Abstract
Since the first implementation of a modern DDR program, implemented in Namibia in 1989, more than 60 programs became the initial stage of a stabilization process in countries, in which national governments and irregular forces have ended hostilities, reached a ceasefire or signed a peace agreement. This document aims to provide a comparative analysis between two of them: the reintegration policy led by Colombia and Indonesia, from a description of these DDR processes and the general experiences that have been accumulated through the DDR processes in both countries. This paper makes a brief analysis of the political contexts that were conductive to the implementation of the reintegration process in both cases, describes the challenges faced and currently being faced by these processes, pointing out the strategies to address them and the role of international cooperation. The analysis will be framed during the peace process and DDR program in Aceh, Indonesia, and the Republic of Colombia, since 2003 until nowadays.
TopBackground
Over the years, DDR programs have been considered as a fundamental component for an effective transition from conflict to peace. Ultimately DDR processes have been considered as largely standardized techniques and procedures that include lessons learned from other crisis situations. Most of them were carried out without a previous design or theorization, and thus their evolution was mainly determined by trial and error. Later on, literature based on the experiences started to emerge. The Stockholm Initiative on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (SIDDR) in 2005, the Integrated DDR Standards of the United Nations (IDDRS) in 2006, the Cartagena Contribution to DDR (CIDDR) of 2009, and the First Global DDR Summit (2013), in which experiences on peace, rural development, technical cooperation and DDR in different parts of the world were discussed, are some of the examples.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Psycho-Social Support: Counseling and support services that focus on helping ex-combatants and victims of violence improve psychological well-being, and manage trauma and mental illness stemming from conflict.
Reconciliation: The re-knitting of social fabric through long-term processes of healing and forgiveness. Reconciliation is a deeply individual process, but is linked to the broader reconstruction of civic trust and communal association.
Interim Stabilization Measures: A set of actions aiming to create holding patterns and control imminent threats, in order to provide some time and space for political dialogue during an ongoing conflict.
Disarmament: The collection, documentation, control and disposal of small arms, ammunition, explosives and light and heavy weapons from combatants and often from the civilian population.
Reinsertion: The assistance offered to ex-combatants during demobilization but prior to the longer-term process of reintegration. Reinsertion is a form of transitional assistance to help cover the basic needs of ex-combatants and their families and can include transitional safety allowances, food, clothes, shelter, medical services, short-term education, training, employment and tools.
Peacebuilding: A long-term process involving a wide range of actions designed to prevent relapsing into conflict as well as to provide conditions for sustainable peace. Peacebuilding is a complex process and implies strengthening institutional capacities at different areas, so as to create the bases of development and peace.
Demobilization: The formal and controlled discharge of active combatants from armed forces and groups, including a phase of “reinsertion” which provides short-term assistance to ex-combatants.