Established in 1987, the Ligue Ivoirienne des Droits de l’Homme (English: Ivorian League for Human Rights, LIDHO) works for the promotion, protection and defence of human rights in Côte d'Ivoire. 

The general objective of LIDHO is to work for the advent of the rule of law in Côte d'Ivoire. LIDHO believes that this goal would be achieved if changes in the following were made:

• the strengthening of the judicial system and the independence of the judiciary;
• the effectiveness and the exercise of civil and political rights in an egalitarian manner
• the strengthening and effectiveness of state control bodies, the fight against corruption and improving morality in public life;
• the effectiveness of trade unions, opinion and press freedoms;
• the effectiveness of the rights to health and education;
• securing land ownership in rural areas;
• the emergence of a strong civil society;
• the creation of a National Human Rights Commission;
• the economic independence of Côte d'Ivoire;
• peace in West Africa; and
• the creation of a responsible press and the strengthening of press regulators.

Peacebuilding activities

LIDHO has always carried out its traditional activities of defense, protection and promotion of human rights. It proceeds through surveys, studies and researches, referrals and self-referrals. This allows the organisation to make denunciations of human rights violations, training, awareness-raising, lobbying, reception, listening, legal and judicial assistance to victims of human rights .

In the field of democracy, LIDHO has in the past organised marches to demand the establishment of the rule of law in Côte d'Ivoire.

For the past three years, LIDHO has conducted campaigns for peace, human rights, international humanitarian law and democracy through the publication of appropriate educational materials and methods. 

In the field of awareness raising, LIDHO has, in the past, organized a public awareness and training campaign on human rights in general. The aim of the campaign was to educate the Ivorian population on the fundamental concepts of human rights. This campaign was based on the human rights materials published by LIDHO and entitled "I know my rights".

Also, in the framework of the reconstruction of social cohesion, LIDHO, in collaboration with its partners, has published several other training materials. Titles include:

• Early warning systems for border communities
• Human Rights and Gender Equality
• Project Development and Management of Community Conflicts
• Community Conflicts and Social Cohesion

Since the coup d'etat of 1999, LIDHO has aimed to mobilise Ivorian civil society for a return of peace and stability in Cote d'Ivoire. The palpable results of this commitment can be seen at two levels:

• The creation of a platform of civil society organisations called the Convention of the Ivorian Civil Society (CSCI), comprising organisations from religious denominations, traditional leaders, the private sector, trade unions and NGOs. The CSCI made several advocacy and lobbying proposals and activities at different stages of the Ivorian crisis.
• Effective involvement with other actors (the Collective of Civil Society for Peace), in a peace campaign that has travelled more than 65% of the country in order to reduce the effects of the war.

Moreover, to be effective in actions for women, the LIDHO Woman and Child Commission worked in cooperation with the Ivorian Network of Women's Organizations (RIOF).

Under the CSCI, LIDHO has established privileged relations of collaboration with Amnesty International-Côte d'Ivoire section, The Ivorian Movement of Human Rights, the Coalition of Women Leaders of Côte d'Ivoire (CFELCI) and The Association of Women Lawyers of Côte d'Ivoire (AFJCI).

LIDHO is affiliated to several networks and structures. At the national level, the organisation is a member of the Civil Society for Peace (CSP), the Covenant of the Civil Society of Côte d'Ivoire (CSCI), coordinated from 2006 to 2012, the National Elections Observatory ONE), of which it is the General Secretariat, the National Press Commission (CNP) and the Observatory of the Press, Ethics and Professional Conduct (OLPED).

At the international level, it is affiliated with the International Union of Human Rights (UIDH) and the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH). LIDHO also maintains a close working relationship with Amnesty International, the French League of Human Rights, the International Commission of Jurists, Acting Together, Africa Human Rights, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and Social.

From a financial point of view, LIDHO lives on the contributions of its members and the financing received from its foreign partners. At this level, it is in partnership with OXFAM-NOVIB, the European Union, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the National Democracy Institute (NDI), the UNOCI Human Rights Division, the Post-Crisis Unit The National Endowment Democracy (NED), the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), the Norwegian Refugee Institute (IRC), the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), Trust Africa, the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) And the Embassies of Canada, the United States, France and Great Britain.

As a reward for all its actions, LIDHO was awarded the Freedom Prize of the French Republic in 1993 and has observer status with the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR).