Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Africa, edited by Ibrahim Bangura:

This book critically examines the approaches to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants programming in Africa.

Drawing on empirical evidence from across the continent, the book investigates the different theories, contextual realities and approaches that have informed the establishment and implementation of such programmes, the opportunities they have provided for stability, peace and security, and the challenges with which they have contended. The book combines broader theoretical analysis with country-specific case studies, including Nigeria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overall, the book asks how DDR programming has evolved in Africa, what factors have contributed to the success or failure of DDR processes, and what we can expect for DDR in Africa in the future.

This book will be a useful guide for students and researchers across the fields of Peace and Conflict Studies, Security Studies, History, Political Science, Sociology, and African Studies.
• Click here to view the publication
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Conciliation Resources, Accord 23 – Consolidating peace: Liberia and Sierra Leone, article on page 55: “Work not war: Youth transformation in Liberia & Sierra Leone” by Ibrahim Bangura and Irma Specht.
• Click here to view the publication
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Socio-Economic Reintegration of Ex-Combatants  By Irma Specht. Practice Note 4. International Alert.September 2010.
The publication explains what economic development planners and practitioners can do to support the socio-economic reintegration of former combatants.
• Click here to view the publication
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Tools on Conflict Transformation
• Click here to view the digital version
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Socio-Economic Profiling and Opportunity Mapping Manual, Prepared by Irma Specht
• Click here to download the publication
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The reintegration of teenage girls and young women, by Larry Attree and Irma Specht in Intervention, International journal of Mental Health, Psychosocial Work and Counseling in Areas of Armed Conflict, November 2006 -Volume 4-number 3
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Les jeunes dans les processus de DDR – Irma Specht  in  DDR désarmer, démobiliser et réintégrer. Défis humains – Enjeux globaux
• Click here to download the publication
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Specht,I. Red Shoes: Experiences of girl-combatants in Liberia. Geneva, International Labour Office, 2006
• Click here to download the publication.
• Click here to view “The Red Shoes,” a video by Marcus Werner Hed
• ILO Crisis Response and Reconstruction Programme, Crisis Knowledge and Tools
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BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour: Girl soldiers, do they choose to fight?
• Click here to listen to the Thursday, August 17 show.
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Article on girl combatants in Liberia in the Guardian
‘I wanted to take revenge’
By Diane Taylor
• http://www.guardian.co.uk
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Kindsoldaten in Uganda
“In veel Afrikaanse landen worden kinderen gekidnapt door legers en rebellengroeperingen. De kinderen worden ingezet als soldaat of als seksslaaf. Uganda spant in deze praktijken de kroon” dit zegt Irma Specht van Transition International (TI). TI werkt als organisatie voor de Verenigde Naties en is gespecialiseerd in veranderingsprocessen in getraumatiseerde gebieden. Irma Specht heeft jarenlang in Afrika gewoond waar zij kindsoldaten begeleidde naar een zo normaal mogelijk bestaan in de samenleving.
“In gebieden waar langlopende conflicten zijn, worden volwassen mannen een schaars goed. Je ziet dat er dan vaak steeds jongere jongens worden aangetrokken. Maar sommige warlords zeggen liever met kinderen te vechten, omdat kindsoldaten makkelijk te intimideren zijn en geen vragen stellen. In Uganda worden ook op grote schaal meisjes ontvoerd. Zij worden zogenaamde bush-women; vaste sekslaven van het leger. Meestal worden ze aan een persoon gekoppeld. Dat is namelijk de manier om mannen voor dit soort groeperingen te ronselen. Er wordt hun een jonge sekslaaf in het vooruitzicht gesteld.”

“Wat vaak gebeurt, is dat een rebellengroepering een dorp binnenvalt en daar alle ouderen gevangen neemt. De kinderen worden dan voor de keuze gesteld: of ze schieten zelf een van hun ouders neer, of ze krijgen de kogel. Nadat de kinderen een aantal leeftijdgenoten die weigeren zien sneuvelen, kiezen ze er vaak toch voor een van de ouders dood te schieten. Vanaf dat moment horen ze bij de rebellen en hebben ze niet het gevoel dat ze nog terug kunnen naar hun eigen gezin. Organisaties als Transition International vangen kinderen met zo’n verleden op om ze klaar te maken voor een leven in de samenleving. Je kunt ze niet laten vergeten wat ze hebben meegemaakt. Maar je kunt ze wel handvatten bieden om met dit verleden te leven.”

“Het is belangrijk te realiseren dat kinderen in Afrika vanaf een jaar of 13 financieel in hun eigen levensonderhoud moeten voorzien. Ze kunnen wel bij hun ouders blijven wonen, maar die hebben amper voldoende middelen voor de jongere kinderen in het gezin. Je kunt ze dus wel naar school sturen, maar dan moet je er ook voor zorgen dat ze na school een praktische opleiding volgen waarmee ze aan het werk kunnen. Als ze eenmaal werk hebben, dan groeit hun eigenwaarde, waardoor het makkelijker is om het eigen verleden een plek te geven.”

http://www.vpro.nl/
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Jóvenes soldados y combatientes, ¿Por qué van a luchar?

Spanish translation of the book “Young Soldiers: Why They Choose To Fight”

Young Soldiers: Why They Choose To Fight
Rachel Brett and Irma Specht
“Young Soldiers is a book that provides the reader with a powerful opportunity to learn from the ‘inside out.’ It is an opportunity that should not be missed.”
▪ Shyrl Topp Matias, International Journal on World Peace
“I want to advise people who want to be rebel fighters, young soldiers, that they should learn from what we have gone through, which is too sad an experience. Those children younger than we are should never again be involved in such a life anymore. What I have seen and undergone is not for a child to experience.”
▪ Arthur, Sierra Leone

They are part of rebel factions, national armies, paramilitaries, and other armed groups and entrenched in some of the most violent conflicts around the globe. They are in some ways still children? Yet, from Afghanistan to Sierra Leone to Northern Ireland, you can find them among the fighters. Why?
Young Soldiers explores the reasons that adolescents who are neither physically forced nor abducted choose to join armed groups. Drawing on in-depth interviews with the soldiers themselves, the authors challenge conventional wisdom to offer a thought-provoking account of the role that war, poverty, education, politics, identity, family, and friends all play in driving these young men and women to join military life. They also address the important issues of demobilization and the reintegration process.
International in scope, covering a variety of situations in Afghanistan, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom, Young Soldiers concludes with a discussion of the steps needed to create an environment in which adolescents are no longer “forced” to volunteer.
Rachel Brett is representative for human rights and refugees at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva; she is also a fellow of the Human Rights Centre at Essex University. Irma Specht is an anthropologist working at the International Labour Organization.
www.rienner.com
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Girl-combatants: Women warriors fight their way back into Liberian society
Irma Specht
For thousands of women during Liberia’s savage civil war, taking up arms was a case of kill or be killed. Now that the war is over, fear and uncertainty still stalk some of the women fighters. Their experiences have helped the ILO develop gender-sensitive policies and programmes that may help reintegrate them into society. ILO consultant Irma Specht reports.
www.ilo.org
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• I.Specht, Juventud Y Reinsercion, Colombia, Fundacion Ideas para la Paz, 2006.

• Specht,I. Red Shoes: Experiences of girl-combatants in Liberia. Geneva, International Labour Office, 2006.

• Evaluation of Gender Mainstreaming Work and impact of United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) , Gender Unit of  DPKO, (May 2006). By Eugenia Date-Bah.

• “The changing role of the family in contemporary times: The case of the family in conflict-affected contexts ” in  Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (ed): Gender: Evolving roles and perceptions, Proceedings  2004 ( Accra, Black Mask Ltd, 2006). By Eugenia Date-Bah.

• Women and other gender concerns in post-conflict  reconstruction and job promotion efforts,  in  Fahamu (ed) African voices on development and social justice ( Dar es Salaam, Mkuki Na Nyota Publishers, 2004). By Eugenia Date-Bah.

• ILO-IPEC and UNICEF: Labour market and skills training assessment: Mapping of reintegration opportunities for children associated with fighting forces. A report covering Liberia. Geneva: ILO, 2005.

• Kemper, Yvonne: “Youth in War to Peace Transitions. Approaches of International Organizations.” Berghof Report No. 10 (forthcoming). Berlin: Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management. [www.berghof-center.org]

• Specht, Irma: “Jobs for Rebels and Soldiers.” In: Jobs after war. A critical challenge in the peace and reconstruction puzzle, ed. by Eugenia Date-Bah. Geneva: ILO 2003.

• Specht, Irma: “Developing Human Resources in the Field of Reintegration of Former Combatants.” BICC Brief (Oct. 2004), p. 111-112.