Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo

6 October 2004 - (European Commission, UNDP and the MDRP) ‘Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration’ (DDR) refers to a temporary intervention designed to restore security and establish the preconditions for post-war recovery. In the Republic of Congo (RoC) DDR activities have focused on reducing the number of weapons in the hands of ex-combatants, their reintegration into society, reform of the armed forces and police, and repatriation of foreign ex-combatants. Evaluation of these activities suggests that DDR in the RoC is achievable, but requires more political and financial support.

An evaluation report by the European Commission, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Bank assesses the impacts of DDR activities in the RoC since the signing of peace accords at the end of 1999. It argues the need for the RoC government to develop a national DDR plan and warns that disarmament will only succeed if backed up with political commitment, attention to sequencing and adequate international financing.

At the end of 1999 more than 60000 refugees had fled conflict in the RoC to become refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). At least 580000 others were internally-displaced persons (IDPs). Conflicts in neighbouring states also led to the RoC hosting refugees. Although the primary source of RoC’s foreign exchange – the off-shore oil industry – was not severely affected by the war, the macroeconomic costs of conflict in relation to GDP, debt servicing and public expenditures were devastating.

By 2003 some 150000 people – around 5% of the population – were classified as IDPs, and more than 20000 refugees of RoC origin remained in neighbouring countries. Over 100000 refugees – primarily from DRC – were living in the RoC. Key infrastructure development projects such as road-building schemes continued to be jeopardised by ongoing insecurity – particularly in some southern regions.

The evaluation reports that:

* There are major discrepancies between the RoC government statistics and international agencies’ estimates of the remaining number of local and foreign fighters based in the RoC and the number of Congolese ex-combatants still resident abroad.

* Multilateral efforts between regional governments and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to repatriate ex-combatants have borne little fruit.

* Informants have greater fear of the RoC army and police than of ex-combatants.
DDR will succeed only if:

* All actors recognise the risks involved with disarmament.

* Finance is consistently and speedily disbursed.

* There is effective restructuring of the security sector in order to reduce the size of the RoC’s army and to train police.

* It is realised that DDR interventions cannot be carried out in isolation from instability in neighbouring and regional states.

* A coherent strategy is developed for the disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) of foreign ex-combatants living in the RoC, ex-combatants from Gabon and the Central African Republic living in the RoC and Congolese ex-combatants living in neighbouring states.

* There is consensus that DDR cannot be a substitute for development programmes and should not be used as a vehicle for job creation and infrastructure development.

DDR is invariably complex. The ingredients of success include unambiguous political commitment, sustained financial support, realistic benchmarks, clear lines of communication between stakeholders and effective coordination. Unfortunately, financing for disarmament in the RoC, as throughout the wider Great Lakes region, is becoming increasingly difficult in the current international political climate.

Source(s):
‘The long shadow of war: prospects for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo: A joint independent evaluation for the European Commission, UNDP and the MDRP Secretariat’ by Robert Muggah, Philippe Maughan and Christian Bugnion

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