Global Conscience Initiative is a registered not-for-profit organisation, independent of any government, political or religious affiliations.
Based in Kumba, Southwest Province, Cameroon, the organisation was founded in 1999 by journalist Samba Churchill after he was severely tortured at the hands of a paramount traditional ruler and Central Committee member of the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) party. The organisation was originally registered as Youths for Peace Initiative Cameroon (YPIC) on November 1, 2004 (No. G39/14/5/1006), and its goal was to build peace through the promotion and protection of human rights through youth clubs. On November 5, 2005, the Executive Board resolved to change the name to Global Conscience Initiative (GCI) to better represent its new mission of involving all citizens in the peace-building process.
GCI's vision is to build a strong global conscience, through which the citizens of Cameroon can work together to promote and protect all basic human rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Based on the belief that lasting peace must come from within a people and their own culture, GCI focuses on working with individual citizens as well as the media, government bodies, local councils, law enforcement and judicial systems. Through this, GCI facilitates the creation networks of conscientious organisations and individuals who work together to promote democracy and human rights. By encouraging and empowering civil society to play an active role in supporting peace and development, reawakening the consciences of government and providing educational and workshop opportunities for individuals from all areas of society, GCI strives to help strengthen the communities with which it works.
Since 2004, GCI has brought back home hundreds of captives and comforted thousands of afflicted persons in Cameroon. GCI works with and for grassroots populations, victims of human rights abuses, prisoners, children, women, migrant workers and other disadvantaged and voiceless persons. Global Conscience operates in monitoring, protecting and promoting the following:
- Alternative Dispute Resolution
- Human rights
- Democracy
- Good governance
- The rule of law
- Social Justice
- Access to Justice
- Public Litigations
- Legal defense and counseling
- Research and Advocacy
Since its founding, GCI has successfully operated a number of projects aimed at increasing awareness of human rights and ensuring more humane conditions for the people of the Southwest Region of Cameroon.
Today, the primary project in operation is the Centres for Arbitration and Mediation (CAMs) Project. Read more about our current and past projects on our website at www.gci-cameroon.org .
