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Ban pays tribute to new forum promoting reintegration of ex-combatants

Ban pays tribute to new forum promoting reintegration of ex-combatants

Ex-combatants from North and South Sudan, including women, symbolically handing over weapons
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the opening of a new forum for the United Nations to advance its work on the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process in countries emerging from armed conflict.

Mr. Ban noted that there have been nearly one million beneficiaries of DDR efforts worldwide over the past 20 years, in a message to the International DDR Congress in Cartagena, Colombia.

“DDR is designed to advance security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can firmly take root,” Mr. Ban said in a message that was delivered on his behalf by Assistant Secretary-General for Rule of Law and Security Institutions Dmitry Titov.

“Our experiences in Mozambique, Sierra Leone and many other places have shown how effective DDR initiatives can be in helping ex-combatants build a new life for themselves and a better future for their countries,” he added.

The message highlighted the first edition of the Integrated DDR Standards launched in November 2006 to guide the design and implementation DDR programmes.

“I am glad there is now a wider forum where we can join with other partners to push this work forward,” Mr. Ban stated, welcoming the Congress’s focus on how DDR can fit into peacebuilding, and how DDR can be better coordinated with broader projects.