RCN Justice & Démocratie

RCN Justice & Démocratie (formerly RCN réseau des citoyens) is an international non-governmental organisation established under Belgian law in September 1994. Its stated social purpose is to help guarantee respect for the fundamental rights of every person, and in particular the right to justice, as well as the protection of rights recognised by international conventions. The organisation works from the premise that there is no society without justice: to serve society and individuals, justice must adapt to social, economic and cultural realities and needs, enable dialogue and maintain social cohesion, be accessible to all, establish positive norms and practices guaranteeing freedoms and equality before the law, fight impunity for the most serious crimes, and respect the principles of the rule of law. The organisation is active in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Chad and Senegal, and has also run a European programme based in Belgium since 2011. Its thematic areas include judicial justice, customary justice and alternative conflict-resolution mechanisms, transformative justice, transitional justice, and memorial education and critical citizenship. It describes itself as having both a national and an international vocation, developing activities alone or in partnership with total political independence from national and international authorities. RCN Justice & Démocratie supports post-conflict societies in transition towards a state governed by the rule of law in which citizens enjoy protection of their fundamental rights, the judiciary is independent, speech is increasingly free in the public sphere, democracy is practised in institutions and associations, and citizens and authorities together seek models of justice and democracy rooted in their own culture. Its specific objectives include improving the capacities and sense of responsibility of justice professionals; improving the basic legal knowledge of civil-society resource persons and of administrative and customary authorities; raising public awareness of rights and duties; fostering encounters between justice professionals, civil-society resource persons, administrative and customary authorities and the population so that they collaborate and exchange expectations; and participating in reflection and debate on justice-reform issues. Beyond its field programmes, the organisation produces multimedia and educational materials, including teaching modules, animated videos, pedagogical toolkits, teacher training, trial monitoring in universal jurisdiction cases, an interdisciplinary certificate in transitional justice, legal clinics, publications, bulletins, studies and annual reports. It also offers internships, membership of its general assembly, and ways for the public to support its work. Its website is published in Dutch and French.

RCN Justice & Démocratie, formerly known as RCN réseau des citoyens, is an international NGO established under Belgian law in September 1994. Its social purpose is to contribute to guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of every person, and more particularly the right to justice, as well as the protection of rights recognised by international conventions. The organisation holds that there is no society without justice, and that justice must adapt to social, economic and cultural realities and needs, enable dialogue and maintain social cohesion, be accessible to all, establish positive norms and practices guaranteeing freedoms and equality before the law, fight impunity for the most serious crimes, and respect the principles of the rule of law. In Rwanda, RCN J&D has worked since 1994 to strengthen justice and to prevent and resolve conflicts locally. In the aftermath of the genocide, it supported the reconstruction of the Rwandan judicial system and accompanied the justice system in resolving genocide-related litigation. Since 2006, within the framework of supporting Rwanda's land reform, its programmes have focused on the management of land conflicts. Its 2012–2015 programme aimed to respond holistically to the issue of women's access to land while strengthening the quality of proximity justice and local conflict resolution. In Burundi, RCN Justice & Démocratie decided to intervene in November 2001 to support the transition process initiated by the Arusha Agreement of 28 August 2000. Since then it has carried out three programmes aimed at strengthening the quality of justice delivered by proximity courts and raising public awareness of fundamental human-rights values. Two projects — 'For strengthened proximity justice' and 'For improved access of women to justice' — each ran for two years, financed respectively by the Directorate-General for Development of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGD) and by the European Union (Non-State Actors-Local Authorities). They continued RCN J&D's work in Burundi and aimed to improve access to more effective and transparent proximity justice, particularly in the three provinces of Mwaro, Muramvya and Bururi. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from 2000 RCN Justice & Démocratie launched several projects to restore the rule of law and support the judicial system. The tools used were mainly training of judicial personnel, material and equipment support, documentary support, popularisation of the law among the population, and the organisation of open days. Its programme initially developed exclusively in Kinshasa, then in Bas-Congo and Bandundu, and in 2004 in Bunia in Ituri in the north-east. In December 2010, RCN J&D engaged in a project 'Contributing to freedom of expression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo', aimed at informing and training journalists to handle legal and judicial subjects rigorously and to establish a climate favourable to journalistic practice; the targeted provinces were Kinshasa, Bas-Congo, South Kivu and Orientale Province. Another project supported peasant organisations in Bas-Congo, Bandundu and Kasaï-Occidental, with the aim of strengthening legal knowledge and advocacy capacities, while a further project was launched in the east. RCN J&D has also been present in Chad and Senegal, and in Belgium since the opening of its Europe programme in 2011. Its current thematic areas include judicial justice, customary justice and alternative conflict-resolution methods, transformative justice, transitional justice, and memorial education and critical citizenship. It produces multimedia and educational materials, offers teacher training, monitors trials in universal jurisdiction cases, runs an interdisciplinary certificate in transitional justice and legal clinics, and publishes bulletins, studies and annual reports.

• 2012

  Runs a 2012–2015 Rwanda programme addressing women's access to land and strengthening proximity justice.

• 2011

  Opens its Europe programme in Belgium.

• 2010

  In December, engages in a project contributing to freedom of expression in the DRC, training journalists on legal and judicial subjects.

• 2006

  Focuses its Rwanda programmes on land-conflict management within support for land reform.

• 2004

  Extends its DRC programme to Bunia in Ituri, in the north-east of the country.

• 2001

  Decides in November to intervene in Burundi to support the transition initiated by the Arusha Agreement.

• 2000

  Launches projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to restore the rule of law and support the judicial system.

• 1994

  RCN Justice & Démocratie (then RCN réseau des citoyens) is created in September as an international NGO under Belgian law.

• 1994

  Begins work in Rwanda to strengthen justice and support reconstruction of the judicial system after the genocide.

An independent Belgian international NGO specialising in justice, rule-of-law and democratic transition support in post-conflict societies, combining field programmes with education, research and advocacy.

• Interdisciplinary certificate in transitional justice

• Teacher training and educational modules

• Trial monitoring in universal jurisdiction cases

• Legal clinics

• Pedagogical toolkit 'Si c'est là, c'est ici'

• Publications, bulletins, studies and annual reports

1. 1rcn-ong | RCN Justice & Démocratiercn-ong.be
2. 2RCN Justice & Démocratie — Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3RCN Justice & Démocratie — Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org