National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) was formed in 1985 by the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference. Since then, NCJP has provided services in the field of human rights and has worked to counter religious and other types of discrimination. It has seven offices around Pakistan which provide legal aid and human rights education.
Under its legal aid programme, the commission provides legal counselling and financial assistance to vulnerable people. Over the past 22 years, NCJP has dealt with around 800 cases.
NCJP launched their first advocacy campaign, against bonded labour in brick kiln factories, in 1987. By building partnerships with other organisations, NCJP's campaign led to a law on abolition of bonded labour being passed in 1992. The Commission now concentrates on bonded labour in the agricultural sector.
A large portion of the activities of NCJP is devoted to supporting the victims of human rights violations, however the organisation does have a peace education program. NCJP implemented a Peace Education Pilot Project (PEPP) in three cities of Pakistan (Lahore, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala) between October 2004 – March 2005; the success of the project convinced NCJP to extend it. It focuses on promotion of peace and tolerance through its activities, including training workshops, art competitions, theatre performance, seminars and meetings. Also in its mission for peace, NCJP produced an audio album 'Aman ke Geet' with songs for peace sung by famous singers from Pakistan.
