Peace and Conflict in West Africa: Dealing with ex-combatants in Sierra Leone and Liberia

1. Peace and Conflict in West Africa: Dealing with ex-combatants in Sierra Leone and Liberia Walt Kilroy School of Law and Government, Dublin City University walt.kilroy@dcu.ie The support of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice and of Trócaire is gratefully acknowledged.

2. A definition of peacebuilding • “In current usage... peacebuilding is an attempt, after a peace has been negotiated or imposed, to address the sources of present hostility and • build local capacities for conflict resolution”. • - Doyle and Sambanis, 2006, Making War and Building Peace, Princeton: Princeton University Press, p. 22 • Ways to “improve the prospects for peaceful governance” include: • Strengthening state institutions • Increasing political participation • Engaging in land reform • Deepening civil society • Finding ways to respect ethnic identities

3. DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration “Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes are often at the nexus of peacekeeping, post-conflict peacebuilding and development” - UN Secretary General’s report on DDR to General Assembly (2006: 8)

4. DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration • Disarmament is the collection, documentation, control and disposal of small arms, ammunition, explosives and light and heavy weapons of combatants and often also of the civilian population. - UN Secretary General (2006) Surrendered arms stored under UN peacekeepers’ supervision Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 2005

5. DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration Combatants from MODEL lining up to surrender their weapons as part of the DDR process in Liberia in 2004. (Photo: IRIN) 5

6. DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration • Demobilization is the formal and controlled discharge of active combatants from armed forces or other armed groups. UN Secretary General (2006) • Involves registration in camps, and immediate support packages. Registration of ex-combatants Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo May 2005

7. DisarmamentDemobilisationReintegration Reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status and gain sustainable employment and income. Reintegration is essentially a social and economic process with an open timeframe, primarily taking place in communities at the local level. - UN Secretary General (2006) Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo May 2005

8. DDR as an integral part of the peace process • Usually part of final peace agreement • Does not make agreement inevitable • Can be halted by return to hostilities • ‘...an interplay, a subtle interaction, between the dynamics of a peace process’ and how DDR is implemented (Berdal, 1996: 73)

9. What works well – and doesn’t Interaction with peace process Building of confidence Reduction in arms Children’s reintegration and rehabilitation Women face greater problems in reintegrating, but are not catered for well in DDR programmes Gaps in funding, delays in providing benefits Finding livelihoods for ex-combatants 11

10. DDR in Africa since 1990 Eritrea Sudan Sierra Leone Ethiopia Côte d’Ivoire Liberia Burundi DRC Angola Namibia KEY: Early cases Recent Underway/proposed Mozambique

11. Sierra Leone chronology • 1700s: departure point for slave trade • 1787: Colony for freed slaves set up • 1808: Freetown (and later rest the country) becomes British crown colony • 1961: Independence • 1967: Military coup, and move towards repressive one-party rule • Corruption and poor governance • Services for citizens decline • Exclusion and poverty (including youth) • Diamond trade run for benefit of elites • 1989: War starts in neighbouring Liberia • 1991: War starts in Sierra Leone with RUF incursion from Liberia • Outside actors: ECOMOG peacekeepers, private military contractors, and UK intervention (2000) to contain RUF • 1999 July: Lome peace agreement signed with RUF • 2002: War declared over

12. Participation: What is it? Chambers (1985, 1997) Concept still evolving, and is not uncontested Genuine involvement of beneficiaries in all stages of the programme cycle: Deciding on needs Planning interventions Implementing them Monitoring Evaluating the programme In reality, most work has been done on the later stages (M & E) Usually based in more stable communities than post-conflict environments 15

13. “Ladder of participation” adapted from Pretty (1995) 16

14. Participation: how it might help Enhancing the sense of ownership at national and community level Addressing social capital Dealing with perceptions that those with guns are being rewarded More relevant services for all, including marginalized groups such as children, women, and the disabled Promoting reconciliation and acceptance of ex-combatants, where the whole community can see that it benefits Building long term national capacity 17

15. Key themes from Focus Groups Life is very hard (economically) Problems with quality and duration of training No jobs result, even if the training is completed Inaccurate information re the DDR programme Broken promises Little input to decisions on the programme, apart from training/education options Missing or misappropriated benefits Corruption and cheating Lack of confidence in the programme 19

17. Focus group comments • “Nothing of what they promised, did they give us.” • “The problem lies with those who promised things to us but did not fulfil. Benefits were expected which we would have used to ensure support for our families, and these were not provided. That is why my kids are all in the streets, so you can see that my condition is terrible, I swear to God.” • “So really the disarmament process did not go down well [with us], because they cheated us: what was meant for us was not given to us.” - Three participants, Focus Group A, Bo, Sierra Leone

18. Survey of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone (Sept 2008) Q: “If you were running a DDR programme now, what things would you do to help people feel included in the process, and have their views listened to?” They should learn to fulfil their promises. It's a serious issue: (we) agreed to disarm fully, but some have been abandoned. I would be open with them and give them the opportunity to express their thoughts I would try to know what they want Try to encourage people to forget about the past and become a new person in society I will help the real people and not bribe 22

19. Q: “What would you avoid doing?” Theft Building up false hopes Cheating Deceit Corruption Marginalising and duping the target group Making bogus promises Survey of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone (Sept 2008) 23

20. Why there are problems Short time frame for starting DDR programmes Many different actors, with varying agendas, capacities, and organisational cultures. Funding from disparate donors, who themselves have a variety of perspectives. Lack of capacity and social capital in post-war environment. Early stages (disarmament) do not lend themselves to consultation. Engagement with commanders may be necessary but is problematic. 24

21. Is participation possible in DDR? Ladder of participation is a useful tool for analysing reintegration: Power Agency Social capital Lower rungs of ladder are reached – at times Many obstacles, especially time constraints Children’s programmes showed more participation Matter of degree (who, when, and how) More opportunities in later stages It can point to greater ownership, sustainability, and better outcomes 25