UNDP Liberia

DISARMAMENT, DEMOBILIZATION, REHABILITATION, AND REINTEGRATION (DDRR)

The Demobilisation, Disarmament, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) programme closed in October 2007 following the successful disarmament and demobilization of 103,019 ex-combatants and reintegration of 90,000. The programme contributed to consolidating national security through the disarmament and reintegration into society of all ex-combatants. The DDRR process was initiated by the 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement crafted by Liberians and the International Contact Group on Liberia in Accra, Ghana as well as United Nations Security Council Resolution 1509 as a precondition to facilitating humanitarian assistance, restoration of civil authority, promotion of economic growth and sustainable development.

The DDRR Programme includes the following 2 components:
• Disarmament and Demobilisation (DD) : The goal of the DD component is the comprehensive collection and cantonment of weapons and ammunition; and the disenfranchising of disarmed combatants from the command structure of the fighting forces.

• Rehabilitation and Reintegration (RR) : The aim of the RR component is to provide reintegration support to demobilized ex-combatants to assist them in becoming productive members of society. RR rests on the three pillars of formal education, vocational training and social reintegration.

The programme was jointly initiated and implemented by national and international stakeholders including UNDP, UNMIL, the Government of Liberia, NGOs, and a number of other UN and international agencies. The Joint Implementation Unit (JIU) coordinated the implementation of the programme. The JIU is composed of UNDP, UNMIL, and the National Commission of DDRR (NCDDRR). As administrator of the DDRR Trust Fund, UNDP managed the funds for the entire programme.

Disarmament and Demobilisation

The culmination of the Disarmament and Demobilisation phase on December 2004 resulted in the disarmament of 103,019 LURD, MODEL and GOL combatants; and demobilisitation of 101,495 ex-combatants. Of these, 22,370 were women, 8,532 boys, and 2,440 girls. Fifty children have been repatriated from Sierra Leone.

More than 28,314 weapons, 33,604 pieces of heavy munitions, and 6,486,136 rounds of small arms ammunition were collected during the formal disarming period; and an additional 252 weapons and 3,513 rounds of ammunition since the formal culmination of the disarming period.

With the successful completion of the DD phase in December 2004 the focus shifted to the RR phase.

Reintegration and Rehabilitation

The RR phase was officially launched in 2004 and expanded to include the entire country through the establishment of field referral and counseling offices, which provided the backbone of the reintegration and rehabilitation. RR rests on the pillars of formal education, vocational training and social reintegration. During the DD phase, ex-combatants were asked to identify their preferred type of rehabilitation programme: formal education or vocational training.

Formal Training
UNDP actively supported the formal education of ex-combatants in 366 schools and colleges across Liberia. The formal education component of RR catered to the needs of up to 21,900 students and has recorded an extremely low failure and drop out rate. A further 1,500 students graduated from computer schools. UNDP supplied students with uniforms, school materials and other education-related materials, in addition to paying school fees and providing living allowances for students. UNDP committed to augmenting and improving the formal education component of the RR process and as such it hosted workshops and reviews in order to identify important issues and potential areas of improvement.

Vocational Training
Vocational training provided a means of income generation for ex-combatants, creating livelihoods and helping ease their reintegration into economic life, while at the same time providing a skilled labour force to support the recovery of the Liberian economy. UNDP worked closely with approximately 200 NGOs and UN agencies across Liberia to provide vocational training for ex-combatants. Ex-combatants were trained in construction, carpentry, plumbing, tailoring, cobbling, electronics, mechanics, soap production, baking, or agriculture depending on the preference declared during the DD phase.

A total of 22,000 ex-combatants registered to receive vocation training during the DD phase and by the end of 2007 over 10,500 had graduated from their respective UNDP supported courses with an estimated 44,000 job opportunities having been created.

Social Reintegration
With the formal education and vocational training components aimed to facilitate the economic reintegration of ex-combatants the UNDP recognizes that reintegration is much more than learning to earn a living. As such UNDP has strengthened the social reintegration aspects of the RR process by facilitating psycho-trauma counseling and human rights education into all RR projects.

NCDDRR

The National Commission of Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration and Rehabilitation is fully functional and has assumed responsibility for the residual caseload of the reintegration process. The Executive Director and two deputies were appointed by the President and the commission has benefited from assets left over from the DDRR programme including vehicles, computers and other logistics