About the project
Aims and Objectives | Project Rationale | Methodology | Beneficiaries and stakeholders | Project duration and implementation | Phase I | Phase II | Phase III | Sustainability
Aims and Objectives
The primary goal of the Project is to assess the design, development and implementation of DDR and related processes and ascertain the extent to which they promote human security and reflect the interests of the poor. The objective is to produce quality evidence-based applied research outputs that will contribute to an improved understanding amongst relevant international and local policy/practitioner communities, including donors, of the ways in which DDR processes and their relationships with other related programmes, as well as their integration into wider peace-building processes, impact upon human security including that of the poor. Drawing on our review and analysis of DDR and related programmes and processes to date, the Project will identify lessons-learnt, good practices, and improved DDR and associated programme design, development and implementation.
Project Rationale
The design, development and implementation of peace-support missions and programmes for countries in, or emerging from, conflict are a major area of engagement for many donors. DDR is now acknowledged to be a key component of wider peace support efforts. As highlighted by DFID in its March 2005 report, Fighting Poverty to Build a Safer World: A Strategy for Security and Development, conflict and post-conflict situations often lessen the security of the poor. To date, however, evidence suggests that consideration of the security needs and perspectives of the poor and most vulnerable have not necessarily been mainstreamed into DDR. Recent international initiatives - the Stockholm Initiative on DDR (SIDDR) and the UN Interagency Working Group (IAWG) to develop integrated standards on DDR (IDDRS), in particular - have reviewed DDR experience with a view to developing more effective and coordinated policies and programmes. Individual agencies such as UNDPKO, UNDP and others have produced best practice guidelines. The opportunities and means of building human security and the interests of the poor into DDR programmes and processes have not, however, necessarily been fully articulated.
Recent international reviews of DDR programmes also indicate a need both to recognize their limits and to define their parameters in relation to other related programming. This Project focuses on ways in which the relationship between DDR and related programming might be designed to reflect human security and the interests of the poor.
This focus opens up some critical and relatively neglected areas of policy and programme design including human security from violence, safety and security, and access to justice (SSAJ), small arms and light weapons (SALW), security sector reform (SSR), violence reduction and other such programmes which coexist with or follow DDR programmes. There is evidence of inadequate linkages, coordination and coherence among these. This Project examines experiences and identifies opportunities with a view to developing guidance on the ways in which these relationships can be better designed and implemented. It will also contribute by suggesting ways of overcoming the present lack of interaction among the communities responsible for these various programming areas.
Finally, there are major gaps in understanding and practice regarding the ways in which DDR processes fit into the longer term processes of ending conflict and supporting reconstruction and peace. Understandings of the key roles that DDR can play in conflict prevention and security-building are not always fully analysed or articulated. Further, the longer term relationships and implications of DDR processes for SSR, weapons control, reconstruction and development are sometimes poorly thought through. This Project is designed to address some of these gaps in thinking and knowledge.
Methodology
Lines of research in relation to human security and the poor revolve around:
The design, development and implementation of DDR programmes.
The nature and effectiveness of relationships between DDR and related security and social support programmes in countries emerging from conflict.
The ways in which DDR concerns and programmes are integrated into the development and negotiation of peace-agreements, and embedded in strategies and missions to support post-conflict peace-building and reconstruction.
The Project will examine these three themes systematically in relation both to:
The distinctive phases of emergence from conflict including post-conflict recovery and reconstruction.
And the two key ways that DDR and associated programmes directly affect the human security of the poor; namely through improvement of their security from violence ("freedom from fear") and through social support and poverty alleviation ("freedom from want").
The 'Poor' is a diverse category, delineated according to many characteristics (such as age, sex and ethnicity). The Project will distinguish between such categories, to ensure that the impacts and design implications of programming are specifically explored in relation to each of them.
Beneficiaries and stakeholders
The ultimate target beneficiaries of the Project are the poor in contexts where DDR and related activities take place. The primary stakeholders are members of the international and local policy and practitioner communities concerned with the design, development and implementation of programmes or missions to support peace processes, post-conflict stabilisation, peace-building and reconstruction. Primary stakeholders include the UN (DPKO, DPA, DDA, and UNDP), relevant regional and international organizations (including EU, AU, ECOWAS, OAS, and ARF), relevant national government institutions and agencies (both in donor countries and those where DDR is taking place), and NGOs (both international and local in the affected regions). The Project is designed to benefit those pursuing and supporting national and international poverty reduction objectives in countries emerging from conflict, while at the same time supporting the objectives of those working to reduce conflict.
Secondary stakeholders include the wider communities of policy-makers, researchers, opinion-formers, and civil society groups - international and in directly affected regions - that are directly concerned with the impact and effectiveness of DDR processes and associated programmes.
Project Duration and Implementation
The Project began in March 2006 and was implemented in three phases, ending in July 2008. It is designed to combine applied evidence-based research and systematic review with key stakeholder engagement. Emphasis is particularly placed on securing the perspectives of those in the South as well as the international policy community.
Key project activities include examination and review of existing information and studies, combined with in-depth investigation and analysis of experience in selected countries across the world. Based on this empirical work, detailed lessons-learnt and guidance documents will be produced. An International Workshop will explore thematic themes and review outputs and will contribute to the development of working papers. Outputs will include a set of five working paper series, impact assessments/case studies, mini-case studies and desk reviews detailing design principles and good practice guidelines to support human security and objectives that reflect the interests of the poor.
Key Activities and Outputs by Phase
Phase I: March - July 2006
This first phase of the Project established working relationships and initiated cooperation and contact with key stakeholders. An initial review of DDR and related processes in terms of human security and the interests of the poor as presented in the literature, including policy documents and related independent analyses, was undertaken, supplemented by interviews with primary stakeholders, including participants in the UN and Stockholm DDR processes. The results of these reviews fed into a methodological statement that developed the analytical framework for assessing the impact of these programmes and processes on human security and the poor.
A Workshop at the end of Phase I in July 2006 brought together the Project Partners, leading practitioners and researchers to identify and examine issues and priorities for the Project following on from the SIDDR and UN IDDRS initiatives. Those discussions focused on how DDR could then be taken forward in a way that maximizes the benefits for the poor. Opportunities and challenges for better coordinating DDR with related programming (i.e., SSR, SALW, Transitional Justice, IDP Return, etc.) in the context of wider post-conflict recovery and peace-building strategies, as well as, issues, themes and priorities for DDR in relation to poverty and development, were examined.
Phase II: August 2006 - March 2008
Phase II saw the completion of the central research elements of the Project. This work started with the completion of three detailed Case Studies constituting impact assessments of DDR projects and involving in-country field research.
The three main Case Studies focused on:
1. Liberia
2. Sierra Leone; and
3. East Timor.
In addition, the project also commissioned a fourth paper to present an overview of the two West African Case Studies in order to compare and contrast the two cases thereby providing a more in-depth and cross-cutting analysis for examination.
4. West African Overview Paper.
During this phase, it was agreed that the three main Case Studies needed to be supported by a set of seven additional Mini-case Studies in order to supplement the twelve Desk Reviews of the significant DDR programmes.
The seven Mini-case Studies include:
1. Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
2. Burundi;
3. Central African Republic (CAR);
4. Congo Brazzaville;
5. Nepal;
6. South Sudan, and;
7. Uganda.
The twelve Desk Reviews looked at the following countries:
1. Afghanistan;
2. Angola;
3. Burundi;
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH);
5. Cambodia;
6. El Salvador;
7. Eritrea;
8. Haití;
9. Ivory Coast;
10. Kosovo;
11. Mozambique, and;
12. Níger.
This detailed field and desk research was used as the empirical basis for the five Thematic Working Papers investigating the central issues and key themes identified for the project.
The Thematic Working Papers have focused on the following critical topics:
1. DDR Programming:
A critical examination of the evolution of the DDR concept and programming including, the Multi-country Demobilization and Reintegration Programme (MDRP), the SIDDR, the UN IDDRS and the way forward for future DDR initiatives.
2. DDR and Security Sector Reform (SSR):
This paper examines the challenges and priorities for integrating and coordinating DDR and SSR programmes in countries emerging from conflict.
3. DDR and Arms Management and SALW Programmes:
This paper analyses the opportunities and main concerns for integrating and coordinating DDR with Arms Management and SALW programmes in a countries emerging from conflict.
4. DDR and Post-conflict Stabilisation:
This paper scrutinizes the conceptual underpinnings and practical applications of reinsertion assistance as a transitional and interim support mechanism which links the demobilisation and reintegration phases in war-to-peace transitions. It examines experience and priorities for coordination between DDR and other programmes relating to human security (such as IDP return and freedom from want).
5. DDR and Longer Term Development and Peace-building:
This paper looks at the inter-relationship between DDR and associated security programmes and the transition and/or development from post-conflict stabilisation towards longer-term peace-building and national or regional development processes.
Phase III: April - July 2008
The third phase of the project saw the final editing, updating and revision of the main project research elements by external reviewers and the project team.
The final outputs included the following:
Five Thematic Working Papers;
Three main Case Studies;
Seven Mini-case Studies;
Twelve Desk Reviews;
A Literature Survey, and;
An international Workshop Report.
These documents and other key background materials and critical resources can be found at the Project Website: http://www.ddr-humansecurity.org.uk/
Beneficiaries and Stakeholders
The ultimate target beneficiaries of the Project are the poor in contexts where DDR and related activities take place.
The primary stakeholders are members of the international and national policy and practitioner communities concerned with the design, development and implementation of programmes or missions to support peace processes, post-conflict stabilisation, peace-building and reconstruction. These include:
The United Nations system, especially DPKO, DPA, DDA, and UNDP;
Relevant Regional and International Organizations, including EU, AU, ECOWAS, OAS, and ARF;
Relevant national government institutions, ministries and agencies both in donor and host countries where DDR is taking place, and;
NGOs, both international and local in the affected regions.
Throughout the project, project partners and researchers have engaged with all of these types of beneficiary and stakeholder groups, through a combination of activities and events supported directly by this project and wider engagement in relevant workshop, meetings and processes.
The Project is designed to benefit those pursuing and supporting national and international poverty reduction objectives in countries emerging from conflict, while at the same time supporting the objectives of those working to reduce violent conflict and build peace.
Secondary stakeholders include the wider communities of policy-makers, researchers, opinion-formers, and civil society groups, operating both internationally and in affected regions, which are directly concerned with the impact and effectiveness of DDR processes and associated programmes.
Sustainability
One indicator of success will be whether the project positively influences debates in DDR and related processes and not only leads to beneficial outcomes on the ground but also results in changes in relevant national, regional and international guidelines and procedures on the design, development and implementation of DDR and associated programmes. The project addresses a relatively neglected area, but success in its goals could lead to enduring improvement in DDR understandings and design with long-term benefits for the poor and affected populations.
Similarly, the project has created linkages and shared understandings amongst policy and practitioner communities concerned with DDR, justice and security as they direct more informed support strategies for the poor and vulnerable communities.
It has been agreed that that Project Team and its wide network of partners and contacts across the world, including in affected regions, have a long-tem commitment to the issues addressed beyond the end of this project. For example, the intention is to continue to maintain the Project Website after the project closes to promote uptake of the findings, generate new interest and evolve them further. A series of follow-on activities and publications are planned, to further disseminate findings. Finally, the findings and guidelines from the project will be integrated into the consultancy services and education and training courses of the Project Partners across the world.