Demobilisation of the National Resistance Army of Uganda - A peace dividend.

The end of the Cold War era has brought an end to many of the conflicts (Ethiopia, Namibia) that disrupted the African continent and brought suffering to both the warring armies and civilian population during the past decade. It has also facilitated political liberalisation (Zambia, Mali , Gambia, Benin and Namibia). As peaceful and stable situations now seem to settle in many African countries previously experiencing conflicts, many Governments are now undertaking significant economic and political changes to transform their societies. One such change that offers opportunity for governments to reallocate resources for the transformation process is demobilisation of soldiers. As conflicts erupted in many African countries, armies were increased rapidly and their maintenance claimed significant budgetary resources at the expenses of other sectors of the economy such as health, education etc. In other words, maintenance of security became a priority

Conference paper