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Reintegration – 2006

By June, 66,000 of the 101,874 demobilized ex-combatants had completed or were participating in a UNDP-funded reintegration program. By 2006, the biggest impediment to the recovery process was inadequate funding, which greatly inhibited the reintegration of the remaining 35,000 ex-combatants who were demobilized.¹ By November, 39,000 ex-combatants were still waiting to be absorbed into reintegration programs.

“UNMIL survey conducted in December 2006 revealed that some 23 percent of ex-combatants worked in agriculture, 19 percent were unemployed, and only 17 percent were students. According to the UNDDR, 30,000 ex-combatants enrolled in formal education in 2006. The students were given an allowance for two years and help with uniform and registration expenses. A variety of vocational training opportunities were offered by organizations after approval from the JIU. Many remain active. Approximately two thirds of ex-combatants participated in DDRR Trust Fund programming. The remaining third participated in projects administered by the European Commission, USAID, and UNICEF.”² It was believed that many ex-combatants sold their insertion kit that they received during their reintegration program.

1. “Secretary General’s Report to the UN Security Council,” United Nations Security Council (S/2006/376), June 9, 2006.
2. “School for a Culture of Peace,” Liberia- DDRR, 2009, accessed May 10, 2011, http://escolapau.uab.cat/img/programas/desarme/mapa/liberia09i.pdf.