Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)

Women, War, Peace and Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)

 

NEW! DDR Documentary: Women of Liberia - Fighting for Peace

 

Introduction

Maintaining sustainable peace is often contingent on the successful Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of former combatants. Collecting weapons, disbanding armed groups and offering services that help combatants find alternative livelihoods can help consolidate peace in societies transitioning from conflict. Women and men have different access to services provided in post-conflict situations. Many women ex-combatants and women associated with the armed forces become ‘invisible’ after a conflict ends, making it difficult for DDR programming to reach them. In addition, women who perform roles in support of male combatants have also been intentionally excluded from DDR programming because of presumptions that these women are not entitled to the same benefits as their male counterparts, rendering many ineligible to access the services and benefit packages they need.

As knowledgeable stakeholders in the communities that receive demobilized combatants, and as former combatants themselves, women possess particular insights and skills that are relevant to DDR, and also require particular provisions, services and outputs from DDR. Women are often engaged in grassroots disarmament before official DDR processes begin. International DDR processes also rely on local women’s organizations and other civil society organizations to assist with providing alternative livelihoods to combatants and helping to catalyze new, more peaceful, codes of conduct in society.

DDR programs often focus on economic and social reintegration and deal inadequately with the psychosocial needs of ex-combatants. Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder, combined with a crisis in expressing masculinity except through violent behavior, may become pervasive in conflict settings. This translates into an increased risk of gender-based violence for many women in post-conflict situations. Furthermore, communities often stigmatize female ex-combatants both for being part of the destruction inflicted upon the community and for stepping out of traditional gender roles by taking up arms. Women combatants who have been raped, forcibly impregnated, or infected with HIV/AIDS face heightened discrimination upon their reintegration to home or receiving communities.

Women and girls play multiple roles in armed groups that are not always recognized, from cooks and porters to guards and fighters. The Center for Rights and Democracy found that during the conflict in Sierra Leone, the 'wives' of rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) commanders were themselves given responsibility as commanders of small boys units. In the Lord's Resistance Army operating in Northern Uganda, 72% of girls reported receiving weapons and military training. Their support and service to the fighting forces is so critical that girl combatants are often the last to be released, if at all. For example, in May 2001, as a sign of their willingness to 'talk peace', the RUF released over 1000 boys, but only 15 girls. However, of the total number of child soldiers (which constituted nearly half of the RUF fighting forces), one third were girls.

 

Key Terms

Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR)

are activities designed to facilitate disbanding military fighters and easing their transition back into society. They are often given priority at the cessation of hostilities, as it is important to help former combatants settle into peacetime occupations. These activities can involve the turning in of weapons and weapons caches, the physical relocation of ex-combatants (often first to cantonment facilities and then to other locations), distribution of benefits packages for ex-combatants (this can include clothing, minimal amounts of food and cash settlements), and development of credit, training or other programmes to assist the reintegration of combatants into their communities. more...


Disarmament is the collection of small arms and light and heavy weapons within a conflict zone.

Demobilization refers to the process by which parties to a conflict begin to disband their military structures and combatants begin the transformation into civilian life.

Reintegration refers to the process which allows ex-combatants and their families to adapt, economically and socially, to productive civilian life.  more...


Definitions of Female DDR Beneficiaries:

"Female combatants" refers to women and girls who participated in armed conflicts as active combatants using arms.

"Female supporters/Females Associated with Armed Forces and Groups" (FAAFG) are women and girls who participated in armed conflicts in supportive roles, coercedly or voluntarily.

Female dependants are women and girls who are a part of an ex-combatants' household are primarily socially and financially dependent on ex-combatants although they may also have retained other community ties. (e.g. wives/war wives, children, mothers/parents, female siblings, female members of the extended family).

Note: Some women and girls might fall into more than one category due to their multiple, fluid and complex roles during conflicts.

  • Female Eligibility Criteria for DDR Programmes more...
  • Why are female supporters/FAAFG eligible for demobilization? more…

 

Treaties and Institutions

  • DDR and Stability in Africa Conference was held in Freetown, Sierra Leone from 21 to 23 June 2005: more...
  • Namibia Platform for Action to Mainstream Gender in Multidimensional Peace Operations: more...
  • Security Council resolution 1325: encourages “all those involved in the planning for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration to consider the different needs of female and male ex-combatants and to take into account the needs of their dependents.” more…
  • Security Council Resolution 1820: requests the development of “effective mechanisms for providing protection from violence, including in particular sexual violence, to women and girls in … all disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration processes…”: more...
  • The Second Biennial Meeting of States (SBMS) on Small Arms and the Programme of Action was held in New York from 11 to 15 July 2005.
  • The Small Arms and Demobilization Unit (SADU) of UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) is the main body within UNDP dealing with DDR related activities. The SADU has projects in over sixty countries. more...

  

International Organizations

  • Bonn International Center for Conversion (BICC): an independent non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and facilitating the processes whereby people, skills, technology, equipment, and financial and economic resources can be shifted away from the defense sector and applied to alternative civilian uses. more...
  • Clingendael: The Conflict Research Unit (CRU) at the Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ focuses on the study of intrastate conflict and on ways of preventing and dealing with these conflicts. more...
  • Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR): a project funded by the UK Government’s Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) and serves as a resource for the UK Government as well as other global institutional, organisational, and government partners to provide research that facilitates policy development and capacity building for global Security Sector Reform initiatives. more...
  • Institute for Security Studies: a regional research institute operating across sub-Saharan Africa; works towards a stable and peaceful Africa characterized by sustainable development, human rights, the rule of law, democracy and collaborative security. more...
  • The International Council on Human Rights Policy: conducts applied research into current human rights issues. more...
  • International Crisis Group: (an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict. more...
  • International Peace Academy: an independent, international institution dedicated to promoting the prevention and settlement of armed conflicts between and within states through policy research and development. more...
  • Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP): supports a regional planning and financing framework for the demobilization and reintegration of a currently estimated 400,000 combatants in countries involved in, or affected by, conflict in the Great Lakes Region of Africa. more...
  • Norwegian Institute of International Affairs: contributes towards capacity building within the broader ambit of peace operations at the practical and conceptual level in Africa. more...
  • Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE): the world's largest regional security organization, and a primary instrument for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation. more...
  • School for a Culture of Peace: promotes the comprehension and practice of the peace culture; research and intervene on the issues related with conflicts, peace processes, post-war rehabilitation, arms trade, human rights, parallel diplomacy and peace education. more...
  • UN Department of Peacekeepking Operations: (UNDPKO) DDR website. more...
  • UN Development Programme (UNDP) DDR website. more...

UNIFEM Action and Analysis

UNIFEM has played a major role in promoting the DDR processes in Central and West Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe and the South Pacific. Efforts include:

  • Carrying out a desk study to review UN DDR initiatives from a gender perspective. Through the study, UNIFEM created two in-depth case studies and a Standard Operating Procedure on DDR: Getting it Right, Doing it Right;
  • Providing capacity building for civil society in countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Albania;
  • Organizing workshops to develop national strategies for ensuring women's participation in all stages of the DDR process;
  • Ensuring that the needs of female ex-combatants and their dependents are not overlooked;
  • Encouraging women to become active agents driving the decision-making process both within their families and their communities;
  • Building partnerships and facilitating workshops with other organizations involved in DDR processes, including the World Bank Multi-Country Demobilization and Reintegration Program (MDRP). more… A 2005 report from a UNIFEM/MDRP workshop can be downloaded in French and in English.
  • Changing attitudes toward arms-keeping as part of national and regional cultures.

Tools & Checklists

 

UN Documents

  • Department for Disarmament Affairs: Gender Perspectives on DDR Briefing Note more...

  • Department for Disarmament Affairs: Gender Perspectives on Disarmament and Development Briefing Note. more...

  • Department for Disarmament Affairs: Women’s Advocacy for Peace and Disarmament Briefing Note. more...

  • UNDP Bureau For Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR): Small Arms and Demobilization. more...

  • UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO): DDR Point of Contact page. more...

  • Department for Disarmament Affairs: Gender Perspectives on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration more...

  • Department for Disarmament Affairs:  Peace and Security through Disarmament

  • Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA): December 2005 report, “Conflict in Africa and the Role of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Reconstruction.” more...
  • UN Institute for Disarmament Research:

Independent Experts' Assessment & Recommendations

The Independent Experts' Assessment on Women, War, Peace and DDR and the accompanying recommendations can be accessed in this archive: DDR Archive.