Mrs Clinton is expected to call for an end to rights abuses, including mass rapes reportedly carried out by rebels and government troops.

Violence flared in the country's mineral-rich east last year, raising fears of a return to civil war.

Mrs Clinton, on a seven-nation tour of Africa, was in Angola earlier.

She promised US oil firms would give greater help to Angola's other sectors, such as agriculture.

She also held 45 minutes of talks with President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, and told reporters afterwards that he had committed to a "timely" presidential election - which would be the country's first since 1992.

Basketball philanthropy

On her arrival in the Congolese capital, Kinshasa, Mrs Clinton is set to visit a newly-built hospital.

The BBC's East Africa correspondent Will Ross says the modern facility is in stark contrast to the rest of the country's dilapidated health system.

But the hospital was not built by the government - its construction was paid for by Dikembe Mutombo, a Congolese basketball star who made his name in the US.

On Tuesday Mrs Clinton will meet President Joseph Kabila in the eastern town of Goma, where the focus will be on ending human rights atrocities including mass rape.

Our correspondent says the US and the rest of the international community realise that if stability can be brought to DR Congo it could have a positive impact on a vast swathe of Africa.

The country borders eight other nations, and its conflicts have frequently spilled over its borders.

The US is a major aid donor and has helped the country in some of its recent successes like the elections of 2006 and the thawing of relations with Rwanda.

Mrs Clinton has already visited South Africa and Kenya as part of the trip - her longest foreign tour since taking office.

She is also due to visit Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

1. • NBA Players Inspire African Youths to Strive for Basketball Dreams (August 11, 2010)
2. • Congo Catholic Bishops Praise U.S. Law on 'Conflict Minerals' (August 3, 2010)
3. • U.S. Financial Bill Will Require Disclosure on Conflict Minerals - Hillary Clinton (July 22, 2010)
4. • Rights Group Says Arms Transport Needs Regulation (July 19, 2010)
5. • The United States seeks a new era of partnership with the DRC - Hillary Clinton (June 30, 2010)
6. • Report Says Uganda's Elusive LRA Rebel Almost Caught Last Year (June 24, 2010)
7. • Veteran United States diplomat appointed to top UN post in DR Congo (June 9, 2010)
8. • US Deeply Concerned by Death of Floribert Chebeya (June 4, 2010)
9. • U.S. Official Sees Improvement in Africa's Great Lakes Region (May 26, 2010)
10. • Industry Representatives Discuss Conflict Minerals at the U.S. Department of State (May 14, 2010)
11. • U.S. Special Forces Begin Training Congo Army Battalion (February 23, 2010)
12. • U.S. Senator Durbin Calls on Rwanda to Name Rebels Involved in Genocide (February 16, 2010)
13. • U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Sherrod Brown to Travel to Africa (February 13, 2010)
14. • President Barack Obama Praises Dikembe Mutombo for Humanitarian Work (January 19, 2010)
15. • UN report: Vast International Network Helping Rwandan Hutu Rebels in Eastern Congo (November 27, 2009)
16. • Conflict Minerals Under Study in US Congress (November 26, 2009)
17. • Dikembe Mutombo to serve as NBA global ambassador (November 18, 2009)
18. • Barack Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize (October 9, 2009)
19. • Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. Contributes State of the Art Medical Equipment to Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital (October 1, 2009)
20. • Clinton Pushes UN Resolution to Curb Violence Against Girls (September 25, 2009)
21. • Clinton Praises Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa (August 17, 2009)
22. • African development needs more actions, less words (August 15, 2009)
23. • Congo Defends China Mineral Deal (August 12, 2009)
24. • Clinton, Congo President Discuss Security in Country's Eastern Kivu Region (August 12, 2009)
25. • Student's question lost in translation 'struck a nerve' with Hillary Clinton (August 11, 2009)
26. • Clinton: US Committed to Good Governance in Congo (August 10, 2009)
27. • Hillary Clinton: the United States stand ready to assist the government to promote human rights (August 10, 2009)
28. • Susan Rice: United Nations Peacekeeping Force Under Severe Strain (July 30, 2009)
29. • U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Visit Africa (July 27, 2009)
30. • U.S. President Barack Obama thanks journalists for courageous reporting in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and the Congo (June 19, 2009)

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