Background

The Darfur conflict has been shaped by competition over access to natural resources and power sharing, as well as lack of development. It has resulted in large number of deaths, refugees and IDPs, widespread insecurity and acute poverty. More than four years after the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) on 5 May 2006, the political and military scene in Darfur has been made even more complex by the multiplicity of armed groups with shifting allegiances, fractured along political, ethnic and regional lines, with ramifications in neighboring countries. This increasingly complex situation has given rise to a range of challenges in terms of community security, protection of civilians, human rights, peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms, rule of law, access to justice, reconciliation and development issues. The UN, AU and the international community intervened in the Darfur.

The political complexities of the Darfur peace process have been calling for DDR as a catalyst to sustainable peace in the Darfur region. This new consensus has focused attention on the requirement for an institutional framework of DDR in Western Sudan.

Following the signing of DPA on 5 May 2006, a presidential decree mandated the North Sudan DDR Commission (NSDDRC) to operate a DDR programme in Darfur as part of the Darfur securities arrangement (DSAC) and the Darfur Interim Authority (DIA). Accordingly the NSDDRC is to be the technical and implementation body for DDR in Darfur, while supported with technical assistance by the United National and the international community.

The Preparatory Support Project for DDR in Darfur aims at providing the NSDDRC with the technical and planning assistance to develop its implementation capacity in Darfur, as well as thematic expertise to draw on in order for the NSDDRC and Darfurian partners to agree on the design and operational approach to DDR in Darfur. The Preparatory Support Project for DDR in Darfur hence will pave the way to a full-fledged Darfur DDR Programme, which is one of the DPA components. In addition, this project is being used to start the development of a community security and small arms reduction and control programme in Darfur.

The project has three main expected outputs:
1) Strengthened capacity of National Stakeholders and improved institutional framework to implement national led Darfur DDR project.
2) DDR public information and sensitization campaign for DDR implemented in three Darfur states
3) Action Plan for full-fledged Darfur DDR programme agreed upon and designed in a participatory manner will all stakeholders involved.

Snapshots of the project's major achievements

Capacity Strengthening:
• Establishment of functioning NSDDRC sector offices in El Fasher, Nyala and El Geneina coordinating DDR/CSAC activities. The sector offices now perform a leadership role in coordinating DDR and Community Security and Arms Control (CSAC) activities in each Darfur state. This includes coordinating inputs from UN agencies, UNAMID, state government ministries.
• In 2010 each Darfur state sector office was provided with computers, office equipment, and reliable electricity generators to improve their effectiveness in performing their mandate.
• In 2010 Reintegration planning and introduction to management information systems training was conducted for sector staff in each Darfur state.

Comprehensive mapping of Socio Economic opportunities
commenced in each Darfur state to assist with future reintegration of ex combatants. This mapping has the following dimensions:
1. Identification of economic reintegration opportunities for small business and start-up in rural, urban, and semi-urban areas based upon demands for goods and services in local markets
2. Identification of job placement, on the job training and apprenticeship opportunities in the public and private sector
3. Identification of potential social problems in reintegration and social services that can address the core issues identified.
4. Identification of potential partners providing economic support services relevant for reintegration in both rural and urban areas. Including; vocational training, business development services, and micro finance providers. This will include critical analyses of the quality and quantity of services provided, with special attention to the relevance of these in increasing employability of DDR beneficiaries
5. Mapping of all advanced education opportunities and vocational training providers in each Darfur state

DDR/CSAC sensitization workshops for community and traditional leaders held in El Fasher (August 2010) and Nyala (December 2010). These three-day workshops were organized by the NSDDRC and UNDP, with support from UNAMID, with the aim to further the understanding of local authorities and community leaders of the DDR process in general and to raise their awareness on issues related to community security and small arms control. Over 100 participants attended each workshop from various sectors including traditional leaders, the governor’s office, state government, the arms registration committee, women’s associations, civil society, international organizations, student bodies, the military and police, and the media.

CSAC Pilot Projects
An important component of the project is the development and implementation of pilot projects in each state in order to demonstrate how to transform CSAC public information messages into practical CSAC benefits. In accordance with that, assessment missions led by the North Darfur sector office of the NSDDRC were conducted in Sreif and Golo community in December 2010. The objective was to determine the suitability of the community as a location to conduct a CSAC pilot project, and focus group discussions were held to identify CSAC issues and priority development needs. Both communities were subsequently nominated as site for the pilot projects, as they met criteria agreed to by the NSDDRC including: the presence of large numbers of ex-combatants and a large number of small arms. Over the coming months, this first CSAC pilot project will be implemented in Sreif and include three components: 1) Establishment of community based security committees; 2) public information, and 3) community infrastructure/capacity building.

These pilot projects will support communities address security and arms control issues whilst simultaneously provide assistance to address their prioritized development needs. The need to improve small arms control and security, along with access to water, and midwife training, are some of the issues prioritized to date.

Public Information
A joint PI working team was created in November 2010 to develop a gender-responsive PI strategy for all three Darfur states, covering both DDR and CSAC issues. The join team consists of representatives from the NSDDRC (Khartoum and Sector Offices), UNDP and UNAMID. To date, activities have included:
Call for proposals for community outreach advertised
• Focus Group Discussions with community members (women, youth and men, including ex-combatants and IDPS) held in January 2011 to test current leaflets and posters, and come up with recommendations for improvement.
• Call for proposals for community outreach has been advertised in February 2011, with a closing date of March 15th, 2011. A local organization will be recruited to implement community outreach activities in 12 localities across three Darfur states, over a period of 3 months.
• Key messages for DDR and CSAC in Darfur have been developed.
• Recruitment of a consultant graphic designer to develop new and improvement PI materials.
• Active and on-going engagement with local media, and planning underway for media workshops and briefings.
• Development of radio programmes and public service announcements.