Citation

Edmonds M, Mills G, McNamee T. Afr. Secur. 2009; 2(1): 29-58.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/19362200902766383

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Rwanda is at the centre of one of the key areas for the United Nations' Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) activities: Africa's conflict-prone Great Lakes region. Yet Rwanda has adopted a unique and, in many ways, radically different DDR program to that of its neighbours, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one that finds the UN playing no direct role. In part, this is a consequence of circumstances and experiences. Above all, it reflects sharp contrasts in the quality of leadership and strategic vision within the region. That Rwanda has proved a model for the continent as a whole poses a number of challenges not just to current thinking on DDR in Africa but more especially to wider Security Sector Reform (SSR). Rwanda's successful program begs the question of other conflict-affected countries in the region where peacebuilding has proved less successful: ?How important is local ownership of DDR in the Great Lakes??