Jean-Chrysostome Kijana
We realised that Congolese civil society was becoming more amorphous... and was not playing its role.
Jean-Chrysostome Kijana is a prominent journalist and human rights defender in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is the Chairman of Nouvelle Dynamique de la Société Civile en RDC (NDSCI), a human rights organisation which monitors and denounces human rights violations, promotes the rule of law, the right to education, and advocates for the rights of female victims of sexual violence. He is also the journalist in charge of the news agency Syfia Grands Lacs in South-Kivu and the president of ProxyMédias Libres, an association dedicated to the defence and promotion of press freedom and freedom of expression.
The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains volatile and human rights defenders (HRDs) remain at grave risk. They continue to operate at serious personal risk in an atmosphere of violence, hostility and instability. Absence of the rule of law and a climate of impunity prevail. As a consequence of carrying out activities such as investigating and exposing atrocities, combating sexual violence, advocacy with respect to the elections, and independent journalism, many HRDs have been subject to threats and attacks.
