About John Paul II Justice and Peace Centre (JPIIJPC)
John Paul II Justice and Peace Centre (JPIIJPC) was established in 2006 by the Comboni Missionaries, Holy Cross Missionaries, Mill Hill Missionaries, Missionaries of Africa and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), as a faith-based organization, an institution to facilitate collective action against social injustice. The founders were compelled by the wanton violation of human rights in Uganda, rising economic inequalities and poverty, prevalence of violence in families and communities, the pathetic situation of persons emerging from the two-decades war in Northern Uganda and the abuse of workers’ rights, among others. Therefore, inspired to witness the love of Christ in these situations, they made a deliberate choice to intervene collectively in the social, economic, and political life of Ugandans, thus, the motto “Faith Doing Justice”. At the time the Centre was being envisioned, Pope John Paul II had just passed on and the whole world was struck by the impact he made in the promotion of social justice, peace, and reconciliation among nations. Thus, the name John Paul II Justice and Peace Centre.
The vision of JPIIJPC is to empower the people of God living in a just and peaceful Uganda with the mission to promote awareness and provide a creative response to issues of Justice and Peace in Uganda. The Centre does this through research, advocacy, training and collaboration with other like-minded religious institutions and civil society organizations (CSOs). The thematic areas of intervention by the Centre include: governance, human rights, peacebuilding, social services, civic education and environmental conservation. Currently, regarding human rights and good governance, the Centre promotes and enhances respect for human rights by the Uganda Police Force through training and advocacy; it combats trafficking in persons and modern slavery through awareness creation, supporting survivors and engaging in advocacy; it promotes democratic practices and citizen participation in decision making and political processes through civic education and it also promotes girl child education through advocacy and awareness creation.
In the promotion of peace and peaceful dispute resolution, the Centre promotes peace in families and communities through training, provision of legal aid and counselling and awareness creation. In the same vein, the Centre empowers refugees and host communities for peaceful co-existence through community dialogues, capacity building, inter-religious prayer conferences, cultural galas, awareness creation, and provision of solar energy for refugees in the health centres and schools. The Centre is also involved in the promotion of integrity of creation (Ecology) through community action against environmental degradation and climate change by building the capacity of youth in environmentally friendly income generating activities and promoting green initiatives within church structures.
To read more about the Centre and its work, click on the link https://jp2jpc.org/