Years of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), at times involving eight African countries and several rebel factions, have resulted in one of the most catastrophic humanitarian and human rights situations in Africa. More than two million Congolese people were internally displaced and hundreds of thousands became refugees in neighboring countries. All sides to the conflict have subjected the civilian population to severe abuses, including massacres, torture, looting, sexual violence, and forced displacement. All of this occurred in a context where no mechanisms of law enforcement or justice existed to provide protection or redress to victims. After a slow-moving peace process began in 1999, today, the DRC seems to finally be evolving out of conflict although fighting persists in some parts of the country. These successes notwithstanding, the DRC's transition process is a fragile one, as the peace process resulted from intense international pressure and mutual accommodation by belligerent factions eager to seize the dividends of political power within a new national government. The "reform agenda" in the country's transition has been testing the commitment of all members of the transitional government, especially those who are unwilling to create credible, independent institutions to watch over on-going human rights abuse, or investigate previous rights abuses.Global Rights has offices in Kinshasa and Bukavu, and works to harness the efforts of DRC’s civil society movement toward building a democratic society. Through regional and national level consultations that bring together Congolese civil society groups, including marginalized segments of the population, Global Rights builds consensus and secure legislation that is on the transition government’s agenda or that is critical to ensuring human rights protection.