Integrated DDR Training Group

Welcome to the IDDRTG website!

The Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Training Group (IDDRTG) is a community of a total of 20 international organizations and training
institutes with a common goal of developing and sharing training materials relating to the DDR-field. On this website, we hope to facilitate the dialogue between the IDDRTG and its partners, as well as to make information about the group’s activities and upcoming trainings more accessible.

Is this your first time hearing about the IDDRTG? Read more about us here!

IDDRTG News

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IDDRTG ‘Member of the Month’ April 2023

During the IDDRTG Annual General Meeting in 2021, it was decided for the group to enhance the output and interactivity between the members and other interested parties. To follow up on this objective, members will during the upcoming months be publishing shorter articles in a segment referred to as ‘Member of the Month’ here on the website. In these articles, members will be sharing updates, reflections and lessons learned as well as new exciting training content following the beginning of each new month.

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In this fifth article, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) outlines some information on their work in supporting national, regional and international actors and practitioners by building and strengthening their capacities to implement both emerging and traditional programmes and processes in accordance with international DDR standards and guidelines.

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To access the article, click here.

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Annual General Meeting 2022

In mid-July 2022, IDDRTG members, strategic partners and colleagues met in Bogotá and Cali, Colombia, for the training group’s 18th consecutive Annual General Meeting.

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During this meeting, we were pleased to welcome a new member: the Austrian Centre for Peace (ACP). The International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC) in Kenya was also chosen to succeed the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Ghana as co-chair of the group together with the Colombian Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN).

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For more information, kindly contact the IDDRTG co-chairs directly.

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IDDRTG in Colombia

In conjunction with the Annual General Meeting 2022, the Colombian Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), as the co-chair for the group, invited members, strategic partners and interested parties to a field visits around Cali.

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During the field visit, the group received additional information on the Colombian process, met with a number of ex-combatants taking part in the Colombian reintegration and reincorporation processes, and visited different projects implemented in support of these processes.

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See and hear more about the Colombian experiences and the group’s impressions from the field trip in the video below (Spanish and English).

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Upcoming DDR trainings

The IDDRTG conducts trainings with focus on several different thematic areas of DDR processes, both introductory and more specialized. The courses are in line with agreed guiding principles for DDR trainings organized by the member institutions of the Integrated DDR Training Group (IDDRTG), which for example highlight that trainings should be (1) driven by empirical research and doctrinal guidance, (2) gender mainstreamed, (3) pedagogically adequate, (4) strategic and operationally oriented, as well as (5) relevant in contents.

The training group conducts training courses on both annual basis and on case by case basis. Some of the frequently provided trainings are for example:

  • KAIPTC’s DDR Foundation Course
  • CCCPA’s Foundational Training Course on DDR with Special Emphasis on Asymmetrical Contexts
  • FBA’s course on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of former combatants (DDR)
  • EMP-ABB’s DDR Course
  • SWEDINT’s DDR Planning Course
  • KAIPTC’s Advanced Stabilisation and Reintegration Course

More information on both upcoming and previous DDR trainings can be found here.

Photo: Folke Bernadotte Academy

Training video on DDR

In 2021, the German Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), developed a short YouTube training video.

This video introduces the viewer to the UN approach to DDR, addressing key concepts, guiding principles as well as lessons learned from different contexts and actors engaged in these processes.

The video also engages with the viewer by setting up a number of tasks to be completed, to practice what is tought in the training video.

The video is a bit more than 1 hour long, and is well worth the watch if you are interested in learning more about DDR processes. It is also a good introduction to the longer courses that are conducted by the IDDRTG.

DDR in complex conflict contexts

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants (DDR) is recognized as a crucial peacebuilding tool, in essence aimed at the transition of men and women from contexts of armed violence back into the civilian society. Historical and current empirical examples display how former combatants, as well as their associates, can pose a threat to processes aimed at sustainable peace. Without context specific, differentiated, and evidence-based programs and processes in place to facilitate the post-conflict transition, ex-combatants run an increased risk of re-mobilizing into armed groups or engaging in organized criminal structures, potentially damaging the peace process.

Contemporary challenges and developments within the field have in recent years come to challenge the traditional use of DDR as a peace building tool. Systemic challenges such as protracted violence, high levels of organized crime and violent extremism has called for DDR programming in contexts lacking prerequisites for traditional DDR, such as a peace agreement and a minimum level of security. Responding to these challenges, guiding documents and policies of governmental regional and global organizations such as the UN, EU and AU have been revised to better suit contemporary challenges of peacebuilding environments.

The revision of these policy documents calls for a response from the institutions of the Integrated DDR Training Group (IDDRTG) to ensure that DDR trainings are compatible with the updated guidelines. As such, IDDRTG members have updated trainings to reflect on new approaches to DDR and the changing conflict dynamics. For more information on the revised policy documents, including the new UN Approach to DDR, kindly visit the Resources section.

UN Photo/Albert Gonzalez Farran

Photo: Folke Bernadotte Academy

DDR Resources

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants (DDR) has become an integral part of peacekeeping operations over the last twenty years.

Integrated DDR processes seek to support men and women formerly associated with armed groups so they can become an active participant in the peace process, by removing weapons and breaking down military structures. The aim is to support the ex-combatant to integrate socially, economically and politically into the society as well as to support local communities in the peace building process.

There are several different guiding documents to assist practitioners working on, or in close contact with, DDR processes. On this site, we have collected information on some of them. Find more information on resources on DDR here.