92805 June 12, 2007 Links: - What is IDA? - Our Work in Rwanda More on Rwanda: - Borrowing History - Data & Statistics - Research - Contact Us Years of violence and conflict in Rwanda–after the collapse of the Arusha peace process in April 1994 and the ensuing genocide–spilled over into neighboring countries, fuelling, in particular, war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Regional peace initiatives finally culminated in the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement of July 1999 and the government of Rwanda and several other governments began withdrawal of their forces from the DRC in 2001. The combination of diplomatic progress following the Lusaka Agreement, the policy of the government of Rwanda to encourage the repatriation and reintegration of members of Rwandese armed groups, and the deterrent capability of the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF), have improved the prospects for a resolution of the Rwandese dimension of the conflict. Successful economic reintegration of ex-combatants is critical to maintaining stability. The government had implemented the first stage of a Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Program (RDRP) with the support of UNDP between 1997-2001, during which time more than 18,000 RPA (renamed RDF in 2002) soldiers were demobilized. In June 2001, the government asked the World Bank to lead efforts to revamp and expand the program, initiate resource mobilization efforts–including IDA financing–and coordinate donor support for stage II of the RDRP. The main goals of stage II were to demobilize an additional 36,000 ex-combatants from the RDF and armed groups; to provide assistance to help ex-combatants reintegrate into civilian life; and to facilitate the reallocation of government expenditure from military to social and economic sectors. The Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Program is making considerable progress in enabling thousands of former combatants to return to productive civilian life. Highlights: - As of October 2006, 20,039 soldiers of the Rwanda Defense Force (RDF) have been successfully demobilized, and have received economic reintegration assistance. - 6,405 combatants (of an estimated 16,000) of Rwandese armed groups (including 624 child soldiers) have returned to Rwanda and been demobilized, and have received economic reintegration assistance. - 12,969 former soldiers of the Forces Armées Rwandaises (FAR) were provided with reinsertion assistance (in the form of grants), and those who remained economically vulnerable received additional reintegration support. - Complementary reintegration support has been provided to 11,800 former soldiers of the RDF who were demobilized in stage I of the RDRP before 2001 but who remained economically vulnerable. - Ex-combatants have been well accepted by their communities and families, and are faring as well economically as other civilians in Rwanda despite a lower education base and a lower asset base. - RDRP provides exceptional customized demobilization and reintegration support to former child soldiers. The quality of this assistance, which includes psychosocial support, vocational training, education, and income-generating activities, is recognized as best practice. - Defense expenditures have decreased from 3.2 percent of GDP in 2001 to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2006. Over the same period, combined health and education expenditures have increased from 4.6 percent to 5.7 percent of Rwanda’s GDP. In nominal terms, public expenditure on education has doubled and health expenditure has more than tripled in the last five years. - Total cost estimated at US$62.6 million, of which government is financing US$2.7 million, and IDA is financing US$28.8 million. - A further US$14.4 million is provided through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) of the Multi- Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP), which is administered by the World Bank. (Additional resources of US$8.8 million and US$7.9 million have been provided bilaterally by the governments of the UK and Germany respectively.) - IDA has been particularly significant in its development of a regional sector wide approach – the Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP) [www.mdrp.org] for the greater Great Lakes region, within which the RDRP is supported. This partnership comprises seven governments of the region, 13 donors and a number of UN organizations and other partners. The objective of the MDRP is to enhance prospects for stabilization and recovery in the region by providing support to the demobilization and reintegration of some 450,000 ex-combatants of conflicts in the countries of the greater Great Lakes region of central Africa. The protracted rate of disarmament and repatriation of ex-combatants of Rwandese armed groups, mainly in the eastern DRC, remain a matter of concern. The MDRP partnership and the RDRP are initiating additional cross-border sensitization and confidence-building efforts to accelerate this process, in close collaboration with the government of the DRC and MONUC (Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies au Congo). To further enhance prospects for economic reintegration of ex-combatants, the RDRP has recently initiated supplementary vocational training, apprenticeship support, capacity-building for economic associations, literacy training and support for formal education. Emergency Demobilization and Reintegration Project (2002-07) Project documents