Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

Centre d`Echanges pour des Reformes Juridiques et Institutionnelles (CERJI)

The Center of Dialogue for Legal and Institutional Reforms (Centre d’Echanges pour des Reformes Juridiques et Institutionnelles (CERJI)) is a nonprofit organization under Congolese law, which was established in April 2007 and registered with the Ministry of Justice and Attorney on May 3, 2008 under number E. 92/11.474 by the letter No. JUST.DH/SG/20/700/2008.

CERJI is composed of nonprofit associations and individuals, human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers. It was originally created by 9 people involved in the Congolese civil society.

According to its statutes, CERJI's missions are to:

• organize and support the development of joint proposals by sectoral policies related to justice, human rights,
• strengthen its member organizations to foster public participation in writing sectoral policies, and
• contribute to strengthening the democratic management of public goods and good governance.

CERJI members are in nine of the eleven provinces that make up the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and have already helped to establish a coordinated policy on the protection of the rights of people living with HIV, freedom of the press, and initiating dialogue with various partners. These dialogues have led proposals on drafts of laws that have been deposited in the hands of the competent authorities of the DRC.

CERJI has also led campaigns and events on the ground in poor areas as part of its campaign against...