Bogota, 09/12/2019
The Agency for Reincorporation and Standardization (ARN) leads the VII South-South Technical Cooperation Tour: 'Colombia builds peace from the territories', which brings together governments and foreign entities, leaders from the civil society and the private sector, representatives from national and international academia and international organizations, in a space for the exchange of experiences in the development and implementation of policies of reintegration and reincorporation of ex-combatants.
The Tour aims to exchange lessons learned, best practices and recommendations from national and international experts in the field of reincorporation and peacebuilding, as well as the generation of new community dynamics outside the armed conflict.
The topics that will be addressed in the Tour include reincorporation (challenges and opportunities), income generation (productive projects, labor inclusion, housing), the gender approach, communities and co-responsibility (national and international experiences).
The seventh version of the Tour will have international guests from Greece, Brazil, Spain, Haiti, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, Afghanistan, Argentina, Central African Republic, Guatemala, Peru and the Philippines, with managers and entity authorities at the national, regional and local level. This encounter will enrich the debate around the processes of reintegration, reincorporation and stabilization.
Andrés Stapper Segrera, ARN Director General has stated thus: "the Tour is an opportunity to raise the new challenges in matters relating to reincorporation of ex-combatants in their passage to legality, in Colombia, as well as in other countries affected by the conflict."
The Tour also seeks to publicize the good practices implemented in Colombia, in hopes of becoming a benchmark for other countries, whilst helping overcome other conflicts in the world.
Data of interest
ARN has held six tours since 2009, which have been carried out in different regions of the country such as Santa Marta, Pueblotapao, Sanctuary, Cali, Cajibío, Padilla, Bogotá, Villavicencio, Pereira and Quimbaya.
Significant achievements have been made within the framework of these events as regards the transfer of lessons learned and strategies between countries that face the challenges of peace building and the development of technical cooperation projects.
Over 60 countries have participated in the previous versions, as well as various international organizations, including the United Nations (UN), the World Bank, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Folke Bernadotte Academy and the European Union.
Over 170 technicians and experts on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have had the opportunity to meet and contribute to the Colombian reintegration process and exchange experiences on previous tours.