What is DDR?

The objective of the DDR process is to contribute to security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can begin. The DDR of ex-combatants is a complex process, with political, military, security, humanitarian and socio-economic dimensions. It aims to deal with the post-conflict security problem that arises when ex-combatants are left without livelihoods or support networks, other than their former comrades, during the vital transition period from conflict to peace and development. Through a process of removing weapons from the hands of combatants, taking the combatants out of military structures and helping them to integrate socially and economically into society, DDR seeks to support ex-combatants so that they can become active participants in the peace process.

In this regard, DDR lays the groundwork for safeguarding and sustaining the communities in which these individuals can live as law-abiding citizens, while building national capacity for long-term peace, security and development. It is important to note that DDR alone cannot resolve conflict or prevent violence; it can, however, help establish a secure environment so that other elements of a recovery and peace-building strategy can proceed.

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What definitions are used by the UN?

Disarmament is the collection, documentation, control and disposal of small arms, ammunition, explosives and light and heavy weapons of combatants and often also of the civilian population. Disarmament also includes the development of responsible arms management programmes.

Demobilization is the formal and controlled discharge of active combatants from armed forces or other armed groups. The first stage of demobilization may extend from the processing of individual combatants in temporary centres to the massing of troops in camps designated for this purpose (cantonment sites, encampments, assembly areas or barracks). The second stage of demobilization encompasses the support package provided to the demobilized, which is called reinsertion.

Reinsertion is the assistance offered to ex-combatants during demobilization but prior to the longer-term process of reintegration. Reinsertion is a form of transitional assistance to help cover the basic needs of ex-combatants and their families and can include transitional safety allowances, food, clothes, shelter, medical services, short-term education, training, employment and tools. While reintegration is a long-term, continuous social and economic process of development, reinsertion is a short-term material and/or financial assistance to meet immediate needs, and can last up to one year.

Reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income. Reintegration is essentially a social and economic process with an open time-frame, primarily taking place in communities at the local level. It is part of the general development of a country and a national responsibility, and often necessitates long-term external assistance.

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Who is eligible to enter a DDR programme?

While the peace agreement will generally state or otherwise indicate which armed forces and groups will participate in DDR, the development of detailed and transparent eligibility criteria for individual combatants to enter into the programme is a priority in the initial assessment and planning phase. These criteria should avoid allowing persons to enter the programme simply because they have surrendered weapons or ammunition. Rather, the criteria should be based on tests to determine an individual’s membership of an armed force or group. All those who are found to be members of an armed force or group, whether they were involved in active combat or in support roles (such as cooks, porters, messengers, administrators, sex slaves and ‘war wives’), shall be considered part of the armed force or group and therefore shall be included in the DDR programme.

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Where are DDR programmes currently being implemented?

The last seven peacekeeping operations established by the UN Security Council have all included DDR in their mandate. These are the United Nations Mission in the United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL, 1999), the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC, 1999), the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL, 2003), the United Nations Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI, 2004), the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH, 2004), the United Nations Operation in Burundi (UNOB, 2004), and the United Nations Mission in the Sudan (UNMIS, 2005).

The UN is also supporting DDR programmes in many countries where there is not a UN peacekeeping operation. These include: Aceh (Indonesia), Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Niger, Somalia and Uganda.

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Who is in charge of planning and implementing a DDR programme in the field?

Within the context of a peacekeeping mission, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) traditionally takes the lead on planning DDR with the collaboration and support of other UN agencies, funds and programmes that are involved, in a DDR process. As we increasingly move towards integrated UN DDR structures and programming, the tendency is for a more participatory planning process involving UN agencies at both country and HQ levels.

Rather, the criteria should be based on tests to determine an individual’s membership of an armed force or group. All those who are found to be members of an armed force or group, whether they were involved in active combat or in support roles (such as cooks, porters, messengers, administrators, sex slaves and ‘war wives’), shall be considered part of the armed force or group and therefore shall be included in the DDR programme.

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What are key strategic considerations for the planning and implementation of DDR?

(1) A new United Nations approach: In the past, programmes were often conducted in a fractured way, resulting in poor coordination and sometimes competition between and among peacekeeping operations, agencies, funds and programmes. It is important to integrate project work and programming of various UN departments and agencies.
(2) An integrated long-term outlook: approaching DDR in an integrated manner requires a shift in focus to put DDR firmly into the overall post-conflict stabilization and recovery process. At a strategic level this means that DDR cannot be implemented in isolation from the broader peace-building and recovery process and that it must be coordinated with the wider peace, recovery and development frameworks.
(3) Importance of political will: DDR is essentially a politically driven process. Many DDR programmes stall or are only partly implemented because the political climate is not right. The success of the DDR process therefore depends on the political will of the parties to enter into the process in a genuine manner.
(4) The establishment of a DDR process: a DDR process is usually agreed to and defined within a ceasefire, cessation of hostilities or comprehensive peace accord, providing the political operational framework for the process. Yet in some post-conflict contexts, the parties to a ceasefire or peace agreement may not trust each other and lack the capacity to design, plan and implement DDR programmes. It is important to push for the inclusion of detailed provisions for DDR in peace agreements that are in line with United Nations policy on DDR and for signatories to respect commitments they may make to be disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated.
(5) Risk of rapid disarmament: the long-term approach required of integrated DDR is at times offset by the short-term political or security imperative to rapidly disarm combatants that pose a potential threat to peace. When political and security imperatives push for a quick disarmament, there is a risk that this could lead to increased insecurity at a later stage, especially if reintegration support for demobilized combatants is not well planned and resourced.

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What are interactions with the DDR Section and the military and police components of peacekeeping missions?

The DDR components of peacekeeping missions work very closely with their military and police components. Early DDR requirements are factored into both military and police planning processes such as force generation and security assessment.

The military component could contribute to DDR in the following areas: provision of security; gathering and distribution of information; and the technical aspects of disarmament. In addition, military capabilities could be used to provide various aspects of logistic support, including camp construction, communications, transport and health, if spare capacity is available.

The relevance of policing to DDR is two-pronged: crime control, law and order, and security; and police reform/restructuring in the post-conflict period.

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What are roles of NGOs in DDR?

In addition to the UN bodies that work in the DDR operations, there are a multitude of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s) that operate in the sphere of DDR and post conflict reconstruction. The NGO’s often provide expertise in specific areas and can be a significant actor in ensuring that the needs of the community are meet. The NGO’s should be collaborated with and consulted with throughout the DDR process. NGO’s may assist UN operations in a variety of way such as camp management, running child care centers for demobilized children, small arms surveys, implementation of reintegration projects.

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How is gender addressed in DDR?

The IDDRS explains policy guidance on the gender aspects of the various stages in a DDR process while outlineing gender-aware interventions and female-specific actions that should be carried out. The IDDRS on gender also provides guidance on mainstreaming gender into all DDR policies and programmes to create gender-responsive DDR programmes. All UN and bilateral policies and programmes are strongly encouraged to comply with the Security Council resolution 1325.

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How is HIV/AIDS awareness incorporated into DDR programs?

The IDDRS addresses HIV/AIDS by providing policy makers, operational planners and DDR officers with guidance on how to plan and implement HIV/AIDS programmes as part of a DDR framework. It focuses on interventions during the demobilization and reintegration phases.

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How is the issue of 'child combatants' addressed in DDR?

There is a growing international consensus that the forced or compulsory recruitment of children — girls and boys under the age of 18 — and their use in hostilities by both armed forces and armed groups is illegal and one of the worst forms of child labour. The recruitment and use of children under 15 is a war crime. This consensus is expressed in a comprehensive set of international legal instruments, such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, and is reinforced by a series of United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions.

Unlike adults, children cannot legally be recruited; therefore, measures that aim to prevent their recruitment, or that attempt to reintegrate them into their communities, should not be viewed as a routine component of DDR, but as an attempt to prevent or redress a violation of children’s human rights. This means that child DDR is not the same as that for adults. Rather, it is a specific process with its own requirements, several of which are fundamentally different from adult demobilization programmes.

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What is the difference between reintegration and reinsertion?

Reinsertion is the assistance offered to ex-combatants during demobilization but prior to the longer-term process of reintegration. Reinsertion is a form of transitional assistance to help cover the basic needs of ex-combatants and their families and can include transitional safety allowances, food, clothes, shelter, medical services, short-term education, training, employment and tools. While reintegration is a long-term, continuous social and economic process of development, reinsertion is short-term material and/or financial assistance to meet immediate needs, and can last up to one year..

Reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income. Reintegration is essentially a social and economic process with an open time-frame, primarily taking place in communities at the local level. It is part of the general development of a country and a national responsibility, and often necessitates long-term external assistance.

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What are the major financing mechanisms (trust funds, bilateral multilateral, national funding, assessed budgets, etc.) for DDR activities?

A diverse range of financing mechanisms are utilized in DDR programmes, usually involving a mix of peacekeeping assessed contributions, multilateral (e.g. trust funds) as well as bilateral funding within the context of single DDR process. Conventionally, the disarmament and demobilization phases have been financed by the assessed contributions whereas the reintegration part has been funded by voluntary sources. While this increases the modalities available to mobilize, manage and disburse funding, this fragmented funding architecture also poses significant coordination challenges.

The largest and most common funding mechanism utilized for DDR are trust funds managed by either UNDP (e.g. Afghanistan and Liberia) or the World Bank (Great Lakes region, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone). These trust funds are primarily for unearmarked voluntary funds for reintegration activities, and usually come on line and reach a critical funding capacity well into a given DDR process.

Other funding modalities include rapid funding mechanisms, as well as emergency funds from either multilateral or bilateral sources, which provide in some cases access to resources before or immediately upon the launch of a DDR process. These resources are rarely available in significant quantities, however, and still leave a need to identify other resources that can provide up-front financial and operational capacity to DDR operations.

Assessed contributions play an important role in meeting the short term requirements not well covered by voluntary contributions, providing a bridging mechanism until other mechanisms, such as trust funds or bilateral funding, can provide voluntary financing to cover the bulk of requirements (and particularly reintegration). Assessed funds also have the advantage of being able to cover military-related expenditures (such as disarmament), which voluntary funds cannot.

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