Background

Eastern Sudan, a vast sun-blasted land of some 300,000 square kilometers, is home to an estimated three to four million of Sudan’s poorest people. The region is made up of three states: Red Sea, Gadaref and Kassala. In each of these states the living conditions are so harsh that the local population has been facing acute poverty, persistent drought and famine, a lack of adequate access to healthcare and education, high levels of unemployment, in addition to land degradation and shrinking pasture areas, for a very long time.

It is such poverty, coupled with successive government policies, which has undermined the livelihoods of people in the state. This state of affairs led to a low-intensity conflict, which continued for eleven years and was ultimately settled with the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) in October 2006 between the Government of Sudan and the Eastern Front.

The Agreement covers economic, political and security issues, including power sharing at federal and regional level and wealth sharing in the three eastern states. As part of the implementation of the peace agreement, combatants need to be disarmed, demobilized and receive basic reintegration support, while longer term reintegration mechanisms are rolled out. The security arrangements of the ESPA call for the establishment of an Integration Committee that would screen and approve the integration of Eastern Front ex-combatants into the security forces of the Government of National Unity (GoNU). The ex-combatants that chose not to apply for integration into the GoNU security forces, or that were deemed unfit for active duty, were offered participation in the Demobilization Disarmament and Reintegration (DDR) programme.

To address critical DDR requirements, in conjunction with the ESPA, through the Bureau of Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), in June 2007 UNDP launched the project “Support to Human Security in Eastern Sudan”.

Objectives
The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the return of peace and security in Eastern Sudan.

The specific objectives of the project are:
• To provide timely and effective technical and operational support to the design, start-up and early implementation of the DDR process, expected to cover up to 5,000 beneficiaries.
• To build urgent capacities for DDR in Eastern Sudan.
• To register and screen ex-combatants and prepare for specialized support for Women Associated with Armed Forces and Groups (WAAFG) and other special needs groups.
• To provide camp based assistance for up to 5,000 demobilized ex-combatants, the disabled and WAAFG.
• To provide reinsertion packages for up to 4,500 demobilized ex-combatants.
• To conduct community mapping of socio-economic risks at the state and locality levels, in order to address vulnerabilities and enhance prospects for reintegration.

Snapshots of the project's major achievements
• Registered, screened and verified, issued ID cards, provided medical screening and support, HIV/AIDS counseling for a total of 1,700 ex-combatants from the Eastern Sudan Front.
• Reinsertion packages, consisting of non-food items, a WFP food package and US$400 transitional safety allowance, were distributed to all participants.
• A total of 750 small arms were collected during the exercise.
• The NSDDRC and IUNDDRU distributed WFP food packages to the demobilized ex-combatants in April 2008. The food packages consist of a 90 day ration for a family of five.
• One on one counseling for reintegration began on 1 August for the demobilized ex-combatants. IUNDDRU and NSDDRC staff counsel participants on their reintegration options and will be referring them to implementing partners once they decided on an option.
• As of the end of December 2008, approximately 1,700 participants were participating in reintegration opportunities provided by the IUNDDRU and NSDDRC.
• The remaining 1,200 DDR candidates are schedule to begin their demobilization activities in February 2009.
• Community security activities are beginning implementation to address triggers and root causes of local level conflicts in the three states.