Restoring the Contract - Increasing human security through state legitimacy and civil participation in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Project description

Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have a long history of violent conflict and war. There is food insecurity, lack of basic services and providers for security and justice are not able to function successfully. Previous experiences negatively influence trust as people feel frustrated by the lack of means to shape a future. Many women experience domestic or sexual violence and the culture of mistrust translates to polarisation within civil society. In both countries a process of democratisation has started, but with huge imperfections as governmental institutions still fail to deliver basic services. Women are recognised as the binding force in the community, but are underrepresented in decision making processes. The police in DRC and Burundi is incapable of ensuring security and the justice system is weak, making access to legal services difficult. All these factors make the contract between the population and the state weak or non-existent.

With this program we respond to problems related to the capacity of the government and its legitimacy in Burundi and South Kivu (DRC). We aim to increase the performance of public administration, police and justice systems at local level and to restore the interaction between state actors and society. Enhanced performance will in turn increase civilian confidence in the state and reinforce legitimacy of the government. This will contribute to the improvement of human security, promote rule of law and break the vicious cycle of conflicts.

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