The United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations pursues the concept of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) to lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development, thereby addressing deep-rooted, structural causes of violent conflict in a comprehensive manner.
The concept of DDR was adopted by UN Security Council Resolution 1171 (1998) for implementation in peacekeeping missions.
Basically, the term disarmament refers to the assembly and cantonment of ex-fighters of the warring factions and the voluntary handing over of their weapons to peacekeeping troops, who then ensure the safe storage of the weapons and their final disposition. Demobilisation involves registration, medical examinations, assistance to help ex-fighters meet their immediate basic needs and transportation to their home communities.
These two aspects (Disarmament and Demobilisation) denote security to attain peace and stability. Reintegration is to provide assistance to ex-fighters to adapt successfully to a productive civilian life.
In other words, it is to reintegrate the ex-fighters, after been disarmed, into their tribes or families as civilians. This is basically providing development, which requires funding for socio-economic projects to the community.
This article highlights Malaysia, which, as a responsible member of the UN, has taken and continues to take a proactive role in facilitating peace-building or post-conflict building in peacekeeping missions, using its experience in Kesban [Program Keselamatan dan Pembangunan (Security and Development Programme)] to further refine the concept of DDR.
Therefore, on the selection as a non-permanent member for the third time in the UN Security Council (UNSC) for 1999/2000, Malaysia received good support — 174 votes out of 192 . This was another international endorsement of Malaysia’s concerted effort in promoting peace and stability.
As a convention, each member state in the UNSC will be given a chance to hold the presidency of the council for one month. So, in July 1999, Malaysia as president of the council, introduced the issue of the maintenance of peace and security in post-conflict peacebuilding based on its experience in Kesban, and focusing on civil and military affairs as well.
In most UN peacekeeping missions, the mandate or the objective is to restore peace and stability between warring factions or tribes.
To achieve this, the UN pursued the concept of DDR, which is quite similar to Kesban. The security and safety of the area or district are the responsibility of the peacekeeping force in pursuance of Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
To upgrade the level of development in the peacekeeping missions, Malaysia introduced three aspects.
Firstly, as part of socio-economic development, a concept of “winning the hearts and minds” was introduced.
Basically, these are small-scale projects designed to benefit the population and may take a number of forms, including infrastructure assistance or short-term employment. Later, this form of project was called quick impact projects (QIP), a short process of creating the necessary conditions for sustainable peace.
It also established and built confidence in the mission area towards the peace process. In short, QIP projects are “winning the hearts and minds of the community” as pursued by the Malaysian government in Kesban.
For instance, in the case of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), established by UNSC Resolution 1279 of 1999 with an authorised strength of 5,537 military personnel, one of the mandates was to deploy and maintain a presence in key areas of potential volatility to promote the re-establishment of confidence, discourage violence and allow UN personnel to operate freely, particularly in the eastern part of the country.
With UNSC Resolution 1366 (2001), QIP was approved for MONUC, whereby ex-fighters were given sewing machines to sustain their livelihood.
Secondly, for the long-term goal of promoting socio-economic recovery and development, it is the responsibility of the UN partners, such as the UN Development Programme, World Bank and others, to get donor funding and attention in the mission areas.
For example, in UN peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the construction of a road in the small town of Ituri was funded by the World Bank at a cost of US$2 million and constructed by engineers of China’s People’s Liberation Army, which was part of the peacekeeping force.
Thirdly, Malaysia emphasised the need for sufficient funding for economic development, because without it, DDR operations cannot succeed, as incomplete reintegration of ex-combatants leaves the possibility of a renewal of conflict. In short, financing continued to be a problem in the implementation of DDR programmes.
The final objective of DDR in the long term is the sustained social and economic reintegration of ex-fighters into a peaceful society in a secure environment, thereby attaining a balanced development to achieve national goals.
As president of the UNSC in July 1999, then foreign minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, in his national capacity, advocated that “while disarmament was a crucial prerequisite for the consolidation of peace and stability in countries emerging from conflict, experience had shown that it could not guarantee the achievement of the long-term objectives of sustainable peace, stability and development alone. It had to be followed with the demobilisation of ex-combatants and their peaceful reintegration into society”.
In reality, the Kesban programme succeeded in developing Malaysia into a more stable and secure society.
Malaysia basically had institutionalised the concept of Kesban, with the establishment of coordinated bodies from the village, district and state to the federal levels.
Similarly, all the relevant agencies are available in UN peacekeeping missions. It requires discussions and resolutions in joint consultations. The peacekeeping missions could develop mission areas with the implementation of massive programmes, such as roads, hospitals, clinics and public utilities, like electricity and water supply, with help from the right donors.
In conclusion, the UNSC has considered the concept of DDR as part of its overall and continuing effort to contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of UN peacekeeping and peace-building activities in conflict situations around the world.
To date, there are 16 UN peacekeeping missions, with eight having DDR programmes. Thus, a DDR programme is sustainable and successful in the long term. In addition, it must be integrated and supported by post-conflict reconstruction and socio-economic developments as experienced by Malaysia with Kesban in the 1970s.
Ramli H Nik, a former military adviser at the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to UN in New York, is Senior Fellow, Department of Strategic Studies, National Defence University of Malaysia