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Background | Objectives | Topics | Perspectives | Participants | Contacts & Documents
 Background
For the international community, especially the United Nations, the DDR programmes are an important tool for maintaining peace and managing exit from armed conflict. The SWAC has developed a close partnership with ECOWAS in which one of the main areas of collaboration is the strategy for building peace and a security system serving development at the regional level. The setting up of a Regional Working Group on the DDR and post-conflict in West Africa will help fulfil one of the recommendations by the ECOWAS Commission of Defence and Security and at the same time implements the conclusions of the workshop co-organised by the Sahel and West Africa Club and ECOWAS in Bissau in November 2005 on the “Dynamics of Exit from Crisis in West Africa”.
Objectives
The workshop’s main objectives were to:
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Set up a Regional Working Group on the DDR and post-conflict management in West Africa;
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Share lessons learned from DDR experiences in the region; within this framework account for the achievements and problems encountered in the implementation or launching these programmes;
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Work towards the decompartmentalisation and harmonisation of the DDR in order to contribute to the adoption of a regional approach to post-conflict management while being aware of the local socio-cultural issues;
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Strengthen the favourable factors of the dynamics of exit from crisis in West Africa.
Topics
The workshop proceedings were held in sessions over three days and divided into a series of panel discussions on the last day.
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The first stage of the proceedings was dedicated to providing an overview of DDR programmes and post-conflict management in West Africa.
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The second stage dealt with problems encountered in the national experiences as well the lessons learned and any possible outstanding challenges.
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The third stage summarised the regional experiences and projects, addressing the synergies to be developed as well as the opportunities for action and practical actions required to make these synergies possible.
Perspectives
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Setting up a Regional Working Group on the DDR and post-conflict management in West Africa;
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Share lessons learned from other DDR in the region with DDR Ivorian actors when their programme is launched;
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Proposal of a strategy and activities for the Regional Working Group;
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Take into account the local aspects and socio-cultural dimensions in the DDR and post-conflict management;
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Establish a database for the region on DDR Programmes.
Participants
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11 countries represented: Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone;
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Regional and international organisations: ECOWAS, African Union, United Nations (ONUCI, UNOWA, UNDP, etc.)
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State structures, civil society organisations, research institutes, experts, etc.
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