Disarmament programme gathers momentum

Since its inception some two years ago, more than 8,500 Burundians, Rwandans and Ugandans have been repatriated through the disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, reintegration and resettlement (DDRRR) programme for foreign armed combatants and their dependents in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), under the aegis of the country's UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) and partner organisations. Recent figures have shown a significant increase in the process since October 2003, when the total number of repatriated ex-combatants virtually doubled, with a steady stream of repatriations since then. Nevertheless, obstacles remain, particularly with regard to Hutu Rwandan militants. "The attitude, the hostility and the suspicion of the extremist leadership of the FDLR [Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda], and the power they exercise over Rwandan combatants and their dependents living in the DRC, constitutes the major obstacle to DDRRR," Peter Swarbrick, head of MONUC's DDRRR unit, told IRIN. The lack of cooperation from certain leaders of the FDLR - a political/military movement whose presence on Congolese territory was banned by the Kinshasa government following the signature of a peace accord between presidents Joseph Kabila of the DRC and Paul Kagame of Rwanda in July 2002 - has continued to impede MONUC's efforts to reach its target of 10,000 foreign ex-combatants repatriated by 30 April 2004. Some 3,000 Rwandan ex-combatants and their dependents are believed to be camped in the region of Rusemambo, located in Virunga National Park in Congo's eastern North Kivu Province. "The majority of Rwandan ex-combatants and their dependents want to return to their country, but they have been prevented from doing so by their extremist leaders," Swarbrick said. This situation has persisted since October 2003, despite repeated intervention by MONUC in an effort to persuade the Rwandans to go home. "They set up surveillance points along the edge of the forest, carrying out intimidation and intoxication campaigns to prevent eligible candidates from being [voluntarily] repatriated,"Hamadoun Toure, the MONUC spokesman, said. "Sometimes they carry out raids into nearby villages." However, the difficulty of North Kivu aside, the DDRRR programme has been progressing smoothly in other regions. According to recent figures, the number of repatriations since October 2003 have more than quadrupled, bypassing the number repatriated since the programme began two years prior. Thus, by mid-February 2004, at least 8,500 ex-combatants - including dependents - had been repatriated through the programme, Swarbrick said. At the start of the programme, MONUC estimated the number of Rwandan combatants in the DRC at 12,000, plus several thousand Burundian and Ugandan combatants. Of the 8,500, some 5,600 were combatants, including an undetermined number of child soldiers. The remainder were civilians, primarily women and children. The bulk of those repatriated comprise 5,497 Rwandans - 2,868 ex-combatants and 2,629 dependents; 2,550 Burundians - more than 2,500 of whom are ex-combatants, the rest being their dependents; and 501 Ugandans - of whom 299 are ex-combatants and 202 their dependents. Figures for Burundi, however, do not include a significant number of ex-combatants and their dependents who returned spontaneously to the country, outside the DDRRR programme. DDRRR success closely linked to political progress Progress in the DDRRR programme appears to be closely linked to political progress in the DRC and throughout the Great Lakes region, with the number of repatriations increasing as transitional government institutions have been installed in the DRC. The first 1,200 foreign combatants to leave the DRC did so in December 2002, just several days after the signature of the global peace accord on the 17th of that month. The peace agreement called for the end of hostilities and the establishment of a two-year power-sharing government comprising representatives of the former Kinshasa government, rebel movements, unarmed political opposition groups and civil society. That group was made up primarily of Rwandan combatants and their dependents, who were assembled at the Kamina military base in DRC's southern Katanga Province. A mutiny led by some of the camped ex-combatants, however, delayed the process. Waves of repatriation have also followed the inauguration of various transitional government institutions. A government of national unity was inaugurated on 30 June 2003, ostensibly bringing an end to nearly five years of war and leading to nationwide elections in 2005. Other transitional institutions were subsequently inaugurated. Following the first 1,200 ex-combatants to be repatriated in December 2002, the total reached 1,400 by April 2003, around the time that the inter-Congolese dialogue was concluding. In June and July 2003, the figures reached 1,900 and 2,500 total repatriations, respectively, at the time that the government, the military and other transitional institutions were being inaugurated. "The political situation changed in the DRC, as did the situation on the ground, to some degree," Col Jean-Pierre Boutroy, MONUC's deputy director of DDRRR, told IRIN. "The security situation is better, the general environment is better. People know that there is momentum toward peace, and want to be part of this return to normality." The organisation of presidential elections in Rwanda resulting in the re-election of Paul Kagame also proved to be a positive factor for the DDRRR programme, Boutroy said. "The Rwandan ex-combatants and their dependents know that elections took place back home," he said. "These elections constitute a source of security for them, as opposed to what they imagined they might encounter upon their return." The latest boost to the process appears to have come from Burundi, with the signature on 16 November 2003 in Pretoria, South Africa, of a peace and power-sharing accord between the government and the former rebel faction of Pierre Nkurunziza's Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD). "More than 2,000 Burundian combatants and their dependents have returned since the signing of the Pretoria accord, while waves of spontaneous returns have occurred since December and January," Swarbrick said. Other voluntary returns of Burundians have taken place, a phenomenon that is continuing, Swarbrick added. The majority of these Burundian combatants belong to Nkurunziza's FDD, now part of Burundi's national transition government. National programmes lagging Initial delays in the DDRRR programme can be explained, in part, by the absence of national disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programmes in Burundi and Uganda meant to liaise with the overarching DDRRR programme. So far, only Rwanda has an operational DDR programme, even though Burundi and Uganda have agreed to do likewise. Boutroy said the reinstallation programme in Rwanda as well as MONUC's follow-up mechanism in the country had contributed to building confidence among candidates for voluntary repatriation. "People who have been repatriated voluntarily generally have no intention of going back to the Congo," Boutroy said. "In Rwanda, MONUC has a liaison office that works closely with the national disarmament commission and visits Mutobo camp to check on those who have been repatriated. We make sure that all goes well during their stay in the camp. To the degree possible, we try to gather from them letters, interviews and films in an effort to generate interest and trust among their comrades still remaining in the DRC that all is going well and their return is possible." In Uganda, for the moment, an amnesty commission is responsible for the reinsertion and resettlement of those repatriated. MONUC has been discussing the matter with Ugandan authorities, and has received promises regarding improved performance of the commission. MONUC has had similar discussions with Burundian authorities. In Burundi, however, the situation seems to be sorting itself out. Swarbrick said opinion, with such a large number of spontaneous returns since November, the government may not have to put a national DDR programme in place. "There is not yet really a structure. The problem that we have had is that the Burundian government has not yet established a robust mechanism [for DDR]. However, with the waves of return that are continuing, it seems that the Burundian government no longer needs such a structure," Swarbrick said, adding that the majority of Burundian combatants had returned to the country. "According to our estimates, between 800 and 1,000 Burundian combatants are still in eastern Congo, in places like Fizi, Baraka and Uvira," he added. "But these are people who are not part of a group under any kind of coherent command, and some of them are returning to the country." The return of rebels belonging to Nkurunziza's FDD faction has also compelled many other Burundian combatants to return, sometimes without passing through MONUC, after having spent more than 10 years of war camped in Congolese forests. Money available The DDRRR budget is part of the global budget of MONUC, which is the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world at present. The DDRRR budget, however, has not been made public. Among other things, part of the DDRRR budget is used to finance programmes in the Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda, which are then broadcast by MONUC's Radio Okapi network, in an effort to inform combatants about repatriation. MONUC representatives also travel in the field to make personal contacts with the combatants. These operations take place under the supervision of MONUC's "Task Force I", a contingent of 2,500 South African soldiers deployed in Kindu and other locations in eastern DRC. Combatants willing to be repatriated leave their hideouts for transit sites established by MONUC throughout eastern DRC to help facilitate their return to their home countries. "Task Force I participates in the dissemination of information in areas where radio transmissions do not reach," Boutroy said. "The Task Force tries to get out and meet people to pass along the message." Congo’s DDR under preparation The DRC has not yet established its own national DDR plan for armed groups, although Antoine Pili Pili, adviser to the minister of national solidarity and humanitarian affairs, announced in September 2003 that the programme was being developed and would soon be ready. One of the major partners in the DDRRR process, the World Bank, has been waiting for the DRC to present its DDR programme before deciding upon what kind of financing it might provide, Jean-Charles Kra, the bank's interim representative in Kinshasa, told IRIN. In the meantime, while waiting for the DDR programme to be finalised, DRC President Joseph Kabila created the national commission for demobilisation and reintegration (Commission nationale de demobilisation et de reinsertion - CONADER). The commission, whose members have yet to be named, will be responsible for managing the demobilisation and reintegration of combatants, including child soldiers. Until now, child soldiers have been the responsibility of the national office for demobilisation and reintegration (Bureau national de demobilisation et de reinsertion - BUNADER), which was established during the Congo's nearly five-year war. However, BUNADER has never been able to work in all areas of the country, which until less than a year ago was divided by the control of multiple belligerent groups. Coming under the mandate of CONADER will be people who have reached retirement age; the handicapped; combatants who are not selected for the unified national army; and widows and orphans of combatants. About 900 children affiliated with armed groups or used as combatants have been demobilised by BUNADER. "There were about 1,000 child soldiers from all sides combined - the former Kinshasa government and the various armed rebel groups and [Mayi-Mayi] militias," Claudine Malela, the BUNADER coordinator, told IRIN. At the same time, an estimated 1,000 other children have been demobilised by armed groups themselves, with the aid of NGOs. BUNADER estimates that there are at least 15,000 child soldiers to be demobilised nationwide. Due to a lack of financial means, demobilised child soldiers have often been re-recruited by armed groups who then try to place them beyond the reach of any programme aimed at their demobilisation and reintegration. Administrative authorities in the region of Idjwi, in North Kivu Province, belonging to the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma), a former rebel movement now part of the national transitional government, recently launched a media appeal to parents informing them they could reclaim any of their children who had been recruited after the signing of the global peace accord in December 2002. However, the cantonment and demobilisation of adult combatants has had great difficulty in getting off the ground in the east and northeast, despite the cessation of hostilities. "We're not really talking about an actual DDR programme, per se, because these people have demobilised and are waiting to be offered a position within the newly-unified army," Swarbrick said. Given such circumstances, MONUC prefers to use the term "regroupment" or "cantonment" because the combatants accept to be demobilised, but in the hope of finding a position in the national army. Although numerous Mayi-Mayi (traditional militias, now party to the national transitional government) combatants left their forest dwellings in early January with a view to disarming, many have since returned to the forest for lack of a proper DDR programme being in place. Many had assembled in Kindu, capital of Maniema Province, awaiting demobilisation and integration into the national army. The Congolese government itself admits that it is not yet in a position to take control of a DDR programme. "No measures were foreseen or taken to shelter them," Sylvain Belmambo, assistant minister for former combatants and demobilisation, said. "It is up to the government to take charge of these people," Toure, the MONUC spokesman, said. "Nevertheless, MONUC has made welcome centres available for them." According to military leaders, the criteria for the selection of soldiers for the unified national army has not yet been defined, nor have quotas been set as to how many will come from each of the former belligerent groups. "The quotas for the various former belligerents is not yet known, but we simply cannot accommodate in the new army all soldiers from the former government, the various former rebel movements and the Mayi-Mayi militias," Gen Sylvain Mbuki, head of ground forces of the Congo's unified national army, said. For MONUC, the implementation of a national DDR programme would facilitate the DDRRR process. "We are waiting for the government to present a programme to resolve this matter, because we are only mandated to assist them, and not to lead the programme, which is to be supported by the World Bank and the UN Development Programme in the context of the Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme," Swarbrick said. Criticism of DDRRR persists The slowness of voluntary repatriation has been criticised by various parties to the national transitional government, including the Mayi-Mayi, who have demanded that their erstwhile allies, Rwandan Hutu combatants, be repatriated en masse because of reported crimes they have committed against Congolese civilians. "On a regular basis our people are the victims of exactions and extortions at the hands of these guys," Marcel Munga, national political leader of the Mayi-Mayi, said. "At the current rate of voluntary repatriation being conducted by MONUC, the process risks taking a very long time. We, therefore, have appealed to the two concerned governments [DRC and Rwanda] as well as to MONUC so that they make greater efforts for organising a large-scale repatriation of these foreign armed groups." Meanwhile, thousands of women have reported they have been victims of sexual violence at the hands of these Hutu combatants who raid villages from time to time. Many say they have been abducted and used as sex slaves - at least 5,000 of them, according to Milen Kidane, head of emergency protection for the UN Children's Fund in Goma. Frequently, these foreign armed groups come out of their forests hideouts to pillage food and other goods from local populations. "We are doing everything we can so that these Rwandan ex-combatants do not interfere with the organisation of elections in our country," Vital Kamerhe, information minister and spokesman for the national union government, said. "But it is up to the Rwandan government to create the necessary spirit of welcome and security conditions [in Rwanda] for these armed groups that we did not invite and whose presence on Congolese soil we do not need."