Will Kinshasa's $100m disarmament plan succeed where others failed?
The East African 09:38 16-Mar-14
The Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) plans to
disarm 54 armed groups in the east of the country in the next five
years.
But will the third, $100 million attempt at disarmament,
demobilisation and reintegration (DDR3) succeed where previous bids
failed?
"The future of peace and stability in the region" depends to a large
extent on the answer to this question being "yes", according to a
recent paper by the Enough Project.
Thousands of fighters from various groups have reported to army bases
in eastern DRC to take part.
They had been prompted by the surprise defeat of the M23 rebellion by
the combined forces of the national army and the UN military mission
in DRC (Monusco) in December and by subsequent warnings that other
groups would soon be targeted.
Armed groups have wreaked havoc with impunity in eastern DRC since
1998. Around two million people are displaced from their homes in part
of the country which is suffering a chronic humanitarian crisis.
The health system in particular is in a "catastrophic state" because
repeated armed conflict has led to large-scale dilapidation of
infrastructure and frequent interruptions of services, according to a
report published on March 4 by Médecins Sans Frontières.
The establishment in 2013 of a 3,000 strong Force Intervention Brigade
within Monusco proved to be a game-changer because of the specialised
support it lent the national army, FARDC, to crush the M23 rebels.
The brigade's aggressive use of combat support helicopters is widely
seen as the decisive intervention.
Monusco's adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles has greatly increased
its surveillance capabilities and thereby the chances of rebel groups
being defeated militarily.
Fighters began leaving these groups in large numbers after the M23
formally surrendered. Around the same time, the government began to
unveil its plans for DDR3, although it had not then (and has not yet)
secured the required funding from donors.
This DDR operation has a preliminary sensitisation phase, whereby
combatants host communities as well as military and civilian
authorities and civil society, will receive detailed information about
the entire process.
The participants are to undergo most of the demobilisation process in
locations far from their home turf (specifically, in camps in Kamina,
North Katanga Province; Kitona in Bas-Congo; and Kotakoli in
Equateur).
"Given the lack of trust among some communities and towards the
government, sensitisation will be vital to convince surrendered
militia groups to leave their fiefs in order to undergo DDR in the
west and southeast of the country," DRC analyst Christoph Vogel of
Cologne University's Institute for African Studies wrote in his blog.
This DDR exercise will also allow only a few participants to join the
national army; most will be helped to reintegrate into civilian life.
"It's vital to learn from past experiences," Chantal Daniels, a policy
and conflict adviser for Christian Aid, said.
"DDR is not new in the DRC and past projects failed lamentably."
Between 2004 and 2008 more than 132,000 combatants, including 30,219
children, were demobilised.
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--
SIBOMANA Jean Bosco
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