About the Workshop

INTRODUCTION

During the past two decades more than half of the wars in the world have occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. Of those wars, more than half of all countries in the region were involved. In recent years, serious efforts have been made by several countries to de-escalate war, end violent conflict and move towards peace, post-conflict reconstruction and sustainable development. A major problem confronting countries in the region is how to realize the disarmament, demobilization and reinsertion (DDR) into civil society of troops who are no longer considered essential to national security. The benefits of DDR are mostly self-evident. They range from greater political stability and substantial economic and social benefits to improved security. However, the DDR process is complex, requiring success on a series of fronts that is often difficult to accomplish.

DDR is inextricably bound with the politics of peace accords and political settlements arrived at by the warring parties. Such accords and settlements are often fragile and need careful nurturing. DDR involves not only regular troops and their governments but also guerrilla groups and other non-governmental parties. Adding to this mix is the fact that frequently more than one country is involved. Many of the African wars are regional in scope with cross-border connections and participation. DDR often requires large amounts of financial, technical and human resources. Its multi-faceted approach poses a broad series of questions in a variety of disciplines ranging from health to education, employment and security. This complexity is further deepened by the fact that a single area, such as health, usually holds several interrelated issues as well. Issues may include treatment of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, psychosocial trauma, how to assist vulnerable groups, and the inadequacy of infrastructure for service delivery. In other words, DDR raises a complex range of crosscutting issues that require a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach within a framework of transition to sustainable development.

The challenge of DDR in the African context is that it requires the cooperative, integrated efforts, strategies and resources of national governments, African regional organizations, national and international PVOs, multilateral agencies (including the UN system), international financial institutions and donors. To be successful, DDR requires international cooperation to find meaningful, efficient and sustainable solutions. The Workshop in Nairobi was designed and organized by USAID in that spirit of cooperation.

WORKSHOP

The gathering was purposely designated as a workshop, not a conference. It was expressly intended not as an academic exercise or as an exercise affirming and congratulating each other on a "job well done." Rather, the workshop organizers purposely chose a “hands on,” “roll up the sleeves” approach to fully understand how to integrate demobilization theory and practice into daily work practices and organizational approaches.

The first lesson was about the “mechanics” of demobilization, including its various phases.  The workshop then shared lessons learned and case studies, looking at the “nuts and bolts” realities that need to be addressed.  Relevant crosscutting issues such as HIV/AIDS, arms flows, psychosocial issues, vulnerable group needs and security sector reform were also addressed, as they are integral to successful demobilization efforts.  Finally, information on each organization's respective capacities and comparative advantages was shared, exploring how we can each contribute effectively to demobilization efforts in an integrated fashion.

The goal at the end of the two days was that a draft framework for better international cooperation in planning and implementing demobilization activities be developed.  This workshop was just a beginning, not an end in itself. It should be considered as the first step in a multi-step process of learning to work together in a more systematic fashion.

This workshop has grown out of the U.S. Government’s experience in supporting disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs worldwide for over a decade.  There is a clear need to share experiences and lessons learned from past programs. The workshop was conceived to apply those lessons to new situations that arise in the future.  Hopefully, as development practitioners, we can utilize this information to assist countries in the transition to peace and post-conflict sustainable development.

OBJECTIVES

Objective 1: To better understand the process of demobilization (which includes several phases; disarming, decommissioning, reintegrating and reconciling) from a state of war, or returning to civilian life from active military service.

Objective 2: To share lessons learned from the field about how demobilization and reintegration are implemented through the use of African case studies and country specific discussions.

Objective 3: To learn how to design and implement a program that incorporates current cross cutting issues, such as HIV/AIDS, arms flows and security sector reform into USAID programming in this area. 

Objective 4: To better define the capacities and comparative advantages of key US government players and international actors in the demobilization process.