Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Identification
- Public canonical key
- doi:10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
- Authors
- Robert Agenonga
- Reported year
- 2026
- Reported language
- en
- Source type
- article
- First detected
- 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
- Last metadata observation
- 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
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Documentary abstract — original language
The Democratic Republic of the Congo recently adopted a necessary national legal system on the protection of human rights defenders, which now complements the Protection and Responsibility of Human Rights Defenders law and its ministerial implementing decree of 2024. Provincial protection frameworks were adopted earlier in provincial edicts in South Kivu in 2016 and North Kivu in 2019. The combination of these instruments creates a good prospect for a legal architecture. Nevertheless, a critical gap exists, as none of these laws directly acknowledge or safeguard environmental human rights activists, despite compounding threats related to escalating environmental disputes in the extractive sector, conservation areas, and land control. This study argues that the lack of express consideration of environmental human rights defenders in national and provincial tools cripples the system of protection and renders it incompatible with international norms that enhance the right to defend the environment. To determine the gaps in the Congolese legal texts and environmental governance realities, this study takes into account ecological governance realities on legal norms and recommendations for reforms, such as explicit recognition, customized protective measures, legal framework harmonization, strengthening institutional mandates, and integrating native perspectives.
Identifiers
- OPENALEX
- W7204754459
- DOI
- 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
Documentary context
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- article
Entity mentions are not evidence of legal recognition. Jurisdiction studied is separate from author affiliation country.
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OpenAlex · Record 1 · Record 2
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Cite this reference
Robert Agenonga. Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
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APA, Chicago, ISO 690: bibliographic formats using available fields. OSCOLA / Bluebook: structured data only; full legal citation compliance is not claimed without verification of required elements.
- APA
- Robert Agenonga. (2026). Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
- Chicago
- Robert Agenonga. Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
- ISO 690
- Robert Agenonga. Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
UDTR Global Rights of Nature Legal Library. Between recognition and omission: rethinking the protection framework for environmental defenders in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Documentary record: https://www.declarationuniverselledesdroitsdelarbre.org/global-rights-of-nature-radar/reference/r-80219d70325cde0c2b3b8ff09dcf3e4b/ · Last HTTP verification: not performed
Field provenance and record version
Version 0e2d1872251ce6b7 · udtr-reference-1.1.2
- Title
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
- Authors
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
- Year
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
- Identifiers
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
- Source URL
- OpenAlex · source · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
History tracks record metadata and does not certify the state of the law.
c25834ecbf961110 · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
d7df3071796406f7 · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
ad08bf6abc8f3061 · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
0e2d1872251ce6b7 · 2026-11-09T19:18:42.867774+00:00
Research dossiers and documentary relations
Source roles
Discovery source · https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2026.1769820
Discovery source · https://openalex.org/W7204754459
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