About DDR and SSR

Online Compendium and Information Repository on SSR and DDR Experiences in Africa

The online Compendium includes, collation and synthesis of documents on SSR and DDR which can be searched against a number of key themes and by country and type of document. It includes summaries of best practice and key issues on given topics as well as synopsis of individual documents. Most of the documents in the Compendium can be downloaded in pdf format.

Defense and Security Division (DSD)

DSD of the AU Peace and Security Department (PSD) supports a set of strategic security areas covered in the Common African Defense and Security Policy (CADSP), the Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy (PCRD), the Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol and other decisions of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. These include Security Sector Reform (SSR), Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), countering terrorism and violent extremism; and nonproliferation.

The approach of DSD in mandated areas focuses on sensitizing and mobilizing member states regarding the regional and international frameworks; providing direct technical and operational support; strengthening coordination and partnership with the range of regional and international stakeholders to ensure a harmonized and effective approach; as well as documenting and disseminating knowledge, best practices and lessons learned.

Within the framework of the 2013 AU SSR Policy Framework, DSD aims to assist Member States, particularly those emerging from conflict, in formulating and re-orienting the policies, structures, and capacities of institutions and groups engaged in the security sector.

Similarly, strengthening capacity within the AU regional security architecture to provide effective support to DDR is viewed by the AU as integral to its objective of promoting peace, security and stability in Africa. The importance and mandate of the AU Commission to support DDR was made in the 2004 Common Africa Defense and Security Policy (CADSP) and then subsequently in the 2006 Post Conflict Reconstruction and Development Policy (PCRDP). The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) Roadmap (2011 – 2013) specifically recognised that that DDR must: “Be integrated into the entire peace processes, from the initial peace negotiations through peacekeeping and follow-on peace building activities”1. It also recognized that whilst, historically, many DDR programmes have often fallen under the auspices of the UN that there has been increasing demand for a strengthened role of the AU with a growing number of Peace Support Operations AU led and including DDR activities.