Pay to Access | The P-DDRCS Staff Strike in the DRC: A Crisis of Credibility, Security, and Peacebuilding

A widening crisis inside the Democratic Republic of Congo’s P-DDRCS – the national peacebuilding agency under direct presidential authority – has brought core disarmament and reintegration efforts to a standstill. For more than 35 months, field agents across North Kivu have gone unpaid, prompting an unprecedented dry strike and direct appeals to the Presidency.
The paralysis has eroded public trust, interrupted contact with ex-combatants, and destabilized local security dynamics at a moment of rising militia activity.

This report provides:

• An institutional assessment of how managerial failures and salary arrears triggered a collapse of the Presidency’s flagship peace mechanism.
• Analysis of the security fallout in North Kivu, including stalled demobilization, missing ex-combatants, and vulnerability to ADF/ISCAP and other armed groups.
• An evaluation of the new weapons-collection campaign — and why, without a functioning P-DDRCS, it risks fueling trafficking rather than disarmament.
• Insight into the political and diplomatic consequences, including donor scepticism and growing concerns over state reliability.
• Key indicators to monitor: reintegration-site absenteeism, militia recruitment patterns, cash-for-arms distortions, and government messaging.
• ASA’s strategic assessment of the implications for national stability and the credibility of the DRC’s peace architecture.

This analysis is essential for policymakers, donors, and security practitioners tracking governance resilience, DDR integrity, and the evolving conflict landscape in eastern DRC.