The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is currently home to more than 500,000 refugees and nearly 5.8 million internally displaced people, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Security, Decentralization and Traditional Affairs, Jacquemain Shabani, said Thursday, according to local media reports.
“In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, armed conflicts continue to cause forced and large-scale displacements of populations, both inside and outside the country,” Shabani said during the 76th session of the Executive Committee of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) held in Geneva.
As of August 31, 2025, the DRC was hosting 512,680 refugees, in addition to 5,780,000 internally displaced persons and 1,224,551 Congolese refugees who have sought asylum in neighboring and other African countries.
He added that “a new influx of refugees from South Sudan and parts of the Central African Republic is currently heading to the DRC,” noting that about 88,000 have already arrived.
“The government of my country and UNHCR must respond to the needs of these new refugees with very limited financial resources,” the minister said, stressing that the Congolese authorities are looking for ways to ensure the voluntary return of refugees to their home countries.
