March 3, 2008 — In an attempt to create good conditions for development in post-conflict states, the World Bank’s Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) operates with the belief that one of the keys to stability lies with reintegrating ex-combatants and former child-soldiers into society.
Bruno Donat, Communications Officer for the World Bank’s Fragile States, Conflict, and Social Development unit of the Africa Region, asserts that amidst the painful aftermath of conflicts, one has to look also at achievements by small groups of demobilized ex-combatants operating in very challenging environments.
What is MDRP?
A multi-agency effort, with a secretariat housed in the World Bank’s Fragile States, Conflict, and Social Development unit in the Africa Region, the Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) supports the demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants in the greater Great Lakes region of Central Africa.
The largest partnership of its kind in the world, MDRP targets ex-combatants in seven countries: Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Financed by the World Bank and 13 donors – Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the European Commission – it collaborates with over 30 partner organizations, including United Nations agencies, the African Development Bank, the European Union, and non-governmental organizations.
“Take for instance, these 12 Burundian women, ex-combatants who founded Peace and Development, an association in their community that is now made up of 35 women who work together in agriculture and who also lead sensitization activities to encourage peace and reconciliation.”
Women overcoming isolation
An ex-combatant member of the association, explains, “When we returned to Mutimbizi, we found ourselves isolated and victims of prejudice. Those around us said that women who had been on the battlefield could not be trusted. So we looked for a way to break through our isolation and began to approach the other women of the village, helping them out in small ways and speaking to them of peace.” As the ex-combatants befriended and gained the trust of other women they invited them to join Peace and Development.
Today, the association rents 10 hectares of land for cultivation and members meet two to three times a week to work together in the fields. Once a week the women hold meetings to sensitize those around them about peace, trying to cover all zones of their home commune of Mutizimbuzi.
Burundian women working in the field.
“The association is very good for us; it helps us be seen like other women again, with no particular labels. What we harvest from our fields helps us to support our food needs,” explains Constance Ndayizigiye, ex-combatant and president of the association.
The parts of harvests that are not consumed are sold. The money earned covers school fees for members’ children, as well as for orphans in the area. With gradual savings also being earned, the women hope to buy one day their own farmland for the association.
“These efforts are part of the work in Burundi to consolidate peace and re-launch the economy,” states Marcelo Fabre, World Bank Senior Social Development Specialist. “Associations such as Peace and Development are crucial to facilitating peaceful cohabitation between ex-combatants and the populations of the communities of return.”
Combatants in Africa's Great Lakes Region.
Achieving Results Amidst Challenges
“MDRP aims to contribute to the overall security environment and to regional peacebuilding and stabilization processes in the greater Great Lakes region, thus laying the groundwork for sustainable development,” says Ian Bannon, World Bank Sector Manager (AFTCS). “Through the program, which includes components specifically geared towards women and children, a total of almost 300,000 individuals have been demobilized, and about 185,000 of them have been, or are currently being, assisted through reintegration support.”
Bannon also points out that “the difficult operating environment in the region and the complex nature of demobilization and reintegration activities within post-conflict settings” are some of the inherent challenges of such a program.
Reintegrating within Communities
James Habyarimana, Head of the Bakery Project in Rwanda.
Donat adds: “In Rwanda, a similar success story of ex-combatants who join forces with members of the community is that of the bakery project of the Tous Ensemble Twisungane cooperative society headed by James Habyarimana.”
In 2000, it was an association with a few members who pooled together their resources and lent to one another on a rotational basis. Today, the cooperative society provides health insurance to its members who are now capable of resolving some of their financial challenges. They are able to pay for their children’s school fees and other basic necessities, as well as buy clothes and food.
“We plan to expand our production and supply to our customers by establishing more selling sites in our district and other neighbouring districts,” Habyarimana proudly states. They also hope to acquire modern equipment for the bakery.
Managing Expectations
Despite success stories like these, Bruno Donat stresses that one needs to manage one’s expectations: “While I tend to focus on the positive aspects of this partnership, we have to be realistic and also consider that our program is only a small part of the much bigger peace puzzle, and that there are several aspects of the regional security situation that we have no control over.”
As the program enters its final year of operation, it looks back at all it has accomplished, but more importantly, it looks forward to all the challenges that still lie ahead.
MDRP’s Program Manager, Maria Correia, concludes: “In addition to the intrinsic challenges of a program of this kind, we recognize that working regionally and in partnership is much more difficult and more risky than conventional bilateral initiatives. However, the payoff is also much greater and thus worth the additional efforts.”
By Yasmin Sharif, Fragile States, Conflict and Social Development unit, Africa Region, World Bank, with contributions from Agnès Inamahoro, Burundian National Commission for Demobilization, Reinsertion and Reintegration, John Rusimbi and Prosper Ruvusha, Rwandan Demobilization and Reintegration Commission.
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