Peacebuilding and reintegrating ex-combatants with disabilities

Abstract

There is a significant gap in post-conflict reintegration processes when it comes to ex-combatants with disabilities, notwithstanding an apparent acknowledgement that physical and mental trauma impact civilians and ex-combatants alike in large numbers and that social reintegration is vital to peaceful transitions. Moreover, processes aimed to reintegrate ex-combatants are typically disconnected from broader efforts to build and sustain the legal institutions that support the rights of the most marginalised groups in conflict affected countries. We examine the implications of this marginalisation of ex-combatants with disabilities and set our analysis within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Keywords:

• DDR
• disability
• ex-combatants
• legal empowerment
• reintegration

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Michael Ashley Stein is Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability and Extraordinary Professor at the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, Pretoria, South Africa.

Janet E. Lord is Senior Research Associate at Harvard Law School Project on Disability and Senior Vice President for Human Rights at the Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University. Collectively they have implemented disability rights law and policy programmes in some 40 countries. Stein and Lord also participated in the negotiations leading up to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Notes

1. Elise Fredrikke Barth, ‘Peace as Disappointment: The Reintegration of Female Soldiers in Post-Conflict Societies: A Comparative Study from Africa', PRIO Report (2002): 3; Nathalie de Watteville, ‘Addressing Gender Issues in Demobilisation and Reintegration Programs', Africa Region Working Paper Series No. 33 (Washington, DC: World Bank), http://www.worldbank.org/afr/wps/wp33.pdf; Vanessa Farr, ‘The Importance of a Gender Perspective to Successful Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration Processes', Disarmament Forum Four, 25–35, http://www.un.org/disarmament/HomePage/gender/docs/note4.pdf; John Williamson, ‘The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of Child Soldiers: Social and Psychological Transformation in Sierra Leone', Intervention 4, no. 3 (2006): 185–205.

2. Stephen Golub, Legal Empowerment: Practitioners' Perspectives (Rome: IDLO, 2010); Rachael Knight et al. Protecting Community Land and Resources: Evidence from Liberia, Mozambique and Uganda (Washington, DC: Namati and IDLO, 2012); Janine Ubink, ed., Customary Justice: Perspectives on Legal Empowerment (Rome: IDLO, 2011).

3. Stephen Golub, ‘Legal Empowerment: Impact and Implications for the Development Community and the World Bank', World Bank Law Review: Law, Equity and Development (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006): 167–84; Janet E. Lord, Deepti Samant Raja, and Peter Blanck, ‘Beyond the Orthodoxy of Rule of Law and Justice Sector Reform: A Framework for Legal Empowerment and Innovation through the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, World Bank Law Review 1, (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012): 45–65.

4. United Nations Secretary General, ‘Legal Empowerment of the Poor and Eradication of Poverty', UN Doc. A/64/133, July 2009, http://www.snap-undp.org/lepknowledgebank/Public%20Document%20Library/Legal%20empowerment%20of%20the%20poor%20and%20Eradication%20of%20Poverty.pdf.

5. United Nations Development Programme, ‘Practice Note on Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants' (2005), http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/cpr/documents/ddr/DDR_Practice_Note_English_PDF.pdf.

6. While there is no universal definition of disability, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides: ‘Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, GA Res. 61/106, UN Doc. A/RES/61/106, December 13, 2006, art. 1.

7. United Nations Development Programme, ‘Practice Note on Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants'.

8. Maria Berghs, War and Embodied Memory (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2012).

9. United Nations Development Group, ‘A Million Voices: The World We Want' (2013), http://www.worldwewant2015.org/millionvoices.

10. Jeremy Ginifer, ‘Re-Integration of Ex-Combatants', 49–51, file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Chap2.pdf; Jennifer Hazen, ‘Social Integration of Ex-Combatants After Civil War' (United Nations, 2007), http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/sib/egm/paper/Jennifer%20Hazen.pdf.

11. United Nations Inter-Agency Working Group on Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration, ‘Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Standards' (2006).

12. United Nations Development Programme, ‘Practice Note’ (2005), 37.

13. International Labour Organization, ‘Reintegration of Demobilized Combatants Through (Self-) Employment and Training' (1995).

14. See, for example, Ilse Derluyn et al., ‘Post-Traumatic Stress in Former Ugandan Child Soldiers', The Lancet 363, no. 9412 (2004): 861–3; Janet E. Lord, ‘International Humanitarian Law and Disability: Paternalism Protection or Rights?’, in Disability, Human Rights and the Limits of Humanitarianism, ed. M. Gill and C. Schlund-Vials (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014), 155–178.

15. Department for International Development, ‘Disability, Poverty, and Development' (2000), http://www.handicap-international.fr/bibliographie-handicap/4PolitiqueHandicap/hand_pauvrete/DFID_disability.pdf; M. Oliver and B. Sapey, Social Work with Disabled People (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 1983); World Health Organization and World Bank, ‘World Report on Disability' (2011), http://www.who.int/disabilities/world_report/2011/en/.

16. Lord, ‘International Humanitarian Law and Disability'.

17. Rosemary Kayess and Phillip French, ‘Out of Darkness into Light? Introducing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities', Human Rights Law Review 8, no. 1 (2008), 1–34.

18. Nat J. Colletta, Markus Kostner, and Ingo Wiederhofer, ‘Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration, Lessons and Liabilities in Reconstruction', in When States Fail, Causes and Consequences, ed. Robert I. Rotberg (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2004), 170–181; Paul Collier, ‘Demobilization and Insecurity: A Study in the Economics of the Transition from War to Peace', Journal of International Development 6, no. 3 (1994): 343–51.

19. See for example, CRPD, art. 19.

20. United Nations Development Programme, ‘Livelihoods and Economic Recover in Crisis Situations' (2013), http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/crisis%20prevention/20130215_UNDP%20LER_guide.pdf; Hazen, ‘Social Integration of Ex-Combatants After Civil War'; Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, ‘National Framework Proposal for Reintegration of Ex-Combatants into Civilian Life in Sri Lanka' (July 2009), http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/@emp_ent/@ifp_crisis/documents/publication/wcms_116478.pdf.

21. Elaine Zuckerman and Marcia Greenberg, ‘The Gender Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction: An Analytical Framework for Policymakers', Gender and Development 12, no. 3 (2004): 70–82; de Watteville ‘Addressing Gender Issues in Demobilisation and Reintegration Programs'; United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, UN Doc. S/RES/1325, 31 October 2000, http://www.un-instraw.org/images/documents/GPS/res1325.pdf.

22. World Health Organization and World Bank, ‘World Report on Disability'.

23. Janet E. Lord and Michael Ashley Stein, ‘Implications of the UN Disability Convention for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons with Disabilities', Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law 28, no. 2 (2011): 401–433.

24. Ibid.; Janet E. Lord, Michael Ashley Stein, and C. McClain-Nlapo, ‘Education and HIV/AIDs: Disability Rights and Inclusive Development', in Millennium Development Goals and Human Rights: Past, Present and Future, ed. Malcolm Langford et al. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013), 274; US Department of State and US Agency for International Development, ‘Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review: Leading Through Civilian Power' (December 2010), http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/153108.pdf ; World Health Organization and World Bank, ‘World Report on Disability'.

25. Stephen Meyers ‘Wounded Warriors or One of the Crowd?: Civil War, Citizenship, and Disability in Nicaragua,’ Peace Studies Journal 6, no. 4 (2013): 22–36.

26. International Labour Organization, ‘Manual on Training and Employment Options for Ex-Combatants' (1997), http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_emp/@emp_ent/@ifp_crisis/documents/instructionalmaterial/wcms_116729.pdf; US Agency for International Development, ‘Land Tenure, Property Rights, and Natural Resource Management: Land Tenure and Property Rights Reform in the Developing World: Who is Vulnerable?' (2 April 2010), http://usaidlandtenure.net/sites/default/files/USAID_Land_Tenure_Vulnerable_Populations_Report.pdf.

27. Mats Berdal and David H. Ucko, Reintegrated Armed Groups After Conflict: Politics, Violence and Transition (New York: Routledge, 2013); African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), ‘Peace Agreements and Durable Peace in Africa' (2009), http://www.accord.org.za/images/downloads/reports/peace_agreements_2009.pdf.

28. Oliver Kaplan and Enzo Nussio, ‘Community Counts: The Social Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Colombia' (Presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in New Orleans, Louisiana, 30 August–2 September 2012), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2138188; Chandra Lekha Sriram et al. Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding on the Ground (New York: Routledge, 2012).

29. UNSC Res. 1325; United Nations Security Council, Resolution 1460, 31 January 2003.

30. Christine Bell, ‘Peace Agreements or “Pieces of Paper”? The Impact of UNSC Resolution 1325 on Peace Processes and Their Agreements', International and Comparative Law Quarterly 59 (2010): 941–80.

31. Natacha Lemasle, From Conflict to Resilience: Ex-Combatants Trade Associations in Post-Conflict (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012), http://www.tdrp.net/PDFs/DRC%20ROC%20Excombatants%20trade%20associations%20Jan%202012.pdf; World Bank, ‘Disabled Ex-Combatants in Angola Receive Specialized Assistance' (2013), http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/0,,contentMDK:21444427~menuPK:258659~pagePK:2865106~piPK:2865128~theSitePK:258644,00.html; Elizabeth Hameeteman and Sebastien Jadot, Concepts and Context of the Global Water Institute: Approach to Reintegration of Ex-Combatants Through Water Strategies (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013), http://www.gwiwater.org/sites/default/files/pub/Approach%20to%20Reintegration%20of%20Ex-Combatants%20through%20Water%20Strategies_2.pdf.

32. Anders Nilsson, Reintegrating Ex-Combatants in Post-Conflict Societies (Stockholm: Sida, 2005), http://www.pcr.uu.se/digitalAssets/67/67211_1sida4715en_ex_combatants.pdf.

33. Joseph N. Sany, ‘Reintegration of Ex-Combatants: The Liberia Case', Conflict Trends (2006); Kaplan and Nussio, ‘Community Counts'.

34. Janet E. Lord and Michael Ashley Stein, ‘The Domestic Incorporation of Human Rights Law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’, Washington Law Review 83 (2008): 449–479.

35. Berghs, War and Embodied Memory.

36. International Labour Organization, ‘Reintegration of Demobilized Combatants'.

37. Stephanie Ortoleva, ‘Women with Disabilities: The Forgotten Peacebuilders', Loyola International and Comparative Law Review, no. 83 (2010): 33.

38. de Watteville, ‘Addressing Gender Issues in Demobilisation and Reintegration Programs'.

39. Monica Bandiera, Restoring Dignity: Current Psychosocial Interventions with Ex-Combatants in South Africa: A Review, Discussion and Policy Dialogue Project (Cape Town: CSVR, 2008), 19–20, http://www.csvr.org.za/docs/correctional/restoringdignity.pdf; Kees Kingma, ‘Demobilisation, Reintegration and Peace-building in Southern Africa', Demilitarisation and Peace-building in Southern Africa Volume 1, ed. P. Batchelor and K. Kingma (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2004), 146.

40. Pan African News Agency (PANAPRESS), ‘Disabled Former Soldiers Occupy Land Near Maputo', September 2001, http://www.panapress.com/Disabled-former-soldiers-occupy-land-near-Maputo--13-561191-18-lang2-index.html.

41. Kingma, ‘Demobilisation, Reintegration and Peace-building in Southern Africa’.

42. Agêencia Angola Press, ‘Mozambique Denies Discrimination against Disabled Renamo Fighters', 8 December 2007, http://www.portalangop.co.ao/angola/en_us/noticias/africa/Mozambique-denies-discrimination-against-disabled-Renamo-fighters,39d23023-e76e-4ed0-8a28-ef4963640010.html.

43. World Bank, ‘Rwanda Demobilization Program Builds Homes for Disabled Ex-Combatants', 12 August 2009, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2009/08/12/rwanda-demobilization-program-builds-homes-for-disabled-ex-combatants.

44. Ibid.

45. Zainab Kanu, ‘For Attack on Defense Minister: Ex-Combatants to Face Trial!’, Africa Young Voices, 21 November 2013, http://africayoungvoices.com/2012/08/for-attack-on-defense-minister-ex-combatants-to-face-trial/.

46. World Bank Group, Press Release, ‘Burundi: World bank Approves Emergency Funds to Support Ex-Combatants' Social and Economic Reintegration’, 28 August 2013, http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2013/08/28/burundi-world-bank-approves-emergency-funds-to-support-ex-combatants-8217-social-and-economic-reintegration.

47. This anecdote is based on first-hand field observations undertaken by a member of one of the author's institutional research teams in Liberia in 2004–2006.

48. Ginifer, ‘Re-Integration of Ex-Combatants', 49–51.

49. Reverend Fr Patrick Sawie, Interview, July 2014.

50. Gwinyayi Dzinesa, The role of ex-combatants and veterans in violence in transitional societies, (Johannesburg, South Africa: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Transitional Justice Program, June 2008); International Labour Organization, ‘Reintegration of Demobilized Combatants Through (Self-) Employment and Training'; N. Krieger, Guerrilla Veterans in Post-War Zimbabwe: Symbolic and Violent Politics, 1980–1987 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

51. This anecdote is based on first-hand accounts of a rehabilitation professional in Kinshasa during the late 1990s.

52. S. Mutmbira, The Ambiguities of Democracy: The Demobilisation of Disabled Ex-Combatants: The Zimbabwean Experience, in Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Disabled Ex-Combatants (Geneva: ILO, 1995).

53. Inter Press Service News Agency, http://www.ipsnews.net/2006/09/el-salvador-disabled-ex-combatants-fight-for-their-rights/.

54. http://www.ipsnews.net/2012/02/former-combatants-in-el-salvador-demand-a-place-in-society/.

55. United Nations Development Group, ‘A Million Voices'.

56. United Kingdom Home Office, ‘UK Home Office Immigration and Nationality Directorate Country Report – Afghanistan', 1 April 2005, http://www.refworld.org/docid/429ed11b4.html.

57. Michael Ashley Stein and Michael E. Waterstone, ‘Assessing the Policy Divide Between Veteran and Non-Veteran Americans with Disabilities', in Advancing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: A U.S.-Iran Dialogue on Law, Policy and Advocacy, ed. Allen Moore and Sarah Kornblet (Washington DC: Henry L. Stimson Center, 2011), 67.

58. Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, ‘National Framework Proposal for Reintegration of Ex-Combatants into Civilian Life in Sri Lanka'.

59. Robert Graves, The Greek Myths (New York: Penguin, 2012).

60. Arthur Elam Haigh, The Tragic Drama of the Greeks (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896), 194–8.

61. Department for International Development, ‘Disability, Poverty, and Development'.

62. Jeanine Braithwaite and Daniel Mont, ‘Disability and Poverty: A Survey of World Bank Poverty Assessments and Implications', European Journal of Disability Research 3, no. 3 (2009): 219–232; Ann Elwan, ‘Poverty and Disability: A Survey of the Literature', Social Protection Discussion Paper Series (Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999); Rebecca Yeo, ‘Chronic Poverty and Disability’, Background Paper No. 4 (Chronic Poverty Research Centre, 2001).

63. Kayess and French, ‘Out of Darkness into Light?'; World Health Organization and World Bank, ‘World Report on Disability'.

64. CRPD, art. 11.

65. CRPD, art. 28.