DDR

Citation:

Folami, Olakunle Michael. 2016. “The Gendered Construction of Reparations: An Exploration of Women’s Exclusion from the Niger Delta Reintegration Processes.” Palgrave Communications; London 2 (1). doi: 10.1057/palcomms.2016.83

Author: Olakunle Michael Folami

Abstract:

The Niger Delta is located in the South-south region of Nigeria. Oil exploration and exploitation by the multinational oil companies led to environmental degradation. The agitations among the inhabitants for environmental protection led to a protracted conflict between the Nigerian security forces and the militant groups in the region. Amnesty, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) were adopted in the region to resolve the conflict by the government. The Niger Delta post-conflict DDR processes were gendered: exclusion of women from the peace processes was a major concern for peacebuilding actors and academics in the region. Men were significantly favoured in the DDR peacebuilding processes because they belonged to militant groups. The roles played by women in the conflict were not however recognised; these included roles in demonstrations, strikes, campaigns, lobbies and as carers, nurses and cooks. Women have therefore sought redress in the peacebuilding processes. This study aims to identify roles played by men and women in the Niger Delta conflict. It examines methods of conflict resolution adopted in the region and also investigates the reason why women were largely excluded from the DDR processes. Recognition Theory is used in this study to examine the institutionalised norms that make gender inclusion in the Niger Delta peacebuilding processes problematic. Recognition theory considers equal treatment to be an important part of a just society, while distributive justice theorists believe that economic goods and wealth must be shared equally. This study was carried out in the Gbaramatu Kingdom, Niger Delta region, Nigeria, in three selected communities: Okerenkoko; Egwa; and Oporoza. A qualitative method involving in-depth interviews was used to collect data from 24 participants. I report that many men and women participated in the conflict but a small number of women (0.6%) were included in the DDR peacebuilding processes. I find that men and women demand that reparations should be considered in addition to the reintegration process that has been adopted in the Niger Delta. Furthermore, I find that apart from patriarchal culture, DDR operational norms only focus on security and not on human rights. I conclude that men’s and women’s rights could be recognized through the combination of DDR and reparations rights in the Niger Delta peacebuilding processes. This article is published as part of a collection on gender studies.

Topics: DDR, Conflict, Gender, Women, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Justice, Reparations, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Niger

Year: 2016

Citation:

Ocampo, Myriam, Pilar Baracaldo, Lorena Arboleda, y Angélica Escobar. 2014. “Relatos de vida de mujeres desmovilizadas: Análisis de sus perspectivas de vida.” Informes Psicológicos 14 (1): 109-28.

Authors: Myriam Ocampo, Pilar Baracaldo, Lorena Arboleda, Angélica Escobar

Abstract:

Objetivo: Analizar las perspectivas de vida de mujeres desmovilizadas a través del estudio y comprensión de sus relatos de vida. Método: Se trabajó con mujeres desmovilizadas inscritas en el programa de reintegración de la presidencia de la república de Colombia. 30 de ellas pertenecientes a la sede Cali, Colombia. Se utilizó metodología cualitativa, a través de las herramientas historias de vida y grupos focales. Se realizaron narrativas de sus historias de vida de manera individual y grupal, partir de sus vivencias generando espacios de escucha y reflexión entre las participantes. Resultados: Se logró identificar dificultad para reconocer responsabilidad de los actos violentos cometidos debido a una percepción de víctimas dentro de la guerra. Esto dificulta el proceso de reconciliación. Conclusiones: Se sugiere incluir una estrategia integral de género en la política de reintegración que favorezca la protección de las mujeres desmovilizadas contra las formas de discriminación y violencia.

Keywords: historias de vida, metodología cualitativa, mujer desmovilizada, guerrera, conflicto armado colombiano, perspectiva de vida, reintegración

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gender, Women, Violence Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2014

Citation:

Mejía Jerez, Yuly Andrea, y Priscyll Anctil Avoine. 2017. “Corporalidades y subjetividades sexuales: el caso de las mujeres excombatientes de las guerrillas colombianas.” Prospectiva: Revista de Trabajo Social e Intervención Social, no. 23, 97-122.

Authors: Yuly Andrea Mejía Jerez, Priscyll Anctil Avoine

Abstract:

El ingreso temprano de mujeres a grupos armados al margen de la ley implica la vivencia de experiencias que transmutan roles de género tradicionales, el cuidado del cuerpo, la construcción de la sexualidad y de las subjetividades. Dentro de la estructura bélica, y posteriormente, en el proceso de reintegración, las mujeres se enfrentan a múltiples decisiones en las distintas etapas de su sexualidad. Con el fin del conflicto armado con las FARC-EP, ellas se encuentran en un nuevo momento de sus vidas, pasando del contexto caracterizado por el miedo, la violencia y las ausencias estatales, a asumir otras posiciones sociales como futuras agentes de cambio. El objetivo de este artículo es reflexionar sobre las dimensiones corporales de las mujeres en las guerrillas colombianas, para contrastar el impacto de la violencia y el conflicto en la constitución de las subjetividades desde una dimensión sexual y de género. Para ello, se utiliza la metodología cualitativa de análisis documental y, además, se tienen en cuenta observaciones a partir de investigaciones anteriores realizadas con la Corporación Descontamina.

Keywords: sexualidad, mujer, Conflicto Armado, cuerpo, cuidado corporal, guerrillas colombianas

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gender, Women, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Peace Processes Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2017

Citation:

Méndez, Andrea. 2012. “Militarized Gender Performativity: Women and Demobilization in Colombia’s FARC and AUC.” PhD diss., Queen’s University.

Author: Andrea Méndez

Abstract:

Women are usually represented as victims in the literature on conflict and conflict resolution. While women are indeed victims of violence in the context of conflict, this representation excludes the experiences of women who have joined and fought in illegal armed groups. Little is known about the lives of women who fight alongside men in illegal militarized organizations. These women are often overlooked during peace negotiations and in the design and implementation of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration programs, affecting their conditions and experiences during the transition to civilian life. The Colombian conflict presents an important case study regarding the militarization of women in illegal armed groups, and the experience of demobilization, and is the focus of this dissertation. To address this case study, the concept of “militarized gender performativity” is advanced, drawing on the works of Cynthia Enloe and Judith Butler. In the Colombian case, both left–wing and right–wing armed groups have incorporated women into their ranks. This research elucidates the effects of non– state militarism on the social processes that produce and reproduce gender systems in two of Colombia’s illegal armed groups, uncovering how the FARC and the AUC construct, negotiate, challenge, or reinforce gender roles. The research indicates that there are significant differences in the way this is done. Interviews with ex–combatants from the FARC and the AUC show that women’s sexuality plays a central role in the militarization of women combatants in both organizations, but there are specific policies that establish the nature of the relationships in each group. These differences represent distinct militarized femininities which maintain aspects of traditional gender relations while transforming others according to the needs of the organization in question. The transformation of gender identities in each of the armed groups reveals the performative nature of gender roles in a militarized context.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gender, Gender Roles, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Peace Processes, Sexuality Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2012

Citation:

Barrios Sabogal, Laura Camila, and Solveig Richter. 2019. “Las Farianas: Reintegration of Former Female FARC Fighters as a Driver for Peace in Colombia.” Cuadernos de Economía 38 (78): 753–84.

Authors: Laura Camila Barrios Sabogal, Solveig Richter

Abstract:

The 2016 peace agreement includes comprehensive prescriptions for the so-called “reincorporation” of former combatants into the social, economic and political life of Colombia. However, the literature is somewhat skeptical regarding the reintegration of female fighters, since they are usually either neglected or are facing intense stigmatization by the society. Nevertheless, based on empirical data from field research in 2018, we argue that both former FARC ex-combatants and conflict-affected communities largely support the reintegration process. This acceptance offers not only prospects for peace but a unique opportunity to promote gender equality in the traditional Colombian society.

Keywords: Colombia, peace agreement, FARC, DDR, reintegration, gender, former female FARC combatants

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Female Combatants, DDR, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peacebuilding Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2019

Citation:

Theidon, Kimberly. 2015. “From Guns to God: Mobilizing Evangelical Christianity in Urabá, Colombia.” In Religious Responses to Violence: Human Rights in Latin America Past and Present, edited by Alexander Wilde, 443–76. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.

Author: Kimberly Theidon

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, DDR, Gender, Masculinity/ies, Justice, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Paramilitaries, NGOs, Post-Conflict, Religion Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2015

Citation:

Kaplan, Oliver, and Enzo Nussio. 2018. “Explaining Recidivism of Ex-Combatants in Colombia.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 62 (1): 64–93.

Authors: Oliver Kaplan, Enzo Nussio

Abstract:

What determines the recidivism of ex-combatants from armed conflicts? In post-conflict settings around the world, there has been growing interest in reintegration programs to prevent ex-combatants from returning to illegal activities or to armed groups, yet little is known about who decides to ‘‘go bad.’’ We evaluate explanations for recidivism related to combatant experiences and common criminal motives by combining data from a representative survey of ex-combatants of various armed groups in Colombia with police records of observed behaviors that indicate which among the respondents returned to belligerent or illegal activities. Consistent with a theory of recidivism being shaped by driving and restraining factors, the results suggest that factors such as antisocial personality traits, weak family ties, lack of educational attainment, and the presence of criminal groups are most highly correlated with various kinds of recidivism and hold implications for programs and policies to successfully reintegrate ex-combatants into society.

Keywords: recidivism, reintegration, DDR, Colombia, civil war, ex-combatants

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, DDR, Education, Gender, Post-Conflict Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2018

Citation:

Schwitalla, Gunhild, and Luisa Maria Dietrich. 2007. “Demobilisation of Female Ex-Combatants in Colombia.” Forced Migration Review 27: 58–9.

Authors: Gunhild Schwitalla, Luisa Maria Dietrich

Annotation:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Combatants, Child Soldiers, Female Combatants, DDR, Displacement & Migration, IDPs, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, Conflict, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Paramilitaries, Non-State Armed Groups, Post-Conflict, Sexual Violence Regions: Americas, South America Countries: Colombia

Year: 2007

Citation:

Umejesi, Ikechukwu. 2014. “Amnesty, Patriarchy and Women: The ‘Missing Gender’ Voice in Post-Conflict Niger Delta Region of Nigeria.” Gender & Behaviour 12 (1): 6223–37.

Author: Ikechukwu Umejesi

Abstract:

On 25 June 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria declared amnesty for all armed groups fighting against the Nigerian state and oil producing companies in the Niger Delta region. The amnesty project spelt out a triple program of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of the militant groups. In other words, the program was designed to end the conflict and reintegrate the militants into the society through an economic empowerment process. While the amnesty program was hailed as "reconciliatory", "compensatory" and a "sustainable solution" towards achieving lasting peace in the restive region, the program seems to benefit only men who constitute the bulk of the militants and their commanders. It does not take into consideration the socio-ecologic and economic losses suffered by women throughout the course of the struggle. This paper asks: where are the women? Is the amnesty program an empowerment project or an entrenchment of patriarchy in the Niger Delta region? Using both primary and secondary sources, this article examines these questions as a way of understanding government's amnesty policy and its gender dynamics.

Keywords: Niger Delta, conflict, amnesty, women, patriarchy, gender, militants

Topics: Armed Conflict, DDR, Economies, Economic Inequality, Extractive Industries, Gender, Women, Gender Analysis, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Non-State Armed Groups, Peacebuilding Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2014