Reintegration: Agreement on Ending Hostilities in the Republic of Congo

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Reintegration: Agreement on Ending Hostilities in the Republic of Congo

Implementations

Reintegration – 2000

UNDP started the reintegration of demobilized soldiers in 2000; approximately 15,000 ex-combatants were registered in that year. Individual combatants received $20 each.

Reintegration – 2001

The reintegration program was interrupted in 2001. The High Commission for the Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (HCDRE) was set up, but it did not start providing assistance until mid-2002.1

  1. Anders Themner, Violence in Post-Conflict Societies: Remarginalization, Remobilization and Relationships (London: Routledge, 2011).

Reintegration – 2002

By late 2002, some 11,000 ex-combatants received partial assistance for reintegration. An estimated 8,019 ex-combatants had officially received reintegration support through 2,610 micro-projects funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).1 The reintegration program was largely supported by Multi Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) and in the Republic of Congo, the program was carried out by the Republic of Congo Emergency Reintegration Program (RCERP). The program was expected to support some 30,000 demobilized combatants with reintegration into society by providing support to micro-projects so that the ex-combatants would have sustainable livelihood support. Nevertheless, not all combatants received reintegration support. In the initial stage, a large percentage of ex-Ninjas did not register for the reintegration program out of fear for their security.2

By the end of December 2002, only 2,182 ex-Ntsiloulous were registered to participate in the reintegration program, representing approximately 27% of all beneficiaries of the reintegration program.3 Part of the reason for the low rate of participation among ex- Ntsiloulous was the concentration of the UNDP reintegration program in Brazzaville while most ex-Ntsiloulous resided in the Pool region. By the time the UNDP moved its focus to the Pool region, the funding sources had dried up. The High Commission for the Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (HCDRE) began to provide assistance mid-2002.4

Between August 2000 and April 2002, about 4,300 ex-Cobras received assistance from UNDP to start micro-projects. An estimated 2,200 to 4,700 ex-Cobras did not participate in the UNDP program or did not receive reintegration support. Only 1,223 former Cocoyes received access to micro-credit support via the UNDP programs, leaving a large percentage of ex-combatants without access to reintegration support. Mboungou-Mboungou, former vice-president of CNR, became a commissioner of HCDRE. HCDRE was able to assist around 5,400 former Cocoyes until the termination of the program in 2005. An estimated 6,600 former Cocoyes did eventually receive reintegration benefits from UNDP and HCDRE. An estimated 2,000-3,000 did not receive any support.5

  1. 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.
  2. Themner, Violence in Post-Conflict Societies: Remarginalization, Remobilization and Relationships.
  3. Ibid., 56.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Ibid., 77.

Reintegration – 2003

No developments observed this year.

Reintegration – 2004

No developments observed this year.

Reintegration – 2005

The High Commission for the Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants (HCDRE) terminated its program in 2005.

Reintegration – 2006

No developments observed this year.

Reintegration – 2007

No developments observed this year.

Reintegration – 2008

No developments observed this year.

Reintegration – 2009

No further developments occurred in 2009.

According to a MDRP Final Report, an estimated 15,179 out of an estimated 30,000 ex-combatants–(about 51%)– had received reintegration support by the end of July 2010.1 There were allegations, however, that the HCDRE only provided patronage to former rebel leaders and did little to nothing for ordinary former combatants.

  1. “MDRP Final Report: Overview of Program Achievements,” International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank, July 2010, accessed March 7, 2012, http://mdrp.org/PDFs/MDRP_Final_Report.pdf.