UN PARTNERS
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has supported disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) since 1991 in both peacekeeping and non-peacekeeping contexts in more than 20 countries around the globe. UNDP works to develop comprehensive DDR strategies, which ensure that short-term security imperatives are integrated into longer-term recovery and development.
Its strengths are: i) extensive presence at the country and regional levels coupled with a good understanding of socio-economic and political issues on the ground; ii) pivotal coordination role where the UNDP Resident Representative is also the Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN Country Team and, in peacekeeping contexts, also the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General; iii) experience in programme design within the context of local and national recovery and development strategies; iv) commitment to capacity development of national actors to promote long-term sustainability of the DDR process; and v) ability to mobilize funds among bilateral donors as well as multilateral financial institutions.
Furthermore, UNDP also sets aside 6.6 percent of its core resources to rapidly address the needs of countries in crisis and post-conflict situations, which enhances considerably the capacity of the United Nations to flexibly initiate DDR programmes. UNDP has been an active member of the United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on DDR (IAWG – DDR) and contributor to the development of the Integrated DDR Standards and accompanying documents. UNDP is Co-Chair of the IAWG – DDR.
