The Republic of Congo is a party to the following international instruments and conventions:

• 1951 Convention relating to the status of Refugees, which provides the internationally recognised definition of a refugee and outlines the legal protection, rights, and assistance a refugee is entitled to receive. 
• 1967 Protocol relating to the status of Refugees, which expanded the Convention to apply universally and protect all persons fleeing conflict and persecution.

In addition, the Republic of Congo has acceded to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, which established a framework for the international protection of stateless persons.

In addition to these international protection frameworks, the Republic of Congo also acceded the following regional asylum instruments:

• 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (OAU Convention), which expands the definition of refugees in the 1951 Convention to include individuals fleeing situations of widespread and indiscriminate nature, such as civil wars and general domestic disruption.
• African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, which is a binding instrument on member states that provides a comprehensive rights framework on civil and political rights, economic, social, and cultural rights, and group (or collective) rights, referred to as “peoples’ rights.” 
• African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which is specifically designed to promote and protect the rights and welfare of children in Africa.
• 2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), which provides a legally binding framework for protecting and assisting internally displaced persons within the African continent.

In addition to its obligations under the aforementioned international instruments, the Republic of Congo is bound to respect the international customary legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits any country from deporting any person to a country where they face the threat of persecution.

The Constitution of the Republic of Congo of 25 October 2015 recognizes the right to seek asylum in its Article 21. It also recognizes the supremacy of international treaties over Congolese law (Article 223). 

The legal framework for refugees is governed by the Foreigners Law of 7 August 2017 (Loi 29-2017 fixant les conditions d’entrée, de séjour et de sortie des étrangers en République du Congo) and the Asylum Law of 29 September 2021 (Loi n° 41-2021 fixant le droit d’asile et le statut de réfugié).

The National Commission for Refugees (Comité national d’assistance aux réfugiés / CNAR) together with the Eligibility Commission (Commission d’éligibilité au statut de réfugié) and the Refugee Appeals Commission (Commission des recours des réfugiés) handle the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) procedure in the Republic of Congo. UNHCR also provides technical and operational support to CNAR. 

The Asylum Law of 29 September 2021 provides for refugees to be recognized prima facie in a group determination procedure in circumstances when individual RSD procedures for each member of a group are not possible. 

CNAR reduced its activities for several months in 2022 due to a temporary budget reduction and staffing cut. RSD activities resumed at the end of 2022 following advocacy from UNHCR. Implementation gaps in the RSD procedures persist, in particular on the timeframes to process individual asylum-applications and to decide on group approaches provided by the Asylum Law.