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 .
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
2
Disarmament
Demobilisation
Reintegration
“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)
3
Disarmament
Demobilisation
Reintegration

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
4
Disarmament
Demobilisation
Reintegration
Combatants from MODEL lining up to surrender their weapons
as part of the DDR process in Liberia in 2004. (Photo: IRIN)
5
Disarmament
Demobilisation
Reintegration

Demobilization is the
formal and controlled
discharge of active
combatants from armed
forces or other armed
groups.
UN Secretary General (2006)
Registration of ex-combatants
Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo
May 2005

Involves registration in
camps, and immediate
support packages.
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Disarmament
Demobilisation
Reintegration
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
7
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)
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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 excombatants
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DDR in Africa since 1990
Eritrea
Sierra Leone
Côte d’Ivoire
Liberia
Sudan
Ethiopia
Burundi
DRC
Angola
KEY:
Early cases
Recent
Underway/proposed
Namibia
Mozambique
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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
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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
“Ladder of participation” adapted from Pretty (1995)
Self-mobilization
People take initiatives independently of outsiders’
involvement.
Interactive
participation
Joint analysis, action plans and decisions on resources,
with strengthening of local institutions.
Functional
participation
People implement (esp to reduce costs) and make
smaller decisions.
Participation for
material incentives
People contribute land, labour, in return for benefits.
Participation by
consultation
Consultation, but decision-making is not shared.
Passive participation
People are told what has been decided
Manipulative
participation
A pretence
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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 excombatants, where the whole community can see that it
benefits
Building long term national capacity
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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
20
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
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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
Survey of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone (Sept 2008)
Q: “What would you avoid doing?”







Theft
Building up false hopes
Cheating
Deceit
Corruption
Marginalising and duping the target group
Making bogus promises
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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.
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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
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