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Fast
Facts: |
Project
document and reports available
upon request |
Location: |
State
level, with staff based in El-Fasher
(North Darfur), Nyala (South Darfur)
and Geneina (West Darfur) |
Duration: |
October
2009-September 2011 |
Focus
area: |
Crisis
Prevention and Recovery |
Contributions(USD): |
CIDA:
750,767
UNDP: 600,000 |
Partners: |
•
The North Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization
and Reintegration Commission,
both at national and state levels;
• The United National Hybrid
Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) |
Delivery(USD):
|
2010: 492,901 |
Contact
person in UNDP: |
Stephen
Moore, Darfur Coordinator, stephen.moore@undp.org
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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.
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