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Abstract
This chapter reviews efforts regarding the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 1997 and 2003. Reflecting the evolving politico-military situation and the shifting priorities in terms of DDR, the chapter contains the following sections. Section I analyzes the period 1997–99, from the takeover of power and the challenge of demobilizing soldiers of the army of the ousted regime to the reorientation of the DDR strategy in response to the signing of the Lusaka cease-fire agreement. Section II covers the period 1999–2001, focusing on small-scale endeavors that kept DDR on the agenda of government and the international community pending the political resolution of the Congolese conflict. Section III examines the period 2001–03 during which the international community, with an unprecedented regional approach to DDR, intensified its efforts to respond to the ever more complex situation until the government finally assumed principal responsibility for DDR in the country. The chapter closes with Section IV, which reflects on lessons learned from this multiyear process for the national DDR program in the DRC, and for similar programs elsewhere.
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