Abidjan, 16 July 2009... The Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) on Thursday organized a meeting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to identify the challenges that should be taken up in order to expand the 1000 microprojects programme.

The meeting, which was attended by DDR field staff and personnel from the UNDP Post-crisis Unit, reviewed projects in the different areas where they have been implemented. Presently, about 2,700 persons working on 507 projects throughout country benefit from this programme.

The Chief of DDR, Ould Sidi Zahabi, congratulated his staff and UNDP for the work they had done. He also appealed to the teams working in the field to put in place improved follow-up procedures and to adhere strictly to the established mechanisms. The chief of Civil Affairs, Cecilia Piazza, also shared her section's experience in managing Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) with participants.

The meeting presented an opportunity to highlight the major problems encountered in the implementation of the microprojects and to see how to solve them. In this regard, Mr. Zahabi provided participants with tools for risks management and shared with them the final decisions of the annual meeting of the UN's DDR section chiefs, which took place in Casablanca, Morocco.

The 1000 microprojects programme, with its $4 million budget, is a pilot initiative for reintegration, launched by the head of UNOCI in August 2008 and financed by the United Nations' Peacebuilding Fund. It is part of the support provided to the Ivorian Government for the reintegration of ex-combatants and is supported by international partners like the European Union, World Bank, United Nations agencies, bilateral operations, and UNOCI.

The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi is scheduled to make his third evaluation tour of the projects in the very near future.