MDRP - Democratic Republic of Congo - Multi-Country Demobilization & Reintegration Program

Prevention of Recruitment, Demobilization and Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces

Help the government of transition in the development and implementation of the Programme Nationale de Désarmement, Démobilisation et Réinsertion (PNDDR) with specific reference to children

Establish coordination mechanisms at the national and provincial levels for the implementation of demobilization and reintegration programs for children in the armed forces

Establish and support monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for programs for children in armed groups

Train government and NGO personnel in the approach, mechanisms and tools of the PNDDR

Support national NGOs for the family and community reintegration of demobilized child soldiers

Develop and assist with the implementation of information/sensitization activities

Develop the capacities (through training) of the national partners (governmental and non-governmental)

Establish a rapid response mechanism for the demobilization and reintegration of children from the armed forces

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Project:

Situation Assessment and Pilot Projects for Demobilization and Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Orientale, Northern Katanga and Maniema Provinces

Administrator:

International Rescue Committee (IRC), International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), CARE International

Financing:

$9.16 million

Status:

Closed

Objectives:

This project consists of four components to be implemented in three provinces of eastern DRC:

Assessment of armed groups' willingness to demobilize children. Activities will include: (i) an assessment of the willingness of armed groups to provide access to children and agree to their demobilization; an analysis of the dynamics leading to their initial recruitment; (ii) the development of a system of identification and verification for children, in collaboration with UNICEF and BUNADER; (iii) the development of a password-protected on-line database to manage information collected from all field sites.

Community sensitization and training. Activities will include: (i) sensitization and training activities with key community members, to establish the foundation for community-level protection committees; (ii) completion of a survey that will serve as the basis for the composite mapping of reintegration opportunities and needs in targeted areas, created from surveys of market and infrastructure surveys, and of market possibilities, educational opportunities, and social resources; (iii) tracing a sample group of children and reunifying them with their parents, and researching alternative care for those children who are either untraceable or cannot be reunified for the time being.

Development of provincial plans for demobilization. Activities will include: (i) the development of provincial plans within a more global framework, with input from national and international partners in the targeted areas-local; (ii) the organization of fori in each province to discuss and agree upon definitions, principles and approaches for the child soldier DDR process; (iii) the production of a detailed implementation plan.

Child soldier reintegration. Activities will include: (i) building the capacity of local partners engaged in child protection work; (ii) strengthening local structures and committees and setting up new ones; (iii) training local authorities and military battalions on child protection needs and the demobilization process; (iv) conducting large-scale dissemination and awareness-raising campaigns to increase knowledge of the national demobilization plan at the community level; (v) conducting identification and verification of child soldiers; (vi) setting up and managing transit centers for demobilized children; (vii) ensuring the provision of psychosocial activities at the transit center (CTO - centre de transit et d'orientation) and the community level; (viii) conducting ongoing tracing, reunification and follow-up of demobilized children; (ix) conducting community-based reintegration activities; (x) develop a strategy for child education "catch-up"; and (xi) setting up special community funds to facilitate child soldier reintegration, prevent re-recruitment and support other vulnerable children.

Approximately 35 community-based reintegration activities will include: rehabilitation of buildings, social infrastructure or economic activities identified through participatory research.

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Project:

Capacity Building and Support to the Prevention of Recruitment, Demobilization and Reintegration of Children Associated with Armed Forces

Administrator:

Belgian Red Cross

Financing:

$1.1 million

Status:

Closed

Objectives:

The project consists of three components that will be implemented in Kinshasa and in the southern part of the Equateur region focused around Mbandaka:

Training of Personnel – Personnel of the Red Cross in the DRC will be trained to work with demobilized child soldiers at transit centers (CTO - centre de transit et d'orientation), as well as to mediate with their families and conduct sensitization activities at the community level. This training will cover the following topics: psychosocial development and evolution of children and child soldiers, techniques of communication and observation, mediation, active participatory research, counseling/psycho-therapy, education activities, preparation for return to and reintegration of child into the family and community.

Sensitization and Prevention – The Red Cross will carry out activities aimed at several different groups to increase their understanding of: the need to better protect children, the legal framework of child protection, the situation of child soldiers, and their reintegration back into family and community. These groups to be targeted include: government, local authorities, communities, families, teachers and students. This component will include the training of Red Cross volunteers on the situation of demobilized child soldiers, who are then to monitor the situation of demobilized child soldiers and their communities and intervene when they see children or families having trouble adapting.

Reintegration of demobilized child soldiers back into their families and/or communities – Transit centers (CTO) will be opened that will have the capacity to accommodate 50 children divided between houses that can lodge 10-15 children. A "parental couple" will act as parental substitutes in each of the houses and will undertake the daily care of the children, in cooperation with educators, mediators, a doctor, a psychologist, guards and chauffeurs. The children will remain in the CTO for an average of three months, during which time their situation will be analyzed and they will be prepared to re-enter their families and communities.

This preparation will consist of a minimal education (reading, writing, etc), psycho-social counseling, some skills-oriented training, as well as sports and religious activities. A file will be created for each child that includes a medical evaluation, a psychological evaluation, level of instruction reached, family history, socio-economic situation of the family, and the behavior of the child at the CTO. Individual plans will then be drawn up determining reuniting with families or receiving alternative care arrangements, specifying individual and family counseling needs and the amount of follow-up to be conducted once the child leaves the CTO (with a minimum of one visit a month for a year), planning the reintegration of the child into school or an apprenticeship, etc.

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Project:

Community Recovery and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Eastern DRC

Administrator:

Government of the DRC and United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

Financing:

$5 million

Status:

Closed

Objectives:

The project consists of three components being implemented in five provinces (North and South Kivu, Orientale, Katanga and Maniema), targeting 10,723 ex-combatants:

Sensitization and Community mobilization. These activities are aimed at creating a favorable environment for the implementation of the project through creation or reinforcement of local community based networks, village committees, community workshops, discussions, etc. in order to: (i) disseminate objectives of overall project; (ii) promote community participation in socio-economic rehabilitation; (iii) promote confidence and peaceful co-existence between the local communities and ex-combatants.

Community reconstruction and development. These activities serve to: (i) strengthen the capacity of communities through rehabilitation of social infrastructure (rural tracks, wells, sanitation facilities, etc.) and initiate a participatory process of long term development; (ii) promote income generation by increasing economic opportunities through the financing of community production initiatives; and (iii) progressively including ex-combatants into these projects.

Sustainable reintegration of ex-combatants through the financing of micro-projects. Each micro-project will cost approximately US$ 500 and be implemented through NGOs. They will support ex-combatants in activities that are already traditional economic and social activities in these areas, and involve no new technologies within the communities, nor the development of major work projects.

Identification of the micro-projects will be based on selection criteria following procedural standards of UNDP. Technical procedures will be standardized to ensure coherency in project implementation. Each project will benefit from technical experience during the implementation cycle of the micro-project (identification, formulation, startup).

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Project:

Rapid Reaction Mechanism to Support the DDR of Ex-Combatants in the DRC

Administrator:

United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

Financing:

$12.6 million

Status:

Closed

Objectives:

The project has two main objectives:

Facilitate the national DDR program. The project conducts: exploratory activities; evaluation missions; quick surveys of targeted populations; analysis of preliminary conditions for DDR; sensitization activities, peace-building and reconciliation; information exchanges; consultations with targeted groups and other affected populations.

Respond to other contingencies and programmatic and operational urgencies. The project aims to rapidly deploy experts, materials and other inputs, as well as to prepare for DDR services in areas of program implementation (demobilization sites, transit centers, community welcome centers, etc.)

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Project:

Support for the Reunification and Reintegration of Former Child Soldiers in the DRC

Administrator:

Save the Children UK

Financing:

$5.37 million

Status:

Closed

Objectives:

The project has three main objectives:

To improve understanding of the needs of children associated with fighting forces - including girls - and to promote their rights during transition from military to civilian life. This entails the following activities: (i) analyze and document the situation of child soldiers in the Kivus; (ii) conduct participatory research to identify strategies to prevent recruitment and facilitate sustainable reintegration; (iii) identify ways of gaining access to girls associated with fighting forces; (iv) train the military on issues of child protection (training of trainers).

To create and strengthen institutional capacity of government and NGO partners to ensure protection of child soldiers in the framework of the national demobilization and reintegration program. This will entail the following activities: (i) support government in participatory policy-making and program design; (ii) prepare training modules; (iii) prepare a framework to monitor implementation and evaluate impact; (iv) train trainers at a regional level; (v) support and monitor training for governmental and non-governmental partners at a provincial level; (vi) evaluate the impact of training.

To facilitate the sustainable socio-economic reintegration of child soldiers into their communities through transitional support, family reunification, and strengthening community capacities. This will entail the following activities: (i) strengthen the capacity of local partners to manage transit and orientation centers (CTOs); (ii) trace the families of the demobilized children; (iii) develop pilot activities for community support to Mayi Mayi children; (iv) strengthen the capacity of local networks to monitor the reintegrated children; (v) support community micro-projects that promote the sustainable reintegration of the demobilized child-soldiers.