Preamble
The morning after the accession of the Congo to the dignity of a sovereign and independent State, a decisive turning point had been taken, notably by the crystallization of the collective hope in the becoming of the Nation.
The experiences lived, through the different political regimes that have succeeded one another, as well as those of other Peoples, have led the Congolese People to make the choice of pluralist democracy as the base of the values having to orient the development of the country, to stimulate its moral, cultural and material development and to respond to the collective demand for a social better-being.
Also, concerned to work for the enrichment of the universal patrimony common to all the democratic societies around the world and founding ourselves on the socio-cultural values particular to our Country,
We, the Congolese People.
Proclaim our firm willingness to construct a State of law and a fraternal and solidary Nation;
Condemn the coup d’État, the tyrannical exercise of power and the use of political violence, under all its forms, as a means of ascension to power or to its conservation;
Adhere to the universal values of peace, of freedom, of equality, of justice, of tolerance, of probity and to the virtues of dialogue, as cardinal references of the new political culture;
Reaffirm the sacred character of the human life, the right to property and the right to diversity;
Reaffirm, solemnly, our permanent right of inalienable sovereignty concerning all our wealth and our natural resources as fundamental elements of our development;
Declare as an integral part of this Constitution the fundamental principles proclaimed and guaranteed by:
- the United Nations Charter of 24 October 1945
the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man of 10 December 1948; the African Charter of the Rights of Man and of Peoples of 26 June 1981 all the pertinent international texts duly ratified relative to human rights; the Charter of the National Unity and the Charter of the Rights and the Freedoms adopted by the Sovereign National Conference on 29 May 1991.
Ordain and establish, for the Congo, this Constitution that enunciates the fundamental principles of the Republic, defines the rights and the duties of the citizens and establishes the forms of organization and the rules of functioning of the State.
