Merveille Gozo is an advocate for democracy, human rights and women’s rights. She currently serves as an elections specialist at the International Republican Institute (IRI) in the DRC.

In her previous position with the Permanent Framework for the Consultation of Congolese Women (CAFCO), she contributed to analyses on women's political participation and proposals for the revised electoral law, as well as to the women-friendly laws dissemination program jointly organized by CAFCO and UN Women. Merveille was a trainer and then Executive Secretary of Women in Solidarity, where she developed advocacy and recommendations regarding the rights of women living in the town of Inga. She has been a member of the youth democracy cohort since 2023, where she regularly participates in activities promoting the inclusion and rights of young people. She completed a student internship at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2014 before joining the Vice-Ministry of the Interior and Security as a trainee assistant to the political advisor.

IVLP Impact Award Project: Local Governance and Human Rights, The Basis of Democracy

The project will strengthen local governance by training 20 municipal councilors from the districts of Mont-Amba, Lukunga, Tshangu and Funa in social accountability, local governance and respect for human rights. A roundtable also will be organized for 15 leaders from various sectors in the city of Goma on the concept of permanent collaboration between the State, local communities and civil society, and the project also will include a social responsibility day, at which citizens will receive updates and submit comments and feedback on the work done by the communal councils in the city of Kinshasa.

At the midway point, Merveille hosted a round-table discussion with 15 participants on participatory dialogue between authorities and citizens in Goma and conducted a two-day training on good governance and human rights for 20 participants in Kinshasa. Her remaining activities include a large-scale social accountability day in late October, which will involve 250 beneficiaries, and three brainstorming sessions in November on the social responsibility of citizens in local politics in the DRC. Merveille reported that her participants are already taking action, which illustrates the impact of her project: "In Goma, the representative of one of the organizations taking part in the round table...[organized] an awareness-raising activity held at the beginning of September with other women from her community to demand respect for the rights of the families of victims of the atrocities experienced by her community."

“No state can develop without respect for human dignity, which is an essential condition for freedom and prosperity. I want to help strengthen the social responsibility of my country's institutions and encourage ongoing dialogue between local authorities and the population, for a better Congo. I'm convinced that this project [will] improve the trained facilitators' perception of management and decision-making and strengthen the citizen control of local populations. Each entity will organize itself conscientiously to advance the community agenda towards progress while respecting human dignity.” – Merveille Gozo

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Merveille participated in the IVLP Project Human and Civil Rights for Marginalized Communities, organized by the U.S. Department of State and World Learning, in partnership with Global Ties Arkansas, Tulsa Global Alliance, and the U.S. Department of State Office of International Visitors program branch in New York City.  

Merveille’s exchange experience led to the development of her project: “During the program, I was impressed by the American model of governance… Learning that each city has autonomous governance to advance its community's agenda was a positive point. In Little Rock, for example, the head of the police department told us that he regularly organizes meetings with the local population in all their diversity, to listen to what they have to say. This practice is better because it promotes improved service and social tranquility through dialogue. We also met with New York City's Office of Human Rights. The city's organization, independent of the national government, was truly impressive. Social responsibility, whether on the part of American governments or citizens, is remarkable.”

U.S. Communities Visited

Little Rock, AR; Washington, DC; Newark, NJ; New York City, NY; Tulsa, OK

Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo

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