National Rehabilitation Commission (Ethiopia)

The National Rehabilitation Commission (NRC) is a federal commission of Ethiopia responsible for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants following the Tigray War. It was established by Council of Ministers Regulation No. 525/2022 in November 2022 and began operating as a federal institution in early 2023.

Mandate

The commission is tasked with carrying out a post-conflict DDR programme for ex-combatants, a core component of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (also known as the Pretoria Agreement) signed between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front on 2 November 2022. The programme is managed nationally by the NRC with support from a multi-partner programme administered by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ambassador Teshome Toga was appointed as the commission's commissioner, leading early national consultations on the demobilisation and reintegration programme in 2023.

Operations

The NRC has described the overall programme as covering an estimated 371,971 ex-combatants identified nationwide, making it one of the largest DDR processes in the world. The demobilisation phase was formally launched in Mekelle on 23 November 2024, beginning with a first group of around 75,000 ex-combatants in the Tigray Region, with rehabilitation centres established at Mekelle, Edagahamus and Adwa. The Ethiopian government committed to cover part of the programme's cost, with additional funding from international partners including the European Union, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States channelled through the UNDP-managed basket fund.