KAMPALA (UGANDA): P-DDRCS PARTICIPATES IN THE SECOND REGIONAL WORKING MEETING ON DISARMEMENT, DEMOBILIZATION, REPATRIATION AND REINTEGRATION (DD/RR)
A new milestone has been reached in strengthening regional cooperation to address the complex challenges posed by the presence of foreign combatants in the Great Lakes region, particularly in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This progress was marked by the second Regional Working Group meeting on Disarmament, Demobilization, Repatriation and Reintegration (WG-DD/RR), taking place from 3 to 7 November 2025 in Entebbe, Uganda.
Representing the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madame Marie Chantal LUMBA TSHIMANGA, Deputy National Coordinator in charge of Technical and Operational Affairs of the National Programme for Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization (P-DDRCS), is actively participating in this gathering. The P-DDRCS remains the sole government-mandated structure for all DDRCS-related activities in the country.
This second session takes place in a particularly sensitive context for the DRC, marked by significant advances in peace and security processes aimed at restoring sustainable stability in the east of the country, while pockets of resistance persist. Ongoing clashes in territories still occupied by the M23 armed group—backed by Rwanda—continue to escalate the crisis in the region.
The main objective of this meeting is to engage in collective reflection, grounded in national and regional policies and aligned with international standards, to jointly develop generic Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the repatriation, reinsertion, and reintegration of ex-combatants from foreign armed groups, as well as foreign fighters integrated into local armed groups.
Given its strategic geographic location and the continued presence of numerous foreign armed elements within its borders, the DRC plays a central role in this regional process. This situation necessitates structured, honest, and sustainable cooperation with the countries of origin of these combatants to ensure their effective repatriation and thereby enhance security and peace across the Great Lakes region.
On behalf of the National Coordinator of the P-DDRCS, Professor Jean de Dieu Désiré NTANGA NTITA, this platform allowed Madame LUMBA TSHIMANGA to present the current status and progress of the P-DDRCS, highlighting the vision of H.E. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Republic and Chair of the P-DDRCS Steering Committee.
The five-day working session is expected to conclude with the adoption of a joint communiqué by all participating countries and the drafting of regional technical DDRR documents focused on foreign ex-combatants and foreign fighters integrated into local armed groups. These technical documents will later be submitted for political validation by the member states of the GCC (Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and DRC).
The meeting is being held with technical support from the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region, the African Union, the Republic of Togo (Mediator), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Folke Bernadotte Academy.
P-DDRCS Communications Unit
