Congo, Democratic Republic 2021

Amis de Nelson Mandela pour la Defense des Droits de l’Homme

Promoting Human Rights and Strengthening Democracy

$33,250

To promote the respect of human rights and strengthen democracy in five provinces of the DRC. The organization will lead awareness-raising missions on the defense of democratic values and respect of human rights for local civil society actors, authorities, and populations of the targeted provinces. In addition, the organization will conduct a citizen dialogue, host a refresher workshop, document human rights violations, and carry out professional monitoring by collecting data on human rights violations.

 

Association d’Appui aux Initiatives de la Paix et de Developpement

Promoting Good Governance, Democracy, and Human Rights

$45,000

To build the capacity of the farmer population to promote good governance, democracy, and human rights in North Kivu. The organization will assist a network of human rights monitors to document human rights violations in Rutshuru, Walikale, and Lubero. The group will hold a series of workshops and town halls to engage local authorities with the local population to better protect human rights. Finally, the grantee will produce regular reports on human rights violations to increase awareness of the situation.

 

Association Pour le Developpement Communautaire Mokili Mwinda

Promoting Good Local Governance Through Participatory Budgeting

$40,000

To strengthen local government budgeting and accountability through citizens’ participation in policymaking and participatory budgeting. The project will produce awareness-raising radio programming and organize neighborhood and communal forums, as well as workshops for local authorities, community leaders, and CSO members. It will develop communal participatory budget and advocacy plans for both local governments and participatory budget committees. The project will organize citizens’ days of public action and use information technology to increase openness in public affairs and access to information.

 

Centre d’Appui a l’Education et au Developpement Communautaire

Promoting Accountability and Good Governance in the Provincial Assembly

$52,000

To engage provincial assembly deputies in good governance best practices and to promote collaboration between deputies and Congolese civil society. The grantee will host trainings designed to promote collaboration between CSOs and provincial assembly deputies. The organization will train other CSOs to monitor actions taken by the assemblies and propose legislation to improve human rights in South Kivu. Finally, the group will hold a mission to Kinshasa to engage provincial assembly members with the national assembly to increase collaboration.

 

Centre de Formation et d’Action pour le Développement

Engaging Communities to Promote Government Accountability

$50,000

To combat electoral fraud and protect voting rights through citizen oversight of the electoral process, the organization will host workshops and town halls on the electoral process with citizen movements, CSOs, and local authorities in communities throughout South Kivu. The grantee will train and support local groups to monitor the voter registration, voting, and tabulation processes to counter voter suppression and electoral fraud. The group will document these instances and advocate for authorities and election officials to address them.

 

Centre de Recherche sur l’Environnement, la Democratie et les Droits de l’Homme

Promoting Citizen Participation and Accountability in Local Government

$53,000

To promote responsible citizenship and a culture of government accountability in local communities in North Kivu. The organization will host a series of workshops with CSOs and government officials on transparency in the local budgeting process. The grantee will assist newly formed local governments with completing a needs assessment and promote citizen participation in the drafting and implementation of a community development plan. Finally, the groups will also support collaboration efforts between CSOs and the Provincial Assembly of North Kivu.

 

Centre des Droits de l’Homme et du Droit Humanitaire

Supporting Local Governments to Better Manage Revenues for Community Development in the Haut Katanga Province

$42,000

To raise awareness and improve the participatory governance capacity of local and state government to manage mining revenues accountably and efficiently for community development projects in the Haut Katanga province. The project will provide training workshops on participatory governance and mining revenues management, host meetings for local participatory governance committees, conduct follow-up support missions, and publish legal and regulatory references on the social responsibility of mining companies. It will also organize citizen plenary consultation and advocacy meetings.

 

Collectif pour le Developpement Economique, Social et Culturel Integre

Promoting Citizen Oversight of Public Action through E-Governance to Improve Public Governance

$55,000

To increase citizen oversight and improve public governance as a vehicle to ensure transparency and accountability in local government in Kasai Oriental Province. The organization will promote the use of information and communications technology (ICT) for participatory governance by conducting capacity building activities, digital awareness campaigns, public consultation forums, public governance assessment meetings, parliamentary monitoring sessions, and lobbying for chosen civil society actors, local authorities, and community leaders.

 

Commission Diocesaine Justice et Paix Matadi

Strengthening CSOs capacities to be institutionally and professionally more effective in their interventions

$44,745

To build the technical capacity of youth-led CSOs from Kongo Central Province to be more effective in advocating for youth and promoting their participation in local governance. The organization will host technical capacity-building activities, organize exchange forums, and set up thematic groups for youth-led CSO actors. The organization will establish citizen’s watch groups, conduct advocacy activities, and hold town hall meetings with decision-makers and authorities. The project will create radio programs led by young members.

 

Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo

Enhancing Youth Civic Participation in Electoral and Democratic Processes in the DRC

$115,000

To improve the participation of young Congolese in the 2023 electoral process and promote their post-electoral civic engagement. The organization will organize a virtual training workshop, large-scale awareness-raising activities, and campaigns for young people, community leaders, journalists, and civil society actors. In addition, the organization will conduct short public interviews and offer radio and television programs on topical issues relevant to youth electoral and civic engagement.

 

Congo Peace Network

Engaging Youth to Promote Political and Human Rights

$162,500

To engage youth in the democratic process and promote nonviolent advocacy for improving human, political, and civil rights in the DRC. The organization will host workshops for youth groups and CSO representatives at five trainings across the country on civic education, the upcoming 2023 elections, and promoting youth advocacy. The grantee will host a series of debates, and town halls, and launch a campaign to advocate for expanding Congolese voting rights laws.

 

DR Congo Bridges to Justice

Strengthening the Rule of Law and Providing Legal Assistance

$145,000

To promote respect for the rule of law in the DRC and to provide pro-bono legal assistance to detainees.  The grantee will host a roundtable with justice sector officials to draft recommendations for improving due process rights.  The organization will provide pro-bono legal assistance to at least 200 detainees, conduct right awareness events at six prisons in South Kivu, and work to strengthen the organization’s Women Lawyers Network.

 

Fédération Nationale des Associations des Personnes vivant avec Handicap du Congo

Changing the Inclusion and Accountability Policies and Practices to Improve Social Services for People with Disabilities

$65,955

To support the implementation of inclusive policies that can improve the socio-economic conditions of people with disabilities in eight provinces in the DRC. The project will support a socio-economic study about people with disabilities. The partner will organize the structuring of twelve community organizations of people with disabilities in four provinces and community discussion meetings to develop social policies for people with disabilities. The organization will organize provincial and local community advocacy activities for people with disabilities.

 

Femmes Artisanes de la Paix

Promoting Good Governance and Citizen Participation

$50,000

To engage citizens and local leaders in promoting citizen participation, good governance, and accountability in South Kivu. The grantee will host a series of workshops with key stakeholders to raise awareness and combat corruption in local government, public service delivery, and infrastructure projects. The organization will engage newly formed local governments to adopt rules and regulations to improve transparency in their institutions. Finally, the grantee will organize events with social movements to raise awareness of the problem on International Anti-Corruption Day.

 

Fondation pour le Renforcement des Capacités des Populations

Engaging CSOs and Government Institutions to Promote Good Governance

$25,000

To support cooperation between civil society and government institutions in the promotion of good governance.  The grantee will host a series of workshops to engage local elected officials and CSO representatives to increase cooperation between the two sectors.  The group will organize trainings for CSOs and engaged citizens on the participatory budgeting process and opportunities for engagement with the provincial assembly.  Finally, the organization will launch an awareness raising campaign to inform citizens about the upcoming 2023 election cycle.

 

Groupe de Reflection et d’Action Lotus

Ensuring transparency in provincial and local budgets and monitoring of human rights

$105,000

To promote transparency in provincial and local budgets and monitor the human rights situation throughout the former Orientale Province of the DRC. The project will offer capacity-building workshops for civil society organizations, citizen forums, town hall meetings, round tables between the authorities and civil society actors, and advocacy activities with local authorities and elected officials. The project will produce reports on local budgets and the situation of human rights, and educational activities on local budgets, democracy, fundamental freedoms, and human rights.

 

Initiative Congolaise pour la Justice et la Paix

Supporting Citizen Movements’ Advocacy for Free and Fair Elections

$58,000

To support citizen movements’ advocacy actions to promote free and fair elections in 2023. The grantee will host a series of meetings between elected officials and citizen movement leaders to discuss needed reforms and prepare for the electoral cycle. The organization will host a capacity-building workshop for the leaders of citizen movements and provide support to continue advocacy related to the elections. Finally, the organization will produce regular human rights reports and broadcast radio programs on the elections.

 

Initiative pour le Developpement Local

Empowering Civil Society Organizations to Influence Local and Provincial Governance

$50,000

To strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) to influence local public governance in the Kongo Central Province. The organization will conduct awareness-raising activities and CSO meetings on budget development and monitoring. In addition, the organization will lead discussion sessions, technical training workshops, budget evaluation trainings, and advocacy efforts for CSO representatives, union leaders, and city and municipality authorities. Finally, the project will provide coaching on local development plans and institutional mechanisms for citizen participation and establish provincial dialogue platforms.

 

International Republican Institute (IRI)

Promoting Increased Transparency and Government Accountability

$500,000

To strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the provinces of South Kivu and Katanga to conduct citizen outreach and government advocacy campaigns, as well as equip provincial assembly (PA) members in both provinces with the knowledge and skills to better fulfill their legislative duties and increase government transparency and accountability, the Institute will provide technical support to members of grassroots CSOs and PA officials. The Institute will also provide funding to CSOs to conduct sensitization and community mobilization activities on key policy issues, as well as funding and support for PA officials to organize town hall meetings during which they will share information on PA activities and discuss legislative initiatives with citizens.

 

Journalistes pour la Promotion de la Democratie et des Droits Humains

Promoting Independent Media

$52,000

To build the capacity of independent media professionals to report on human rights and governance issues. The partner will conduct capacity-building training sessions for journalists on ethical journalism and coverage of human rights and democracy issues. The organization will publish reports and articles on its news website and launch a web radio program that will provide these stories in an audio format. The project will offer a series of exchange meetings between journalists and local officials throughout North and South Kivu.

 

Karibu Jeunesse Nouvelle

Promoting the Role of Youth in Peace and Security

$43,500

To strengthen the capacity of youth organizations to monitor and advocate for human rights. The organization will conduct a baseline study of human rights violations to identify the causes, trends, perpetrators, and official responses regarding documented human rights violations. The project will produce a pamphlet to inform the public and leaders of CSOs on their rights to report and advocate against human rights violations. The partner will host a capacity-building workshop to discuss human rights monitoring and advocacy techniques.

 

La Voix des Sans-Voix pour les droits de l’homme

Monitoring Socio-Economic and Human Rights

$160,000

To advance the socio-economic and human rights of targeted populations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Through awareness and mobilization, advocacy, conferences, forums, and publications, the project will empower citizens of 12 districts of Kinshasa and expand work to four new provinces of Equateur, Kasai Central, Kwango, and Kwilu to fight violations of human rights and monitor and demand socio-economic rights from local authorities.

Ligue Congolaise pour la Paix, les Droits de l’Homme et les Elections

Promoting Democracy, Human Rights, and Good Governance

$55,000

To promote democracy, human rights, access to justice, transparency, and good governance at the rural, local, and provincial levels. The organization will organize a series of round table discussions, free expression forums, town halls, awareness-raising conferences, provincial and national meetings for community leaders, CSO representatives, and local authorities on human rights, access to justice, corruption, and democratic governance. The project will publish investigation and monitoring reports and host fact-finding missions and programs on human rights and access to justice.

Ligue des Electeurs

Supporting local citizens’ watch groups to monitor public policies

$89,970

To monitor the implementation of the decentralization policy at the local level, promote the participation of local communities in the development of public policies, and increase the accountability of decentralized local authorities towards their communities. The organization will update the government policy monitoring tools, set up citizen watch units in four new towns, conduct advocacy campaign activities, document incidental cases of human rights violations, monitor the activities of citizen watch units, and evaluate their impact on government policies.

Observatoire de la Liberte de la Presse en Afrique

Building the Capacities of Independent Media

$70,640

To strengthen the capacity of independent media and promote freedom of the press in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project will monitor and investigate cases of violence against Congolese media and journalists. The organization will organize public awareness-raising campaigns, set up a toll-free number to denounce violations of freedom of the press, host press conferences, and conduct training workshops on the role of the media.

Panzi Foundation USA

Promoting Women’s Rights

$55,000

To strengthen the capacity and knowledge of civil society actors on the importance of peacebuilding, gender equality, and women’s rights. The organization will guarantee the rights of women to effectively participate and lead in conflict resolution efforts. It will conduct an in-depth mapping of community-based organizations and CSOs working on gender and conflict issues. The partner will organize a series of action research workshops, roundtables, and training sessions for the identified CSOs.

Solidarité Sans Frontière

Preventing Human Rights Abuses and Protecting Civilians

$65,000

To strengthen the capacity of the local authorities and security forces to respect human rights, empower citizens to monitor and report on insecurity in their communities, and protect the human rights of citizens and detained persons. The organization will host meetings and conduct a series of awareness-raising events with local security services. The partner will hold a series of roundtables in each of the three territories to engage local leaders and the police in a discussion about protecting civilians.