Protection of Human Rights in Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, our delegate Mr. Jean-Luc has carried out a tireless task in the protection of human rights, with actions centralized in the fight against sexual and gender violence. He has achieved all this with the support of Youth for the Future Organization, JPA in the acronym. JPA concentrates its activities in communities made up of numerous victims, including young girls, in high school, and university education institutions in the South Kivu province. This Organization also thoroughly fights against HIV AIDS in the youth environment.

Thanks to these efforts, the education of many students has been achieved, especially those in the Eastern area of the country through the different forums among university students for the promotion of an egalitarian society. Education is such an important approach in the fight against COVID-19, HIV AIDS, Gender-Based Violence, and Domestic Violence which both Man Up Campaign and Youth For The Future Organization stand together in this journey.

This fight is gaining momentum in the province of South Kivu and the pupils and students of the city of Bukavu are beginning to appropriate it through posters carrying messages like; “Dear brother, for your future; protect yourself and your close ones from the COVID-19 by respecting the measures laid down by the sanitary authorities”, and “To live your emancipation in this equal generation, protect yourself and your closest ones from COVID-19 by respecting the measures enacted by the sanitary authorities”.

Inspired by the quote from Mahatma Gandhi, as per his ideology paired with tolerance and non-violence, young activists of the JPA do not miss words to articulate their struggle. ”Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” This is the key phrase of the emblematic figure of M Gandhi that can be read on some of these banners. JPA members are continuing a series of sensitization on the barrier measures recommended by the health authorities in order to reduce the spread of COVID-19 since March 17, 2020, a week after its appearance in the DRC.

In this period when the cumulative number of cases is estimated to be greater than 2027 cases tested positive, with 321 cured and 63 deaths, the JPA organization has just reiterated its fight against this pandemic of Covid-19 which is ravaging the world population with harmful repercussions in all sectors of the world. It is important that we stand together at these hard times and keep on working at the local level to achieve grass-root changes and get help where it is needed. We greatly appreciate the relentless conscious work, the spreading of righteous information, and the use of every platform to educate towards the preventive, healthy, security measures towards the coronavirus pandemic.

Another of our colleagues; Patrick Mbya has ongoing efforts between NYC and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the important collaboration of Congo Love, Telema Youth Movement, and Centre Culturel Andrée Blouin to deliver credible information to the vulnerable population, and the activation of a community response towards COVID-19 from a PanAfrican approach in the DRC through the “Congo Coronavirus Awareness & Education Campaign”, making possible a cultural change in Kinshasa, contributing to reduce the cases on COVID-19 and bring safe information to the population.