Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration

UN personnel at a site for disarmament of ex-combatants.

Photo: UN Photo/Steen Johansen

The signing of a peace agreement in a country affected by violent conflict marks the beginning of a sensitive transitional period from war to peace. This commonly entails the dismantling of armed groups, the collection and destruction of illegal weapons, and projects aimed at helping former combatants reintegrate into civilian life, for example through support to find housing and employment or reuniting with missing family members.

Programmes for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants form an important part of efforts to rebuild war-torn societies.

Peace treaties often include an agreement on the creation and design of a DDR programme. An external, international actor such as the UN is commonly tasked with implementing or overseeing such a programme.

A successful DDR process helps reduce the risk of ex-combatants taking up arms again, and thus reduces the risk of renewed armed conflict.

What does the FBA do?

Training and advice
FBA offers training and advice on DDR. For example, FBA has given advice on DDR to the parties of the peace process in Colombia. FBA also played an important role in the creation of the UN guidelines for DDR in 2006, and supports the UN’s continuous work to update the guidelines.
Research
FBA conducts and supports international research on DDR.
Secondments
FBA seconds personnel working within the field of DDR to international peace operations that Sweden contributes to, led by the EU, UN and OSCE. Click here to see a map of where our personnel is currently deployed.
Our partner countries
Within the framework of Sweden’s international development aid, FBA carries out projects concerning DDR. Click here to read more about the countries where we work.

Support to civil society
FBA grants yearly funds to Swedish civil society organizations working to promote dialogue and debate and to spread knowledge about peace and security related issues, for example issues concerning disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants.

Swedish Chair wants to strengthen security in the OSCE

This year Sweden leads the work of the OSCE faced by a challenging security situation. Several conflicts are in progress in the region: Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh and the political crisis in Belarus. Sweden protects the European security order and emphasizes that democracy and human rights are the basis for security. FBA offers support to the OSCE and the Swedish chair in order to contribute to solutions to the protracted conflicts in the region.

2021-05-07 09:20

On international deployment

Kristian Edqvist

Training manager in Brussels

Catalina Perdomo Rodriguez

Adviser to the UN in Colombia

Johan Chytraeus

Monitoring officer in Ukraine

Karolina Riedel

Statistician in election observation missions

Vanda Dahlbom

Analyst in Iraq

Björn Tedeman

Election observer

Read our publications

Reintegration or Recidivism? Why ex-combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) return to arms

The objective of this report is to identify the most prominent factors behind recidivism, or return to armed violence, among female and male ex-combatants in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In doing so, the report aims to provide evidence-based knowledge to inform policy and practice on issues of relevance for DDR processes, both in the DRC and internationally.

Documents

Reintegration or recidivism? Why ex-combatants in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) return to arms

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