In 1998, the Congo became the arena for a variety of interlocking conflicts emanating in the Great Lakes region. The cumulative impact of these wars has been massive. Over three million people have died, either as a direct result of war, or from malnutrition and disease among the vast communities that have fled from the fighting. Women and children have been particular targets of rampaging militia. Most of Africa’s estimated 120 000 child-soldiers are to be found in the jungles of central Africa. The list of challenges facing the transitional administration in the DRC reads like a catalogue of horrors.

Objectives
 
When in 2002 the various political formations met at Sun City to negotiate, the Institute was invited to provide hands-on support and capacity to the Congolese civil society delegation. The trust and working rapport established during this time formed the groundwork to cooperation. The Institute is engaged in analysis, dialogue and intervention in three salient areas:  

• strengthening the capacity of local civil society to engage in the nation’s transitional processes
• developing strategies for reintegration and reconciliation
• providing critical support – strategic, logistical and substantive – for the country’s embryonic truth and reconciliation commission.