Mbandaka, 30 November 2012 - The Centre de Formation international en Droits humains et Développement (International Human Rights and Development Training Center) launched a training workshop in Mbandaka, the provincial capital of Equateur on 20 November 2012. The 10-day training workshop was intended for human rights activists from across the province. The organizers received support from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) through its United Nations Joint Human Rights Office and Public Information Section.

One of the main organizers, lawyer Jean-Marie Kaleta, said the training was designed to give human rights activists a deeper understanding of the functioning of United Nations institutions. The participants will therefore be better acquainted with the mandate of MONUSCO and international legal mechanisms, as well as human rights procedures in force in the DRC.

These ten days of discussion, it is hoped, will help clarify any grey areas regarding MONUSCO's mandate and its role in relation to the local population. It is expected that the beneficiaries of this training will share the knowledge acquired with the rest of the population.

Jean-Tobie Okala/ MONUSCO