Topic: Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)
Sponsors: Democratic Republic Congo
Signatories: Egypt, Chad, Kenya, South Sudan
Recalling the implementation of the Resolution 1540 from 2004 from the UN – Security Council, which has been a critical and important tool to the disarmament and non-proliferation framework,
Affirming the Resolution 1977 adopted in 2011 about the need to enhance coordination of efforts at national, regional and international levels and the need for enhanced assistance and collaboration between the 1540 committee and relevant international and regional organizations,
Referring to the Addis Ababa framework agreement from 2013 concerning peace, security, and cooperation in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Noting with deep concern that there are still highly violent conflicts taking place in many areas of the African continent,
Deeply regretting the amount of death and injured the conflicts have cost,
Recognizing the extraordinarily positive effects of cooperation in between AU bodies, especially the ECOSOCC,
- Emphasizes the importance of DDR activities for both the initial stabilization of war-torn societies as well as their long term development;
- Takes note of the fact that the ongoing armed fights between non-residential groups prevent the development of a sustainable economic system which is crucial for creating lasting independence from foreign aid;
- Supports the collection, documentation, control and disposal of weapons of all kinds from combatants and the civil population;
- Encourages the reintegration activities by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income;
- Reminds that all political, social and economic effort are being seen with an open end;
- Declares that efforts have to primarily take place in communities at a local level;
- Further emphasizes the crucial importance of paying utmost respect to each country’s national sovereignty;
- Establishes the African Union Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), thereafter called “the commission”,:
- to be a subsidiary body to the African Union Peace and Security Council,
- to provide African Union member states with technical, strategical and operational support in the establishment and conduct of DDR missions whilst
- analyzing local situations in close cooperation with responsible authorities,
- adapting fitting best-practices to individual cases and scenarios,
- aiding authorities in requesting funds for DDR operations,
- providing feedback reports to local authorities every two months on how DDR programs could further be improved,
- to file bi-annual, public reports, detailing success and failure of all DDR missions it is involved in to collect further information on how to improve those and future programs,
- to report annually to the Peace and Security Council (PSC) on its workings, specifically with regard to how operations could be improved through AU support,
- to initially comprise of a permanently working core of 7 experienced experts in the field of DDR and social integration whilst having monthly meetings in sessions where representatives of all nations, represented in the PSC, have the opportunity and are encouraged to participate in,
- to be provided with additional resources for individually developed projects,
- to work closely with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC) and request supportive resources based on specific needs,
- to suggest supportive measures in countries and regions where it deems additional DDR programs to be necessary,
- whilst focusing on developing coherent programs where all elements are considered with each other in mind,
- to work closely with the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the African Union and the Association de l’Afrique et de la Francophonie to develop programs in support of a growing economy so as to facilitate reintegration efforts,
- to only provide services so long as international standards of human rights, humanitarian rights, democratic principles and crucially the principle of equal and legally fair treatment of all citizens are abided by;
- to make sure that arms collected within Disarmament and Demobilization processes are dismantled and disposed, ensuring that no present or former conflict party may use them to fuel hostilities so as to build further trust and stability in countries and regions concerned whilst further recommending that the collection is conducted by a neutral UN or AU presence;
- Decides to review the necessity and adequacy of the commission after two years of its existence;
- Stresses the importance of closely coordinating DDR efforts with the United Nations Development Program which can be requested to provide resources in support of DDR;
- Further emphasizes the importance of a positive economic climate in DDR environments to ensure the successful reintegration of ex-combatants,
- Support for which can be requested by the World Bank
- Which has to be recognized as essential for the success of DDR projects;
- Affirms the crucial importance of stable institutions and a strong state whenever DDR measures are applied;
- Urges all AU member states to deliver annual, public transparency reports on the extraction and trade of valuable minerals and resources in their respective countries as ongoing conflicts often emerge around these resources, therefore
- calls upon the ECOSOCC, to install a workgroup that is monitoring monetary flows from and to Africa,
- further requests every single member country to elaborate on an efficient and effective administration, bearing in mind that effective administration is crucial to secure peace in the respective regions;
- Further calls for an observer mission proportional to the size at the discretion of the PSC of the ongoing conflict to combatants in regions of armed conflict, for at least one year with bi-annual reporting to the PSC of the African Union in order to evaluate the conflict and predict the necessity of a DDR mission;
- Proposes the PSC to consider the deployment of African Union Standing Forces on a case by case basis:
- Whilst emphasizing that forces cannot be deployed without the affirmation of the current governing body, of the affected country,
- Whilst affirming that negotiations on the deployment of standing forces, can only be made while involving the former fighting parties being rebels, militias and the government,
- Strongly recommending that negotiations are being led by an independent mediator, chosen by the PSC.