06 July - Demobilisation of SPLA combatants kicks off in Kauda

11 Jul 2010

06 July - Demobilisation of SPLA combatants kicks off in Kauda

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme in Sudan, under which 180,000 combatants from the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) are to be demobilised and reintegrated into civilian life, marked a new milestone on 6 July 2010 with the launch of a third demobilisation centre in South Kordofan.

Demobilisation at the new centre in Kauda got off to a smooth start, with a combined team from the South Kordofan Joint DDR Commission (JDDRC) and the DDR Unit of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) processing 26 ex-combatants, including five women, on the first day of operations.

The DDR caseload being processed in Kauda is exclusively comprised of SPLA combatants, including hundreds of women who were associated with the SPLA in non-combat roles during the North-South War that ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005. The DDR scheme is a provision of that Agreement.

Kauda is the third demobilisation centre to be set up in the State of South Kordofan, after Julud and Kadugli. With the completion of Phase One demobilisation in both centres, operations in Julud and Kadugli have since advanced into the crucial process of reintegration, during which demobilised ex-combatants receive vocational training and some material as needed, to socially and economically reintegrate into civilian life.

Besides Kauda, Julud and Kadugli, the DDR programme currently conducts operations in Ed Damazin (reintegration counselling and training), Juba (reintegration counselling and training) and Rumbek (demobilisation). Plans are well advanced, too, for the establishment of two more centres to handle the caseloads of Al Fula in South Kordofan and Aweil in Northern Bahr el Ghazal.

More than 180,000 participants from northern and southern Sudan stand to benefit from the DDR programme being implemented in areas under the CPA, by leaving military life and reintegrating into society. About 23,700 SAF, SPLA and PDF combatants have been demobilised since the launch of the programme on 10 February 2009.

The programme is operationally managed by the North Sudan and South Sudan DDR Commissions, with technical and logistical support from several UN agencies. Notable among them are the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

For the official PDF version,click here