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 Regions and Countries - Asia - Countries A-Z Index - Asia - Afghanistan - New Beginnings Program: Soldiers Return to Civilian Life
New Beginnings Program: Soldiers Return to Civilian Life
On July 7, 2005, a ceremony was held in Kabul to mark the end of the disarmament and demobilization of former soldiers and officers of Afghanistan's armed forces. The disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) process has been vital to creating lasting stability in Afghanistan.
Canada has played a key role in the DDR process. Through CIDA, Canada has disbursed close to $21 million in support of the process since its inception in October 2003. The main DDR program, the CIDA-funded Afghan New Beginnings Program, enabled former soldiers to select reintegration packages to enable them to slowly return to a new civilian life. Training programs included initiatives in agriculture, tailoring, teaching, and demining.
Since the launch of DDR, more than 63,000 former combatants have been disarmed. To learn more about New Beginnings, read the stories of Nisar, Obaid, Hadi, and Abdul:
Additional information on DDR is available on the UN Development Programme website.
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