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The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that sits in the center of Africa bordering countries like the Central African Republic, Uganda, and Angola, has a tumultuous history. The DRC has undergone many name changes including the Congo Free State, the Belgian Congo, Zaire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and like many countries that have been victimized by colonization, the country has had a turbulent past. Under the reign of the ruthless Belgian King Leopold II, an estimated 10-15 million people in the DRC (which was then called the Congo Free State) were killed. Despite the brutality of Leopold’s rule, many are unaware of who he is and how much he harmed the people and the country as a whole. In present day, the DRC, which gained its independence in 1960, is still heavily impacted by colonization, the extraction of resources, and outside interventions.

In the months leading up to the national election in December 2023, the Global Conflict Tracker reported that the DRC saw a rise in violence due to “clashes involving militant groups over territory and natural resources, extrajudicial killings by security forces, political violence, and rising tensions with neighboring Rwanda.” Akilimali S. Chomachoma, a journalist from the eastern region of the DRC shared “The current situation in the DRC is catastrophic. The country is facing a tense political situation that is holding up the creation of a new government. The economic situation is very bad, with currency inflation and falling commodity prices. The humanitarian situation in the east of the DRC is more than dangerous, with more than 7 million internally displaced people, most of whom are receiving minimal assistance.”