DDR Working Group holds inaugural meeting on disengaged combatants

10 Jul 2014

DDR Working Group holds inaugural meeting on disengaged combatants

Mogadishu – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia has facilitated the inaugural meeting of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Working Group meeting chaired by the Federal Ministry of National Security in Mogadishu on 10 July. Top of the agenda were discussions on the National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants

The working group is made up of an inter-ministerial task force led by the Ministry of National Security, as well as UN agencies, donors and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM).
“We are here to discuss one of the major ways to win the war against Al-Shabaab. The aim is to earn the trust of the disengaged combatants, accommodate them and show them that the option of returning to civilian life is more rewarding,” said Mohamed Jama, the Director General of the Ministry of National Security in his opening speech.
Discussions also highlighted on human rights and children and women's protection issues in the National Programme for Disengaged Combatants.
“I am happy to see the programme has a comprehensive human rights mainstreaming,” said Musa Yerro Gassama, Director of UNSOM’s Human Rights section. “We are recruiting human rights monitors who will support the rehabilitation centers and carry out monitoring to improve the environment and community.”

The National Programme aims to work with existing interim regional administrations to contribute to the security, stabilization, restorative justice and national reconciliation process in Somalia.
“There are now three fully functional rehabilitation facilities in Mogadishu, Beletweyne and Baidoa and more than 1,000 disengaged combatants have received some rehabilitation and skills training,” said Mohamed Mukhtar Ibrahim, Director of DDR and National Programme Coordinator at the Ministry of National Security.
UNSOM is facilitating and supporting the government to coordinate with donors and mobilize resources.

“The National Programme is a living document, so we advise all partners to contribute to its development and support its implementation as the Government takes the lead in achieving this important goal in the recovery and reconstruction of a peaceful Somalia,” said Waldemar Vrey, Director of UNSOM’s Rule of Law and Security Institutions Group.