Government’s censors in DR Congo demand news outlets stop reporting on LGBT issues
Congo officials tell media not to promote LGBT human rights
The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has issued a warning to media outlets: do not promote LGBT issues in the DRC.
The Congolese Broadcasting Council (CSAC) issued a press release June 19, 2023, denouncing “homosexuality” and “lesbianism” as “degrading” and “unconstitutional” and warning media outlets not to participate in the “shameful campaign” for LGBT rights.
There are no laws against homosexuality in the DRC. The DRC constitution says that everyone has the right to marry someone of the opposite sex.
The uproar is in response to a controversy earlier in June, when guests at a mining conference in Lubumbashi were given gift bags decorated with a rainbow pattern, which some interpreted as advocating for LGBT rights.
Erasing 76 Crimes spoke with Kinshasa journalist Yves Nsiala, founder of the media outlet Brève.cd, to better understand what’s inspired these threats to journalists and LGBT expression in the DRC.
76crimes: Two of your previous articles have dealt with LGBT+ issues. Why and how?
Yves Nsiala: I wanted to denounce and condemn the acts of violence and atrocities suffered by LGBT+ people in our country, because it’s still a very taboo subject here in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), whether in Kinshasa, the capital, or in the eastern part of the country.
So, as a journalist, I want to raise public awareness of the fact that LGBT+ people have rights like any other Congolese, particularly the right to happiness and to be able to fulfil their potential by living their lives freely, because homosexuality is a choice and not a defect.
76crimes: What will the CSAC’s recent positions change for you, in terms of journalistic practices?
Yves Nsiala: With the CSAC’s decision, journalists will now be more cautious about what we write. Far be it from me to promote homosexuality, I intend to continue to emphasize the right of homosexuals to live with the respect due to human dignity.
76crimes: Do you feel personally targeted?
Yves Nsiala: I’d say yes, because every time Brève.cd publishes an article, people come up to us and verbally threaten us by calling us homosexuals. They even accuse us of being paid to promote an LGBT+ agenda. Our detractors go so far as to say that we go against ancestral Congolese values. However, there have never been any physical threats until now.
76crimes: Do you think that the CSAC is acting illegally or inappropriately?
Yves Nsiala: As far as the law is concerned, I think the CSAC is acting illegally, because there is no law prohibiting homosexuality in the DRC. Nevertheless, the CSAC has taken care to communicate this warning to the media, in order to protect local sensitivities in terms of societal values.
