With their flags fluttering in the background, it might have been a mini-UN where 28 countries were represented in a compelling meeting amid the picturesque hills in Nyakinama in the Northern Province of Rwanda.

The gathering sought to test the newly developed UN international standards against the African realities in post-conflict reconstruction and reintegration of ex-combatants. The 1st African Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) Seminar looked at what has derived from post-conflict Africa and the social dimension in integrating ex-combatants, as well as familiarized the attending countries with the UN international standards.

At issue was that “no DDR guidelines had existed before, yet there was also a wealth of experience in Africa of which countries could learn from each other,” explains Ms Susanne Brezina, who coordinated the international meet under the aegis of the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and is the organisation’s Expert Advisor seconded to the Peace Support Training Centre (PSTC) in Nairobi, Kenya.

The concept behind the DDR process is a recent one, as it only became current after the Cold War, which had fueled many of the conflicts in Africa. In post-conflict situations then, emphasis mainly tended to be placed on structural reconstruction neglecting the plight of ex-combatants and their re-integration back into society. As a DDR rationale, it offers a peace dividend in that “war uses resources for destruction, while peace should free them for construction,” says Colonel Ahmed Mohamed, Commandant PSTC Kenya.

This dividend is the expectation at full reintegration, where reintegration is the culmination of the process by which victims of conflict, including women, children and ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income. The idea behind the DDR process is to apply the universal principles of human rights for social harmony and sense of community, both for individual and collective development of the reintegrated communities.