Disarmament: Agreement on Ending Hostilities in the Republic of Congo
Implementations
Disarmament – 2000
While most of the combatants self-demobilized after the 1997 ban on militia groups, disarming ex-combatants proved to be very challenging. In January 2000, the government of the Republic of Congo proposed to demobilize and reintegrate as many as 22,000 ex-combatants and collect an estimated 71,500 weapons. The weapon collection estimate, however, was not met as only 6,500 weapons were collected from an estimated 15,000 combatants.1 The government created an oversight committee. In July 2000, a project involving weapons collection and destruction in support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IOM was created. This program also had a component of reintegration and a micro-project focusing on ex-combatants.
- A. Caramés, “Congo (PNDDR, 2004-2008),” DDR 2009: Analysis of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Programmes in the World during 2008 (Bellaterra: School for a Culture of Peace, 2009), 59-64.
Disarmament – 2001
No developments observed this year.
Disarmament – 2002
At the end of the program in December 2002, 11,140 weapons (3,100 small arms and 8,000 grenades and explosives) had been collected.
Disarmament – 2003
In April 2003, 2,300 Ntsiloulous surrendered their arms after signing an agreement in March of that year.1 As such, the progress made in terms of weapons collections was not very successful. The Programme National de Désarmament, Démobilisation et Réisertion (PNDDR) was responsible for the planning of the disarmament process.
Disarmament – 2004
No developments observed this year.
Disarmament – 2005
Disarmament was an integral part of PNDDR and was undertaken by UNDP through a project known as Projet de Collect et destruction dÕArmes pour le Développement (PCAD) in coordination with other national security forces. The first phase of the PCAD started in November 2005 and ended in November 2006. With a budget of 2 million Euro, the PCAD collected 1,308 small arms, 626,503 ammunition rounds, and 2,434 assorted explosives.1
- Nelson Alusala and Guy Lamb, “Emerging Human Security Issues in the Planned Implementation of MDRP Fund in the Republic of Congo (RoC),”(paper contribution to DDR and Human Security: Post-conflict Security-building in the Interests of the Poor, University of Bradford, July 2008).
Disarmament – 2006
The first phase of the PCAD ended in November 2006.
Disarmament – 2007
No developments observed this year.
Disarmament – 2008
The second phase of the PCAD was supposed to start immediately after the closure of the first phase in November 2006. The program did not start until June 2008 when the PCAD received $2,913,524 in funding from the government of Japan. In this phase the program was focused outside of Brazzaville. It was expected that some 3,000 arms, 3,000 explosives, 60,000 large-caliber ammunition, and 1,000,000 cartridges would be collected.1 Whether the PCAD II met its objective or not is not known.
- “Projet PCAD II,” UNDP, accessed March 2, 2012, http://www.cg.undp.org/ViewPage.aspx?ProjetID=52&NewsID=13&Parte=0.
Disarmament – 2009
No further developments observed.