Reintegration – 1999

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Reintegration – 1999

1999

Intermediate Implementation Intermediate implementation

The DDR process started in October 1998 and was run by UNASMIL in coordination with NCDDR. The process was comprised of four different phases: (1) Phase I- September — December 1998; (2) Phase II- October 1999-April 2000; (3) Interim Phase – May 2000-May 17, 2001; (4) Phase III- May 18, 2001-January 2002.1

According to the eighth report of Secretary General on UNOMSIL, “the Government of Sierra Leone, working in close cooperation with the World Bank, the United Kingdom and UNOMSIL, developed an operational plan for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration into society of an estimated 45,000 fighters in Sierra Leone.”2 “The strength of the RUF is estimated at some 15,000, approximately the same size as the Civil Defence Force. The AFRC comprises some 6,000 men, slightly fewer than the current armed forces of Sierra Leone, which have a nominal roll of 7,000. Some 2,000 fighters are thought to belong to various paramilitary groups. UNICEF estimates that about 12 per cent of all combatants are children.”3

During the first phase, pre-discharge orientation, held between September and December 1998, combatants would receive basic necessities. They would also receive an allowance before being returned to their communities. The process was expected to take 90 days.4 The implementation was designed to take place in phases (see above).

The demobilization program officially started on October 20, 1999, and the second phase of the DDR began on November 4, 1999 with the opening of demobilization centers at Port Loko (center for RUF/AFRC and CDF), Daru (RUF/AFRC), Kenema (CDF), and at the camp in Lungi.

As of November 30, 1999, out of an estimated 45,000 combatants, only 4,217 ex-combatants were registered.5 The weapon to surrender ratio was about 1:4.

  1. Thokozani Thusi and Sarah Meek, “Disarmament and Demobilization,” 2003, In eds. Mark Malan, Sarah Meek, Thokozani Thusi, Jeremy Ginifer, Patrick Coker, “Sierra Leone: Building the Road to Recovery,” Institute for Security Studies, Monograph 80, http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/monographs/No80/content.html, pp. 24-25.
  2. “Eighth Report of the Secretary General on UNOMSIL,” S/1999/1003, September 28, 1999, p.6.
  3. S/1999/1003, p. 7.
  4. Ibid.
  5. “Report of the Secretary General on UNOMSIL,” S/1999/1223, December 6, 1999, p. 4.