Who We Are

The Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Commission (RDRC), responsible to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN), was formed in January 1997 as an autonomous Government Commission to manage and implement the Rwanda Demobilization and Reintegration Program (RDRP) for ex-combatants.
The RDRC is composed of six Commissioners, including the Chairman. A Technical Secretariat (TS), headed by a Coordinator, assists the Commission to implement the RDRP. Under the TS department of Operations are 30 District Reintegration Offices that support the reinsertion and reintegration activities of the ex-combatants (XCs) in the districts. The RDRC works closely with the donor community, NGOs, international agencies, Ministries and local leaders.
Stage I of the RDRP took place from 1997 to 2001 and demobilized 18,692 RPA soldiers - 2,364 of whom were children. The second stage of the RDRP commenced in December 2001 within the framework of the World Bank’s Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP). The MDRP supports and coordinates demobilization and reintegration efforts in the greater Great Lakes region of Africa. An estimated 455,000 ex-combatants currently receive support under the MDRP in the countries of Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
 
What is Our Mission

RDRC’s mission, through the RDRP Stage II, is to ensure that all the demobilized ex-combatants (XCs) are socially and economically reintegrated successfully into their communities of return by embracing the following guiding principles:
In the interest of reconciliation, all XCs, irrespective of previous military affiliation, receive appropriate assistance from the Program;
XCs are free to choose their community of settlement and their path to economic reintegration; and
The reintegration assistance seeks to foster community participation.
The RDRC relies on existing Government structures to facilitate the socio-economic reintegration of XCs and to build sustainable capacities beyond the program’s duration.
The demobilization and socio-economic reintegration of Rwandan XCs represents a great challenge to Rwanda, as it constitutes an integral and critical part of the overall transformation from a war-torn society to a reconciled and reconstructed people and country.

What Are Our Objectives

The program objectives, as amended in 2006, are:
Demobilize and support the transition to civilian life of 20,000 military of the Rwanda Defense Forces (RDF) and 16,000 combatants of the Rwandan armed groups (AGs), including 1,600 child ex-combatants;
In the spirit of the Arusha Peace Accord, support the reintegration of 13,000 ex-FAR who remained in Rwanda after 1994;
Support the social and economic reintegration of all XCs to be demobilized in stage II and all XCs from stage I who remain socially and economically vulnerable;
Since June 2005, support the repatriation and reinsertion of an estimated 9,300 dependents of the ex-AGs; and
Facilitate the reallocation of Government expenditures from military to social and economic sectors.
The international community as represented in Kigali follows closely the repatriation, demobilization and reintegration of all XCs and their dependents to Rwanda.
The RDRC set up a Technical Coordinating Committee (TCC) with an objective of bringing together key national and international partners, and acts as a conduit to the larger group of stakeholders, technical advice to RDRC on planned activities and monitoring of program implementation.

Who Finances Us

The RDRP’s total budget of an equivalent of US$53.7 million is financed in various currencies through the following mechanisms:
The World Bank / International Development Assistance (IDA) – US$28.7 million, composed of a credit of US$17.9 million and a grant of US$10.8 million;
Grant from the Multi-donors Trust Fund (MDTF), including 11 donor countries – US$14.4 million;
Government of Rwanda - at least US$ 2.7 million; and
Bilateral financing by United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) - US$8.8 million; and by the German Government through the Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau  (KWF) – US$2.7 million .