DDR*: Reintegration has been completed in time and within costs

1 July 2006: The completion of the reintegration phase of DDR* by June 30^th , 2006 has marked the end of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration process in Afghanistan - in time and within costs (USD 141 million). In addition, as the reintegration phase was brought to an end, 25% of the ex-combatants have found a long-term and sustainable activity.

DDR* was initiated in February 2003 at the Tokyo conference. DDR supported the disarmament of 63,380 former officers and soldiers of the Afghan Military Forces (AMF) as well as the decommissioning of 259 AMF units. Fifty-five thousand eight hundred and four (55,804) ex-combatants chose one of the reintegration options, which further benefited 53,415 of them, leaving aside 2,759 drop-outs.

The approach to reintegration has been holistic and reintegration options have ranged from agriculture, vocational training and job placement, small business opportunities, demining, teaching, government jobs, wage labor and joining Afghan National Army (ANA) or the Police.       

The Commanders Incentive Programme (CIP)

 One of the key problems encountered during the DDR process was the close bond between former commanders and their soldiers, which resulted in a strong social network of dependency and a potential threat to security. To address this issue, much attention has been given to the demobilisation and reintegration of former commanders through different reintegration packages such as financial redundancy package, training and trips abroad, in-country training and government positions. Since it was incepted in mid 2004, CIP project has reintegrated approximately 320 commanders and 150 Ministry of Defence generals.

Women and Children of the ex-combatant community

The Afghanistan New Beginnings Programme (ANBP) is also looking at providing direct services to women and children from the ex-combatant community. To date, 24,536 women have received or are scheduled to receive additional education and income generation opportunities in development projects. A Letter of Intent was signed with the World Food Programme (WFP) to facilitate the inclusion of 4,455 women from the ex-combatant community in WFP-related project from 2006 to 2010. Also, 153,915 children from the ex-combatant community have received assistance through WFP’s de–worming and Food for Education assistance programmes. These gender mainstreaming efforts signal the beginning of a fundamental shift in the DDR strategy and activities related to women.

Follow up to DDR: the Reintegration Support Project (RSP)

In order to ensure sustainability to the overall DDR effort, ANBP and UNDP, in agreement with the Afghan Government, are looking at a Reintegration Support Project (RSP) to last until December 2007 and follow up DDR. This project, which will be implemented in partnership with the Afghan Government, will address civil servants in relevant ministries to train them in dealing with reintegration issues.  It will also allow ANBP to continue looking at various livelihood opportunities for ex-combatants. The overall aim of the RSP project is to continue to provide assistance to the reintegration caseload by and while transferring required skills needed for the Government of Afghanistan.

DDR Background

DDR was initiated in February 2003 at the Tokyo donor conference, with Japan as the lead nation. The implementation of the programme started in October 2003 through pilot projects and became national by May 2004. As the AMF progressively dissolved, 93,000 names from an estimated list of 100,000 AMF personnel were removed from the Ministry of Defense payroll, allowing a budget saving of over USD 120 million, currently used for defence reform and the new ANA.

DDR had two main goals: to break the historic patriarchal chain of command existing between the former commanders and their men and to provide the demobilised personnel with the ability to become economically independent - the ultimate objective being to reinforce the authority of the government.  However, DDR was never mandated to disarm the population per se or provide direct employment but to assist AMF military personnel to transition from military into civilian occupations.

 

The US $141 million programme was funded by:

-          Japan, US $91 million,  as the lead nation,              

-          the United Kingdom, US $19 million                    

-          Canada, US $16 million

-          USA,  $9 million

-          The Netherlands, US $4 million

-          Norway, US $0.8 million

-          Switzerland, US $0.5 million

-          The European Commission, US $0.1 million

 

ANBP Background

 

ANBP is a UNDP project created in April 2003 to assist the overall DDR process as foreseen in the Bonn Agreement. With the support of UNAMA and other relevant Afghan ministries, ANBP has ensured the development and the implementation of an integrated DDR effort, through regional offices and mobile units throughout the country. With emphasis now given to the Security Sector Reform, ANBP is also involved with:

 

-           Heavy Weapons Cantonment

-           Anti Personnel Mines and Ammunition Stockpile Destruction Project

-           Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups (DIAG)

 

 *DDR: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration

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