Who we are
Founded on 8 July 1999 by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burundi (CECAB), CEJP works as a network across the country's eight dioceses, into the heart of the parishes and the hills — in the service of a peace that is built, day after day.
Our vision
A reconciled society where justice, peace, unity and communion reign.
Our mission
To promote a culture of law, justice, reconciliation and active non-violence for the spiritual, moral and material development of the person, in the light of the Gospel and the Social Teaching of the Church.
What guides us
More concretely, CEJP is committed to:
Our history
Since its independence in 1962, Burundi has known recurring crises against a backdrop of politico-ethnic divisions. Ethnic massacres periodically brought mourning to the country (1965, 1969, 1972, 1988, 1991), damaging the social fabric and weakening national cohesion.
From 1991, the country set out on the path of pluralist democracy, crowned by the election of the first civilian president on 21 October 1993. His assassination, less than three months later, plunged Burundi back into violence.
In this context, the Church needed bodies of its own dedicated to reconciliation. Thus the CECAB created the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, on 8 July 1999.
Since then, through its national structure and the professionalism of its work, CEJP has become an indispensable actor of the Burundian socio-political landscape: justice and peace, human rights, reconciliation, good governance, gender and the work of memory.
From a wounded land a vocation was born: to build peace, patiently, day after day.
Areas of intervention
From community dialogue to national advocacy, our eight areas of action reinforce one another. Click to explore each.
Promote transparent management of public affairs and strengthen citizen oversight.
CEJP walks with citizens and institutions toward greater transparency and accountability. Through training, budget monitoring and advocacy, it strengthens communities' capacity to demand accountability and to take part in the decisions that concern them.
Key actions
Rebuild bonds through dialogue, mediation and rapprochement.
On the hills as in the cities, CEJP opens spaces of encounter between groups that history has set against one another. Community dialogue, mediation of local conflicts and shared activities revive the trust that every lasting peace requires.
Key actions
Support the healing of memory to build a shared peace.
To acknowledge suffering, tell the truth and open paths of forgiveness: CEJP supports reconciliation processes at local and national level, so that the past may cease to repeat itself.
Key actions
Equip young people, women and leaders for the peaceful settlement of conflicts.
Workshops, non-violent communication modules and training of trainers: CEJP sows a culture of peace in schools, parishes and communities, to make everyone a peacemaker.
Key actions
Spread and root the social teaching of the Church.
Dignity of the person, common good, solidarity, preferential option for the poor: CEJP makes these principles known and turns them into concrete commitments in the service of the most fragile.
Key actions
Gather and pass on memory to learn from the past.
Collecting testimonies, places and works of memory: CEJP helps Burundian society face its history and draw lessons from it — the condition for a reconciled future.
Key actions
Promote development that respects human dignity and creation.
Peace also feeds on daily bread. CEJP supports sustainable socio-economic initiatives, respectful of people and the environment, for a development that leaves no one behind.
Key actions
Document violations and advocate for the protection of rights.
Observation, documentation and advocacy: CEJP defends the fundamental rights of all, accompanies victims and challenges public authorities so that everyone's dignity is respected.
Key actions
Our network
CEJP mirrors the map of the Church: a Justice & Peace commission in each of the eight dioceses, reaching the parishes and the hills.
Executive Secretary · Rev. Céléstin NSAVYINDAVYI
At the heart of the country, where Burundi's history beats, the CDJP of Gitega makes peace an everyday work. It forms consciences, defuses conflicts before they erupt, and lifts up those whom violence has bent. With the Gospel as its compass, it recalls a stubborn truth: no reconciliation is impossible when one still believes in humankind.
✉ gitega@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Anicet SHUMBUSHO
In the noise of the capital, the CDJP of Bujumbura defends those whose voice gets lost: the trampled right, the weakest, the forgotten of the neighbourhoods. It watches over good governance, informs citizens of their rights and re-stitches the social fabric where the city tends to isolate. Its conviction: a city is only just if the last person finds their place in it.
✉ bujumbura@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Elie BUCUMI
On the lands of the west, tested by displacement and the return of exiles, the CDJP of Bubanza accompanies communities toward reconciliation and a development respectful of dignity. It listens to old wounds, reunites those whom history had separated, and sows — patiently — that concrete hope which keeps a village standing.
✉ bubanza@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Novat NDAYISHIMIYE
In the south, on the high hills, the CDJP of Bururi chooses active non-violence as a path, never as a weakness. It defends rights on the ground, eases land and community tensions, and forms a youth that refuses the fatality of hatred. For here we know it: the most solid peace is the one that rises from the people themselves.
✉ bururi@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Jonathan BAYAGA
In the north-east, the CDJP of Muyinga bets on what the country holds most precious: its youth and its women. It opens spaces of dialogue, educates for peace in parishes and schools, and turns the Justice and Peace Clubs into nurseries of reconciliation-builders. One seed at a time, it prepares a generation that will not repeat yesterday's fractures.
✉ muyinga@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Martin SINUMVAYAHA
In the north of the country, the CDJP of Ngozi carries a delicate and courageous work: that of memory. To reconcile without forgetting, to heal without lying, to render justice to the dead in order to free the living — such is its task. It supports good governance, accompanies families, and makes each hill a place where truth can at last be spoken aloud.
✉ ngozi@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Salvator MINANI
In the south-east, often far from view, the CDJP of Rutana accompanies local peace processes and watches over the most fundamental rights. It is there where the State sometimes seems distant: beside the wronged farmer, the widow without recourse, the defenceless child. Its quiet presence says the essential: no one, nowhere, must be abandoned.
✉ rutana@cejp.bi
Executive Secretary · Rev. Gédéon NDAYITABAJE
In the east of Burundi, marked by exile and return, the CDJP of Ruyigi works for social cohesion and the accompaniment of victims. It lifts up those whom life has crushed, reconciles neighbours and families, and works toward an integral human development — one that nourishes the body without forgetting the soul. Here, loving one's neighbour is not a slogan: it is a field programme.
✉ ruyigi@cejp.bi
Those who carry it
From bishops to field facilitators, a team at the service of justice and peace.
Bishop of Bubanza
« Building a reconciled society is everyone's business: blessed are the peacemakers. »
National Secretariat of CEJP
« Peace is built over time: through training, listening and action on the ground. »
DDP
DAF
Chargé des Ressources Humaines
Chargé du Meal
Secrétaire de Direction
Gestionnaire des données
Coordonnateur National
Coordonnateur National
Coordonnateur National
Coordonnateur National
Coordonnatrice Nationale
Coordonnatrice Nationale
Logisticienne
Chef Charroi
Chauffeur
Planton
Cheffe Comptable
Assistante cheffe comptable
Comptable Nationale
Comptable Nationale
Comptable Nationale
Coordonnatrice Nationale
On the ground
Carried out with our national and international partners, in the service of communities.
Support to the 2025–2027 electoral process
Contributing to a peaceful, inclusive electoral environment respectful of human rights. The project strengthens the capacities of civil society, the media, community leaders and citizens, and supports civic education and advocacy for democratic governance.
PartnerMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium · Justice & Peace Commission Belgium
Protection monitoring and reintegration follow-up
Ensuring continuous monitoring of the situation of returnees to guarantee their protection and foster their lasting reintegration: incident monitoring, identification of people with specific needs, referral to services and socio-economic follow-up of households.
PartnerUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Women's leadership for a lasting peace
Promoting a lasting peace by strengthening women's leadership and their participation in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts. The programme integrates the gender approach into community dialogue, social cohesion and the prevention of gender-based violence.
PartnerSecours Catholique – Caritas France
Social cohesion & inclusive governance
Strengthening social cohesion, citizen participation and inclusive governance. The project supports local dialogue initiatives, reinforces civil-society organisations and develops mechanisms for the prevention and peaceful management of conflicts.
PartnerMinistry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands · Mensen met een Missie (MMM)
Holistic Electoral Approach to Democracy
Strengthening the integrity, transparency and inclusiveness of electoral processes in Burundi: long-term citizen electoral observation, civic education, conflict prevention, early-warning mechanisms and the participation of women, young people and vulnerable groups.
ImplementationIn consortium with partner organisations
They walk with us
CEJP works alongside national and international institutions committed to justice and peace.
Latest news
Our recent workshops, trainings and activities, across the country and the Great Lakes region.
La Commission Épiscopale Justice et Paix du Burundi (CEJP Burundi) lance un appel à candidatures pour le recrutement d'un(e) Assistant(e) à la Coor…
On the second day of the Regional Workshop on Peace and Social Cohesion, held at the Intercultural Center Oasis of Peace and Reconciliation, partic…
Retour sur le discours de Mgr. Emmanuel Ntakirutimana, Évêque de Bubanza et Président de la CEJPIl arrive parfois que des discours passent vite, po…
Aujourd’hui, au Centre Interculturel National Oasis de Paix et de Réconciliation de CINOPR, un souffle neuf traverse la Région des Grands Lacs.Un s…
Dans une région marquée par des crises qui n’en finissent pas de peser sur les populations, l’Association des Conférences Épiscopales de l’Afrique …
La salle était attentive.Monsieur l’Abbé Valence NIYIRAGIRA, prêtre rwandais, avançait calmement, un graphique à la main. Pas seulement une frise c…
The network, up to the hills
The beating heart of the network, where peace is lived before it is spoken.
For more than fifteen years, the diocesan commissions have gathered young people into Justice and Peace Clubs, within the parishes, up to the top of the hills. In a country where two out of three inhabitants are under 35, these clubs are far more than a pastime: they are a school of peace. There, the village's conflicts are debated, women's rights are defended, violence is prevented — especially around elections. And because dignity also passes through bread, the young people set up shared projects: livestock, crops, savings funds. « Let us set aside what divides us », they sing, on a Saturday morning, under a tree — the Gospel become a concrete gesture.
Wherever the heart of a parish beats, a Club can be born. Tomorrow's peace is learned today — and every young person is awaited there.
Debating local tensions, and easing them together.
Giving a voice, pushing back everyday injustice.
Raising awareness through sketch, dance and song.
Livestock, crops and savings: peace through bread.
Contact us
A question, a project, a partnership? The CEJP team will answer you.
