GENEVA 29 May 2024 - The world is facing the highest level of violence since the Second World War, with 33,000 civilian deaths in armed conflict in 2023 – a 72% increase compared with the previous year. About four in 10 countries where conflicts have ended return to civil war within a decade.  Investing in disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) is vital in breaking the cycle of conflict. 

Removing weapons from the hands of members of armed groups and forces, taking combatants out of their armed forces and groups, and helping them to reintegrate as civilians into society, DDR supports ex-combatants and those formerly associated with armed groups and forces, so that they can become active participants in building peace. 

Practitioners and UN specialists are meeting at a Symposium on DDR in Geneva 3-7 June, the biggest annual meeting on DDR. The Symposium will take place against the background of the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace and the Summit of the Future’s segment on peace and security. The New Agenda for Peace calls for a paradigm shift in preventing conflict and violence and sustaining peace. 

Symposium participants will commit to a ‘DDR pact’ as part of contributions to the implementation of New Agenda for Peace. Reflections have already started through the Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS) review. 

The Symposium will include a high-level opening at 9.30-11.30.00 CET on 4 June open to the media, and time for closed intra-agency/community meetings, networking, and side meetings on specific country initiatives. 

Experts from some 20 countries will be present, including from Burkina Faso, Colombia, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Libya, Mali, Niger, the Philippines, and Ukraine, as well as governmental authorities, UN agencies, funds, programmes and partners. 

The Symposium takes place at the Varembé Conference Centre (CCV) in Geneva from 3 to 7 June 2024 organized jointly by the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and sponsored by Switzerland. 

Read more about the importance of the DDR Symposium here

Watch the Administrator's message at the DDR Symposium 2024 here

Contact information: 

For more details, Glaucia Boyer (glaucia.boyer@undp.org), Tomas Kontogeorgos (kontogeorgos@un.org) and Gabriella Ginsberg Fletcher (gabriella.ginsbergfletcher@un.org) 

For media, Sarah Bel (sarah.bel@undp.org)

Key resources: 

UN DDR Resource Centre

Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards (IDDRS)

DDR Symposium Agenda

DDR Symposium Concept Note