemployment rate. However, low wages and on-the job hazards ensure that the nation’s working poverty rate remains extremely high. These issues are extremely prevalent for the DRC’s miners, who lack adequate protective gear and only make $2 to $3 USD a day. Many of these miners are also under the age of 18 despite constitutional prohibitions on child labor. The nation’s economic turmoil is worsened by the fact that its currency ranks among the 30 weakest in the world despite GDP and economic growth.

Weather Events 

The combination of poor national infrastructure and a humid equatorial climate makes the DRC vulnerable to the effects of extreme weather events. The heavy rain that the nation receives–between 55 to 60 inches annually in its capital of Kinshasa–causes immense damage to roads and homes, the formation of gullies, and erosion. In April 2025, heavy rain and runoff displaced 7,000 people across 13 of Kinshasa’s communes. Climate change is expected to worsen these problems in the future. Temperature shifts have already reduced food security by 11.5 percent since 2019 and increased human habitat loss by 4 percent. The United Nations Development Programme also predicts that coastal sea levels will rise 60 to 70 centimeters by 2080, contributing to further erosion and reducing access to drinking water. 

Potential Resolutions

In November 2025, M23 and DRC representatives met in Doha, Qatar, to sign a roadmap agreement that would gradually end conflicts in the nation’s eastern regions. The agreement provided eight pillars addressing topics such as ceasefire monitoring, prisoner release and exchange, restoration of government authority, and the establishment of a future justice commission punishing crimes committed by combatants. 

This followed the signing of the U.S.-brokered Regional Economic Integration Framework, which requires the DRC to address armed militia groups, formalize mining operations, reduce illicit mineral trade, and eliminate barriers to joint infrastructure projects with Rwanda. Despite these agreements, however, M23 captured the city of Uvira and maintains control over Goma and Bukavu. Their most recent attacks include the March 2026 bombing of the Kisangani airport and a drone strike which killed three individuals, including UN peacekeeper Karine Buisset. 

Conclusion

The DRC is facing a sustained, ongoing migration crisis which has seen 5.8 million of its people become internally displaced and led 1.2 million to take refuge in neighboring African countries. Though it boasts a low unemployment rate and ample opportunity for workforce participation, patterns of armed conflict, gender-based violence, economic fragility, and fallout from weather events prevent civilians from finding safety or prosperity. Peace agreements signed between the DRC, the M23 militia group, and the Rwandan government have failed to end this crisis, and thousands continue to be displaced. Ending this conflict will take concerted determination on the parts of elected leaders.

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