Conflict, Security & Development 4:1 April 2004 Analysis The anatomy of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in the Republic of Congo 1 Robert Muggah definitions, objectives and sequencing of This analysis begins with a general account of the political and humanitarian context of each phase, from disarmament and demo- the Republic of Congo (RoC) before and bilisation to reintegration (DDR)—a chal- after the signing of the Ceasefire Accords in lenge not unique to actors in the RoC. This 1999. In laying out the general context of article offers a tentative glossary of terms to the violence, it also briefly describes a num- inform future efforts in the domain of DDR ber of interventions undertaken by the and closes with a consideration of the im- Government of Congo (GoC) and the inter- pacts and roles of key stakeholders in the DDR continuum, and some of the chal- national community to promote and ensure security. It reflects on the considerable con- lenges they might face in the future. fusion among stakeholders over the The Republic of Congo was devastated by three successive waves of armed conflict in the 1990s. In 1999, and again in 2003, the Congolese government announced a formal cessation of hostilities. As of October 2003, with the support of the UNDP, IOM Q1 and European Commission, the country appears to be inching towards some form of durable Robert Muggah is Professional Fellow of the Social Science Research Council and currently project manager of the Small Arms Survey at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. He is responsible for coordinating the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of the Survey’s research in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia. He has experience administering field research on displacement and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration in Colombia, Sri Lanka and Congo-Brazzaville. ISSN 1467-8802 print/ISSN 1478-1174 online/04/010000-00  2004 International Policy Institute DOI: 10.1080/1467880042000206840