Context
The eastern provinces of the DRC, as well as Kasai and Central Kasai, bear an extremely heavy burden of international crimes, and for some of them, armed conflict and flagrant human rights violations persist to this day. Although the International Criminal Court and national justice systems have provided judicial responses, these remain insufficient in view of the scale and gravity of past and present crimes. The fight against impunity has evolved at two speeds, before and after the advent of the Rome Statute and the ICC. This underlines the need for a comprehensive and inclusive transitional justice process based on a number of pillars (justice, truth, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition). This comprehensive approach is essential to consolidate peace and promote the emergence of the rule of law.
This project is therefore in line with the Congolese government’s recent efforts to establish holistic transitional justice, placing victim populations and communities at the heart of the action. Indeed, the risk inherent in initiatives designed and launched without the active and sufficient involvement of victims and communities is that transitional justice may emerge that is disconnected from the lived reality of victims and survivors, and thus unable to have a transformative impact that is at once individual, societal and structural. Given that justice is an integral part of transitional justice, the project also capitalises on the achievements, successes and progress of military justice in the DRC in recent years.
- General ojective: To promote holistic and inclusive transitional justice in order to consolidate and strenghten the fighst against impunity in the DRC
- Specific objective:
- Improve the quality of justice;
- Improve access to justice and reparation for victims (judicial and extrajudicial mechanisms);
- Contribute to the strategic and coordinated consolidation of transitional justice frameworks;
- Improve the participation of communities and victims in community-based informal transitional justice mechanisms.
- Expected results:
- R1: The capacity of the judiciary to investigate international crimes and serious human rights violations is strengthened.
- R2: Updated maps of the commission of international crimes and serious human rights violations are drawn up to facilitate the identification of legal cases and reparation.
- R3: The coherence and effectiveness of institutional and regulatory frameworks are strengthened to meet the needs of victims.
- R4: Populations and communities are supported to ensure their participation in community transitional justice mechanisms.
- Partenaires:
- Trial International
- National implementing partners:
- Civil society organisations working to promote transitional justice;
- Provincial transitional justice coalitions;
- Associations and coalitins of victims of the conflits in the target provinces;
- CSM and judicial authorities;
- Public institutions.
- Funding: European Union
- Duration: 3 years (1st February 2024 > 31 January 2027)