Addis Ababa conference on DDR for South Sudan calls for new approach

September 17, 2012 (JUBA) – A coordination conference on the program of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) for South Sudan held on Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, has called for new approach in the program which targets 150,000 from the organized forces.

The focus was on how to do more than the classical DDR by transforming the ex-combatants into productive force which will contribute to the development of the nation.

Addressing the conference, the Vice President of the Republic, Riek Machar Teny, called on the AU to help the new country design the program, which he said should not only focus on the part of security reform but also on development.

He told the conference the ex-combatants can be trained in various skills and deployed as units of workforce to implement various developmental projects which will provide them with an opportunity to continue earning income.

Machar commended the AU and UN partners for lending their support to the new approach, urging them to support the government in building transitional facilities in the ten states of the country.

The program, he said, will create employment for the ex-combatants and develop the country. These will include trained in agricultural activities, roads maintenance, mining, etc.

The African Union’s officials in charge of peace and security expressed the organization’s readiness to support South Sudan.

AU will set up a continental resource center in January 2013 and will provide consultants to South Sudan and contribute their expertise in the program.

(ST)