Homosexuality is legal in the Democratic Republic of Congo and it has never been explicitly outlawed in the Penal Code (1940). The age of consent is the same as that for heterosexual couples. Same-sex marriage is not recognized in Article 40 of the Congolese Constitution: “All individuals have the right to marry a person of their choice of the opposite sex and to create a family.” There is no anti-discrimination law that serves to protect from harassment based on sexual orientation.

On 22 October 2010 the Congolese Parliament sent the Sexual Practices Against Nature Bill to the Socio-Cultural Committee as documented in the Refugee Board of Canada’s report DRC: Situation of Homosexuals. The Bill would have criminalized homosexuality and zoophilia as acts against nature. It would not only have criminalized same-sex sex, but also “all publications, posters, pamphlets, (or) films highlighting or likely to arouse or encourage sexual practices against nature are forbidden within the territory of the DRC (Section 174h3)” and “all associations that promote or defend sexual relations against nature are forbidden within the territory of the DRC” (Criminalising Homosexuality in the DRC). Those deemed to be breaking the law would have be sentenced to 3-5 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 Congolese francs. The Bill gained widespread support both publicly and within the government, and was considered to be constitutional by the National Assembly. The legislation eventually lapsed and was never tabled again since then.

Research shows that little progress has been made over the years regarding the legal protection of LGBTQI+ persons in Democratic Rebuplic of Congo. A 2017 study conducted by the East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative in the Democratic Republic of Congo presents an analysis of the human rights situation of LGBTI persons and sex workers in its report: Landscape analysis of the human rights situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and sex workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The study concludes that not only are there no specific laws protecting LGBTI persons but also registration of LGBTI organisations is a challenge. The difficulty in getting a LGBTI organisation registered is because the process requires submission of the organisations’ mission and objectives, and would include the mention of LGBTI advocacy.