Background
In October 2020, the European Commission (EC) announced in its 2021 Work Programme that it would present “a new strategic approach to support disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants, which is key for ensuring lasting stability and peace in conflict-stricken
countries and regions.”
The current EU Concept for support to DDR dates from 2006. The Joint communication on elements for an EU-wide strategic framework to support security sector reform , adopted in 2016, also refers to the DDR of ex-combatants (along with references to other sectorial approaches such
as transitional justice) in the following paragraph:
“Disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) refers to a set of
interventions in a process of demilitarising official and unofficial armed groups by disarming and disbanding non-state groups or downsizing armed forces and reintegrating them into civilian life. DDR processes should respond to immediate security needs and help lay the foundations for longer-term stability in a country or region. They should therefore link in with an overall peace process and preferably with a broader [security sector reform] (SSR). In conflict and postconflict contexts, EU SSR and DDR support will balance the need to restore basic security services as an urgent stabilisation measure with the need to avoid hindering longer-term stability by, for instance, legitimising non-inclusive security forces.”
In 2017-2019, the United Nations also undertook a review of their approach to DDR, which culminated in the launch of the revised UN Integrated DDR Standards in December 2019.
Objectives
The overall objective of the meeting is to gather analysis and recommendations of civil society experts for the development of the new EU Strategic Approach to support DDR.
Specific objectives include:
- Identifying lessons learned and recommendations on making EU support to DDR processes (more) successful
- Identifying lessons learned and recommendations on how to better connect EU support to DDR to other types of support, e.g. SSR, mediation and transitional justice
- Identifying best practice in safeguarding human rights and international standards throughout
Throughout the meeting, participants will reflect on how different women, men, boys and girls experience recruitment and disarmament, and present best practice in addressing the different needs of different people in DDR processes.