Managed by Program Officer, John Ntalemwa, IHRLG partnered with a working group of Congolese human rights NGOs to develop a "participatory justice and human rights assessment" tool to mobilize often-disaffected communities towards seeking protection of their rights and involvement in solving human rights and access to justice problems.

Among our partner groups in this program are La Chaine de Solidarité (a cross-denominational coalition of faith-based Justice and Peace Commissions from the Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Kimbanguist churches) and Les Amis de la Prison (volunteers providing multiple forms of legal and social support to inmates at Kinshasa's main prison, and to their families).

Adapting the essentials of the participatory rural assessment methodology to the needs of human rights groups and the Congolese context, IHRLG and our local partners published a 70-page practical guide to data collection and analysis and to community-based strategizing on protecting human rights and access to justice. Building on our training, documentation support and technical assistance for community leaders and civil society groups using the PJHRA manual, IHRLG is now focusing on introducing a participatory methodology as a means of improving the effectiveness, sustainability and transparency of human rights NGOs.