Tomorrow (18 November), the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) will convene its 1245^th session in a high-level, open format to address the theme, ‘Implementation of Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) and Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD) Programmes for Consolidation of Peace, Security and Socio-Economic Activities: Challenges and Way Forward.’ The high-level meeting will be held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of the 20^th anniversary of the PSC and the AU Commission’s annual PCRD awareness week, taking place from 18 to 24 November 2024.

The meeting is expected to commence with opening remarks by Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, Minister of State, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Francophonie, and Chairperson of the PSC for November 2024. This will be followed by a statement from Bankole Adeoye, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace, and Security (PAPS). The agenda includes presentations from the AU Commission and the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC). Key partners involved in DDR and PCRD programs, including the European Union, World Bank, and African Development Bank (AfDB), are also expected to contribute. Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, and DRC are slated to share their experiences in implementing DDR and PCRD programs.

The session will include an update on the progress of PCRD initiatives and programs. It will serve as a platform to share best practices and lessons learned from past and ongoing initiatives, identify challenges, and explore strategies to address them. The last time PSC received a briefing on PCRD activities was during its 1188^th session held in November 2023. Subsequently, the PSC considered the revised PCRD policy at its 1198^th session on 31 January 2024 for its adoption and submission to the AU Assembly.

The first segment of the session is envisaged to focus on activities and initiatives with respect to the AU PCRD. It was during the 37^th AU summit held in February 2024 that the AU Assembly adopted the revised PCRD policy. The updated PCRD Policy has nine pillars and is premised on the recognition of the interconnectedness of the different phases of peace/conflict from prevention to post-conflict. Bankole’s briefing is expected to focus on initiatives undertaken by the AU Commission over the past year in implementing PCRD programs in the continent. This may cover the convening of the AU High-Level Working Group on PCRD co-chaired by the Commissioner PAPS and the CEO of AUDA-NEPAD. In terms of funding of PCRD, reference is expected to be made to the assignment by the Peace Fund of specific allocation for PCRD activities. Apart from the recent trend in the outcome of PSC sessions of making regular reference to PCRD, the PSC also sought to integrate PCRD into peace support operations including in its decision on the mandate of the mission that will succeed the AU Transition Mission in Somalia.

Building on discussions from the 7th annual consultative meeting between the PSC and UNPBC on 15 October, a representative from the UNPBC may emphasise the importance of strengthening strategic collaboration between the two bodies. The engagement may highlight the need for a comprehensive joint action plan to facilitate cohesive and well-coordinated peacebuilding initiatives and underscore the opportunity presented by the upcoming 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review to enhance the operational frameworks governing their collaboration. Of interest for the PSC in respect to the 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review is the preparation of a common African position similar to the AU did for the previous edition of the Review.

The second segment of the session will zoom in specifically on DDR, which is part of one of the pillars of the PCRD Policy, namely Security Governance. Bankole may emphasise the Commission’s capacity-building efforts for the implementation of various PCRD programmes, including DDR processes in conflict and post-conflict settings, as well as financial support. Specifically, he may mention the use of the Peace Fund’s Crisis Reserve Facility (CRF) to assist Member States in their peace consolidation efforts, including DDR. A notable example in this respect is the allocation of one million USD from the CRF in March 2024 to support the DDR component of the Pretoria Peace Agreement in Ethiopia, making Ethiopia the first Member State to benefit from the revitalised Peace Fund.

Speakers from the EU, World Bank, and AfDB may also highlight various peacebuilding initiatives they supported in the continent. The World Bank, in particular, may reference the launch of the fourth phase of the AU DDR Implementation Framework, a collaboration between the AU, UN, and World Bank, which will be implemented from 2023 to 2025, focusing on operational support, the preventive role, and the politics of DDR.

Another key aspect of tomorrow’s session will be a critical reflection on the challenges and the way forward for implementing DDR in Africa, drawing on the continent’s wealth of experiences. Several countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, South Sudan, CAR, and Mozambique, are among those that have undertaken DDR processes.

Africa’s evolving security landscape presents a major challenge for DDR and PCRD programs. Traditionally, DDR is implemented in a post-conflict phase following peace agreements and with cooperation among parties. However, today’s DDR programs face environments where these conditions are often absent. Conflicts have become increasingly fragmented, involving various non-state actors, criminal groups, and transnational elements that complicate comprehensive peace agreements. In the DRC, for instance, over 120 active armed groups, complex ethnic ties, and regional alliances create a unique challenge for DDR implementation. Moreover, terrorism has become a significant driver of insecurity, particularly in Central Sahel, and DDR does not take the same form in such context as in civil war types of conflicts. Countries in the Lake Chad Basin, such as Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon are called to apply DDR in relation to persons associated with Boko Haram and other armed groups in the region amid active conflict contexts.

Reintegration, though critical, remains the most challenging component of DDR. The reintegration phase requires substantial investment in skills training, job placement, and social reintegration support, yet these efforts are often insufficient or misaligned with economic realities. In the DRC, for example, a study indicates that only about half of demobilised individuals received adequate support, and delayed stipends further eroded trust. As a result, ex-combatants frequently relapse into violence. Experience from Cote d’Ivoire also shows the challenge in the reintegration process where the reintegration phase never fully materialised due to lack of adequate funding. As the UN Secretary-General in his 2022 report on DDR notes, reintegration efforts are often hampered by weak governance institutions and fragile economies, particularly in conflict-affected or protracted conflict zones. This is particularly relevant in Africa, where many conflicts have lasted for years, making it exceptionally challenging for individuals who have spent much of their lives in armed groups to reintegrate into civilian life.

Tensions can also arise between ex-combatants and host communities, particularly when economic benefits appear to reward former fighters, causing resentment. Combatants may feel motivated to stay armed if they derive income from illegal resources, as seen in cases where senior fighters have vested interests in conflict economies. Climate change is also recognised as a driver of recruitment into armed groups due to its impact on economic instability and livelihood insecurity. Limited political commitment is another major challenge to DDR programs considering that no successful DDR can be realised without political resolve and support from key centres of power for its success. This is further compounded by a lack of trust between governments and armed groups, which remains a persistent challenge, especially in regions with complex, multi-group dynamics such as Mali. These programs require extensive resources, yet securing reliable funding is often a struggle. In South Sudan, fund shortages, including the failure of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) to allocate resources have hampered DDR efforts.

In light of these challenges, a shift in approach is essential. Contemporary conflict dynamics in Africa require non-linear and integrated responses. While DDR and PCRD interventions were traditionally sequenced and implemented in post-conflict settings, ongoing instability now demands that these processes be flexible enough to address conflict at all stages. DDR is no longer limited to post-conflict scenarios; it can be implemented during conflict escalation, in active conflicts, and as a conflict prevention strategy. Expectations for DDR should be carefully managed, as it is not a panacea for society’s political challenges. Indeed, as highlighted by the AU’s DDR Capacity Program, DDR initiative’s success depends on being anchored on and pursued as part of other security, socio-economic, and political reforms. As such, DDR should be seen as one component of a wider peacebuilding framework, all aligned within a comprehensive recovery strategy.

As conflicts become increasingly localised and violence escalates, particularly by non-state actors, Community Violence Reduction (CVR) strategies—gaining traction within UN policy circles—should be explored and leveraged into DDR efforts.

It is also of interest for tomorrow’s session to pay special attention to vulnerable groups, including women, children, and youth in DDR processes. Youth, particularly those aged 15-24, make up a significant portion of former combatants, but reintegration efforts often fall short of addressing their specific needs. Children associated with armed groups require tailored support, including education and mental health resources, while women, affected by gender-based violence and social stigmatisation, need various support including gender-sensitive psychosocial interventions, in line with the revised PCRD policy which includes a dedicated pillar to these segments of society.

The expected outcome of the session is a communiqué. The PSC may welcome the adoption of the revised PCRD policy by the AU Assembly and the official launch of the AU PCRD Centre in October 2024. It may underscore the need for enhancing the uptake on the part of member states and other stakeholders of the revised Policy for it to inform peace and security policy-making and PCRD interventions at continental, regional and national levels. The PSC may request the AU Commission to facilitate consultation for the development of the Common Position on the 2025 UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review and submit the draft for adoption by the PSC before the end of the first quarter of 2025. It may call for a shift in the approach to implementing DDR and PCRD programs, underpinning a non-linear and integrated framework. Specifically, the PSC could stress that DDR initiatives should be part of broader economic, political, and social reforms, highlighting that successful DDR requires coordination with complementary PCRD efforts such as SSR, arms collection, transitional justice, and reconciliation initiatives. Recognising the importance of adequate and predictable funding, the PSC may also underscore the need for a dedicated allocation from the AU Peace Fund to support these initiatives. The PSC may underscore the need to sustain the emerging practice to mainstream PCRD and DDR programs in all relevant country and thematic agendas of the PSC. The PSC may also emphasise the AU’s role in generating and sharing knowledge on the experience of African countries in designing and implementing DDR processes for identifying best practices and integrating lessons learned in future initiatives. The PSC may decide to convene annually the Kinshasa high-level meeting on the implementation of PCRD initiatives for reviewing and documenting experiences and lessons learned as part of the PCRD week.