USAID/DRC seeks information about interests, capabilities, and market information related to the draft problem statement in the attached document through responses to the Request For Information (RFI) questions enclosed within, in order to inform the design of a future Rule of Law mechanism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. USAID/DRC seeks to gain further insight on challenges in the rule of law sector and potential solutions.

This RFI, with an attached Expression Of Interest, is open for comments from any interested party. All inputs may contribute to upcoming activity design(s).

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) suffers from a lack of culture of lawfulness and the judicial branch remains too weak to be an effective and independent branch of government to provide checks on the powers of the legislative and executive branches. Corruption, patronage, and clientelism supersedes the rule of law.  As a result of petty and grand corruption, the population mistrusts the formal justice system. In addition, pervasive corruption has created a patronage system within the judiciary where judicial decisions are manipulated by political actors or bought by those with economic power. 

Additionally, justice sector institutions lack the capacity and independence to advance its own reform and provide quality, fair, and equitable services to all Congolese. The judiciary has a limited reach in the country.  It is deprived of the resources needed to fulfill its mandate thus undermining the role of the state in ensuring equal access to justice for all Congolese citizens and exacerbating petty corruption within the system. Furthermore, political interference puts at risk the independence of the judiciary and citizens’ right to a fair trial.  Across the country, poverty, lack of adequate judicial resources, and widespread corruption prevent Congolese from seeking justice, further marginalizing youth and women. 

The lack of an independent judiciary is caused by and enables corruption and it supports inequitable justice across the country. It is therefore considered as the overarching issue facing the justice system and the rule of law in the DRC. This corruption and resulting lack of public trust affects the internal governance of the judiciary and the ability of the country to mobilize its resources for its own development.

Given the very challenging and highly politicized context of the DRC, an adaptive and flexible approach and a thorough understanding of the actors and incentives could help shape an appropriate response from the activity. Therefore, political economy analysis (PEA) and principles of thinking and working politically should be at the heart of the activity to allow the flexibility that it will need to be impactful.