What is Reintegration?
Reintegration is a six and a half years offer that the Colombian State, through the management of the ARN, offers to people who have been demobilized from Organized Armed Groups Operating outside the Law (GAOML – Grupos Armados Organizados al Margen de la Ley – for its acronym in Spanish), who have not committed crimes against humanity, and who want to reintegrate into social and economic life.
Reintegration seeks to develop citizen skills and competencies among demobilized persons and their environments. At the same time, it is proposed to provide spaces for coexistence and reconciliation actions, and encourage co - responsibility of external actors.
The mission of the ARN is to promote the return of the demobilized population to the legality in a sustainable way. That is why, demobilized persons are not only provided with education, job training and psycho - social support, but they are also helped to boost their productive projects.
The Colombian State gives them legal benefits due to political crimes and crimes related to people who have been demobilized from Organized Armed Groups Operating outside the Law (GAOML), as long as they do not commit a crime again after their demobilization.
When a person enters the reintegration process, receives economic support to the reintegration if he / she attends at least 90 % of the activities programmed by the ARN.
Each participant in the reintegration process undertakes to develop at least 80 hours of Social Service actions, fundamental for generating spaces for reconciliation.
The process can be accessed by persons accredited as demobilized by the Operational Committee on the Surrender of Arms (CODA – Comité Operativo de Dejación de Armas – for its acronym in Spanish) or the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, which were demobilized after January 24, 2003. Among the requirements we can find not having committed crimes against humanity, violations to International Humanitarian Law, among others.
The process involves people who were part of the guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc – Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – for its acronym in Spanish), the National Liberation Army (ELN –Ejército de Liberación Nacional– for its acronym in Spanish), the People's Liberation Army (EPL – Ejército Popular de Liberación– for its acronym in Spanish) and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC – Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia– for its acronym in Spanish).