July 11th, 2022. Bogotá D.C.
From July 11th to 16th, 26 representatives from different countries and international organizations will be in Bogota, Cali and Caldono, to learn about the results and experiences of the reincorporation and reintegration processes, in the framework of the 18th version of the Annual Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Training Group Meeting.
The Folke Bernadotte Academy, the International Organization for Migration, Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies, the United Nations Department of Peace Operations, government representatives from Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad, inter alia, will participate in the meeting.
Since 2019, the National Government, through the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), has been part of the IDDRTG. The Agency was also elected co-chair of the group for the period 2021 - 2023.
This participation has allowed Colombia to exchange experiences and best practices with training centers specialized in DDR processes.
The Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Training Group (IDDRTG) has enabled international organizations to develop and share experiences in DDR.
Colombia, since 2019 is a permanent member of the group and was elected as co-chair 2021 - 2023; therefore, from today until July 16th it will host the 18th edition of the annual training meeting on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration.
There are 26 representatives from international organizations, scholars, government officials from different countries, who will be in the cities of Bogota and Cali and the department of Cauca in order to learn through the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), the processes whereby more than 70 thousand former members of illegal armed groups, have managed to build new life projects from legality.
The agenda of this meeting will take place on the 11th and 12th in Bogotá, and will be extended from the 13th to the 16th to cities such as Cali and the municipalities of Cajibío and El Pital in the department of Cauca, with the purpose of presenting the management developed in the territory and touring some productive projects led by people undergoing reintegration and reincorporation; among them, Mundo Maderas SAS, in Valle del Cauca and the Ecomun Cooperativa in Cauca, in addition to the work done with the parque tecnológico de innovación del café (technological park of coffee innovation) – Tecnicafé.
During the event, the Presidential Advisor for Stabilization and Consolidation, Juan Carlos Vargas Morales, and the Director General of the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization, Andrés Stapper Segrera, will share experiences in productive strategies, economic sustainability, co-responsibility, monitoring, assessment, community intervention and psychosocial care, in the process of consolidating a policy at national and international level that will generate opportunities, alternatives for effective access to rights and development as a society.
“We are sharing an effort of more than 19 years on the part of the National Government - through the ARN - to consolidate an institutional framework based on respect for rights and transparent processes for citizens", said Andrés Stapper Segrera, ARN Director General.
In turn, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration representative Stefan Aström with the Folke Bernadotte Academy, acknowledged thus: “for Colombia it is a very important scenario to bring together different actors within the DDR field. In the last five years, the concept has been developed and Colombia has been an important international benchmark". He further stated thus: “We are very happy to have this opportunity to participate in the meeting and to see how the processes are being carried out in different countries and contexts so illegal armed groups do not reappear and that their transition to civilian life is effectively achieved".
Both members and strategic partners of the training group will participate in the technical assistance offered by Colombia, as well as representatives of the governments of the Lake Chad Basin such as Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad, together with delegates from the International Organization for Migration in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Presidential Advisor highlighted the importance of carrying out these exercises, which constitute “an opportunity to exchange experiences and establish mechanisms of hope for peacebuilding. This is a task where institutional and regulatory adjustments have had to be made. We established the roadmap for the reincorporation process with seven guarantees under which we want to reach – and comprehensively serve - ex-combatants."
To see the agenda, 
11 al 16 de julio_Agenda DDR Bogotá_Cali_Cauca.pdf
Highlights
In Colombia, 53,080 people have participated in the reintegration process, 4,195 are still in the process and more than 26,950 have completed it.
12,800 people are making progress in the reincorporation process; this is implemented in more than 578 municipalities; the policy has been included in more than 276 municipal territorial plans and in more than 31 departmental development plans.
4,486 productive projects have enabled 9,213 FARC-EP ex-combatants to become entrepreneurs and businessmen, with investments of more than $88,992 billion from the Government and international cooperation agencies.