Created in 1991, the Ligue Burundaise des Droits de l’Homme "Iteka" (LBDH) is the first Burundian organisation advocating for human rights to have been legally authorised to work openly in Burundi. With a network of more than 3,000 volunteers, Iteka's core mission is to defend and promote human rights and prevent violence.

Iteka works toward the following goals:

• Defendin people against violations of their rights, in particular basic freedoms;
• Promoting human rights throughout society; 
• Developing individual and collective capacity to support the defence and promotion of their own rights and those of others, regardless of gender, regional, ethnic, political, religious or other criteria;
• Developing the capacity of individuals and leaders to fully participate in an active and responsible way promoting the rule of law; and
• Keeping both national and international public objectively informed on the situation of human rights in Burundi.

Major achievements

• Monitoring returnees for an effective reintegration into their communities.
• Listening, counselling and providing guidance for victims of human rights violations.
• Capacity building on good governance for local elected officials.
• Advocacy programme and monitoring of cases of human rights violations by state agents.