The Reintegration of Ex-Maoist Combatants back into Nepali Society

Chiranjibi BhandariCentre for Poverty Analysis

13th Annual Symposium Post War Reconstruction in Asia and Africa

1-3 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Country Context

Conflict Context 40 Points demands submitted by CPN-Maoist on 4th February, 1996

Attack on police stations in the districts of Rolpa, Rukum and Sindhuli on 13th

February, 1996, which formally marked the start of armed conflict

14,000 people killed from the both sides; government and Maoist displaced an

estimated 100,000 more people

Royal Massacre 2001

Formation of PLA

19 Day People's Movement

CPA- 2006- beginning of peace process in Nepal

Tripartite Conflict 3Ms

Monarchy

Mainstream Parties Maoist

Reintegration

• Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration and Security Sector Reform

• "Reintegration is the process by which ex-combatants acquire civilian status

and gain sustainable employment and income. Reintegration is essentially a

social and economic process with an open timeframe, primarily taking place

in communities at the local level. It is part of the general development of a

country and a national responsibility, and often necessitates long-term

external assistance". – UNSG (2006,8)

• Short Term and Long Term Measures

Methodology • Qualitative by nature

• Descriptive and analytical

• Primary and secondary sources of data

• Researcher , an active individual, participated during the supervision, integration and reintegration team, which provided access to key informants, ex-combatants and exclusive access to the cantonments, but also raises issues of the objectivity of the research and must be taken into consideration when evaluating the analysis of the data provided.

Primary Information Key informant interviews (KII),In-depth interviews,Field visits ObservationForty interviews 24 ex-combatants,10 local community members6 experts from the central and

local levels

Secondary Information Academic journals,BooksGovernment and non

governmental organizations reports

Limitations

• Firstly, the Verified Late Minor Recruits, discharged from the cantonments in

2009, which the United Nations Inter Agency Program for Rehabilitation

supported the rehabilitation program of around 2000 ex-combatants, and

actively participated in the reintegration program.

• The second category of reintegration, 15624 voluntary retirees, and an

additional 6 people who chose rehabilitation, technically reintegration process

was facilitated by the Secretariat of the Special Committee. Study is limited

on the reintegration of the 15630 ex-combatants.

PLA Expansion & Character

Year Activity

1996 Decided to form Guerilla Squad in 1996

1997 First Guerilla Platoon

1999 Company

2000 Battalion

2001 First PLA Gathering, decided to Form PLA with Prachanda as Supreme Commander

2001-2006

Expansion of PLA throughout the country

Characteristics of PLA

•Inclusive- In terms of Caste and Ethnicity, Gender, Geographical distribution • People from 74 Districts, out of 75 district of Nepal • More than 20% Female ex-combatants • Significant Representation of the people from socially excluded and Marginalized Communities • National Character

Facts and Figure

ABSENTEES in

Verification Process

8640

Total Registered

Combatants 32250

VLMR4008

Late Recruits : 1035 Minors: 2973

UNMIN -VERIFIED

19602

Participated in Update and Regrouping in 2011 : 17052

Death Reported from 2007 to 2011 : 94

Missing combatants: 2456

Integration : 1422

Rehabilitation : 6

VR : 15624

GDs for Reintegration S. N. Agreement Date Singed Parties

1 Twelve Point Agreement 22 November, 2005 SPA and CPN (Maoist)

2 Ceasefire Code of Conduct 26 May, 2006 Government of Nepal and CPN (Maoist)

3 Letter to the United Nations 9 August, 2006 The GON and CPN (Maoist)

4 Comprehensive Peace Agreement

21 November, 2006 GON and CPN(Maoist)

5 Agreements on Monitoring Arms and Armies

8 December, 2006 GoN and CPN (Maoist) witnessed by UNMIN

6 Interim Constitution 2007 15 January, 2007 The Interim Government

7 Directives for Supervision, Control, Direction and Code of Conduct for MACs

16 September, 2010 Special Committee

8 Seven Point Agreements 1 November, 2011 CPN (Maoist) and Other political Parties

Composition of Analysis

• Process: Local Ownership, politically agreed and technically driven

• Economic Aspect of Reintegration

• Combatants, Cash and Gun

• Gender Issues

• Conclusion

Special Committee & Secretariat

Process

Before 1996 1996-2006 2006-2012 2012 onwards

Maoist Party

UNMIN/ UCPN-M/ GoN

Society

Conflict

Cantonment

Society

Actors

Maoist Army Combatants

UNMIN

Government of Nepal

Nepal Army

Political Parties

Special Committee

Timeline of ActivitiesS. N. Activities Timeline

1 Cantonments were set up and Maoist Army Combatants were contained in seven main and 21 satellite cantonments

Feb-March 2007

2 UNMIN and UN arms monitors were deployed in 7 main and 21 satellite cantonments and Nepal Army container site.

November 2007

3 Registration of combatants by UNMIN 16th Jan-17th

Feb, 2007

4 Verification of ex-combatants by UNMIN 19th Jun- 21st

Dec, 2007

5 Establishment of Special Committee 28 October 2008

6 Establishment of Technical Committee 2009

….ContdS. N. Activities Timeline

7 Farewell of UNMIN 15 Jan, 2011

8 MACs under the Special Committee 22nd Jan, 2011

9 Update and regrouping of combatants 17th Nov- 2nd Dec, 2011

10 First round of farewell for voluntary retirement opted combatants

Feb, 2012

11 Second Round of farewell for VR combatants April, 2012

12 Final Round of Farewell for VR opted Combatants

September, 2012

13 Integration of combatants into Nepal Army April, 2013

Economic Aspect of Reintegration

• Global practice has shown that financial support for DDR related activities come from a wide

range of sources including the United Nations and other donor multilateral and bilateral agencies

in third world countries.

• International donors were not found happy about providing large amounts of money or grants to

ex-combatants .

• Donor agencies refused the idea of giving money to ex-combatants the government of Nepal

made the unprecedented decision to manage all the funds required for voluntary retirement

packages through the national treasury, which is tax payers’ money, and is considered as one of

the great commitments to the peace process.

• Cost of management of the arms and armies is 19,71,52,68,393.58.

• A total of 8.3 billion was expended through the SC including 8.1 billion as cash incentives and

travel allowances for ex-combatants and 0.22 billion as administrative expenditures of the

Secretariat and SC.

Combatants, Cash and Gun

• Cash packages, of between 500-800 thousands Rupees based on the ex-combatants rank.

• More than two third majority of the ex-combatants utilized their cash in the purchase of land, to build houses, educating their children, maintaining their houses, and many started small businesses like mobile repair shops, retail shops, and transportation businesses.

Voluntary Retirement

Integration

Rehabilitati

on

Gender issue • Mobilization of women is unique in Maoist insurgency. Around 20 % women

combatants in PLA.• One female ex-combatant (26) shared her experience: "I belong to the so-called lower caste community. I joined PLA in 2004 and got

married to an upper caste boy in the cantonment. After marriage, the life was very happy. While we left the cantonment with a

voluntary retirement package, it was difficult for him (husband), not for me, to be back in his village with his family due to my caste.

He never expresses this, but sometimes he used to go his place of origin but never asked me to go with him. I've a daughter and we are

living together in the nearby area of the cantonment."

• Maoist insurgency to some extend failed to provide the emancipation that

mobilized the women initially, but it has unquestionably created an environment

for women to campaign, protest and lobby for their rights.

• The Maoists are making us travel in 10 years a path we would have travelled in 50 years'.

• Discrimination and rejection from their natal communities due to inter-caste or

inter-ethnic marriages that were encouraged during the insurgency.

Anticipation Vs. Realities • In one way or another, social reintegration posed problems for both the lives of

the ex-combatants and civilians.

• The perceptions of the national and international actors towards the ex-

combatants, especially the assumption that they would spend their money too

fast and then be left with nothing, also proved to be unjustified.

• Despite more than two dozen options of education, training and skill

development, rehabilitation packages remained the lowest priority amongst the

three alternatives provided to the Maoist Army Combatants.

• The vast majority of ex-combatants did not return to their villages of origin;

rather, they settled elsewhere in urban and semi-urban areas.

• Many combatants who returned to their native places or natal villages have

reported suffering from various forms of discrimination.

Reintegration-Status

What are they doing Now ?

Agricultural Work

Unemployed

Education

Service and

Wage Labor

Small Business

Abroad

Political Position

OPPORTUNITIES

Challenges • Jungle King to Urban Poor

• Depression, Psychosocial problem

• Negative Perception of Society

• Labeling-Maoist

• Cash ran out, no proper opportunities for business and job in some

cases.

• Not much interested towards the politics

• Perceived life as frustrating tiring and angering endeavors and sense

of frustration, humiliation

Conclusion • Reintegration of former combatants is the most contentious issue in Nepal for

more than 6 years after signining of CPA 2006.

• UN monitored the process and found critical in mediated between the two

parties, but it soon became clear that a more local approach was required and

the UNMIN left the country.

• Process was directly facilitated by the secretariat, the Special Committee and

the major political parties, which is called a politically driven but locally

owned process.

• Reintegration process with cash package was largely successful. VR opted

ex-combatants successfully utilized financial package (except few) in

livelihood and other income generation options. Although, both the positive

and negative impacts of social reintegration noticed.

…Contd• Reintegration has been much more difficult for many female ex-combatants in

comparison to their male counterparts due to hierarchical social structure, new

settlement.

• Nepal’s experiences can potentially help to develop and enhance the current

global discourse on the final stages of conflict resolution and reintegration of

former combatants.

• Nepal’s indigenous process can challenge the dominant discourse and help to

provide further options to solve the problems facing many countries around the

world today, and the many more that will invariably experience similar issues in

the future, to hopefully resolve their internal conflicts peacefully and

successfully as Nepal has demonstrated.

THANK YOU