The Evolution of Inclusion: Three Decades of Policies and Programmes to Manage Exits from Armed Groups in Colombia

The United Nations supports a range of efforts that aim to resolve conflicts and build peace. Part of the UN’s conflict resolution and peacebuilding infrastructure is dedicated to supporting and implementing interventions that provide the conditions and means for individuals formerly associated with armed groups to successfully transition to civilian life. Much of the UN’s attention over the last 30 years has been oriented to efforts, commonly termed disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), to help individual ex-combatants reintegrate into civilian society - often to bolster peace processes or manage potential spoilers following a peace agreement. In recent years, the UN has supported DDR in contexts where there is no semblance of a peace process, during active conflict, and in places rife with listed terrorist group activity. Alongside these and other challenges, DDR interventions have developed over time and become broader in scope and ambition. Despite important lessons learned as a result, there remains a gap in knowledge on which models work effectively, for whom, and under which conditions. This scarcity of knowledge undermines effective UN and Member State programming, mandating, policymaking, and resource allocation, and ultimately decreases prospects for sustainable peace. The objective of this report is to provide a history of DDR policy and programming in Colombia and derive lessons learned that can be applied to other contexts. The paper pays special attention to how international and national factors (including the work of the UN) have influenced the design and implementation of relevant interventions in Colombia; how policy and programmatic decision-making have served the overarching goal of conflict resolution in the country; and what the impact of these factors and decisions has been on children, women, and ethnic minorities within the population of individuals formerly associated with armed groups. This paper traces the shifts and policy and programmatic outcomes that have shaped Colombia’s approach to DDR today. It draws on an extensive literature review and more than 15 interviews conducted between November 2020 and August 2021 with stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of relevant interventions at different points of Colombia’s history, to better understand the evolution of Colombia’s approach to disengagement policy and programming.