An exchange of experiences on DDR and its linkages with human rights, early warning, and conflict prevention between Colombia and African contexts
UNITAR
UNITAR, in coordination with the Permanent Mission of Colombian to the UN in Geneva and the Agencia para la Reincorporación y la Normalización (ARN), will take the lead in organizing a 60-minute event aimed at building bridges between the DDR experience, with a special focus on reintegration, in Colombia and DDR processes in African contexts. This event will be organized as a side event to the first session of 2024 of the Human Rights Council.
The event will be conducted in mainly Spanish, however, simultaneous interpretation in English and French will be provided to attendees.
Alongside the event, a small exhibition will be organized. It will include the short documentaries of the UNITAR project in Colombia focused on the prevention of recruitment and support to reconciliation as well as photos by the photographer Marco Guevara, a former FARC-EP member who has been promoting reconciliation in different instances including in activities of the UN Verification Mission in the Cesar department in Colombia. The exhibition will be located either outside of the room or at the back, depending on the available space.
Date and Venue
The event will take place on 11 March 2024 from 2 to 3 pm CET at the Palais de Nations (Room XXV) in Geneva, Switzerland.
Panel
The panel will represent the Colombian context, bringing together practitioners and former combatants participating in the DDR process. In addition, a representative from the African Union Commission and a representative from the Democratic Republic of Congo will be part of the panel to highlight specific touchpoints between the African and the Colombian experience.
Panelists:
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H. E. Amb. Gustavo Gallon, ambassador of the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN
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Issaka Garba Abdour, Head, Governance and Human Rights Division- Directorate for Governance and Conflict Prevention, DPAPS, African Union
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Alejandra Miller, Director of the Colombian Agency for Reincorporation and Standardization (ARN).
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Kajima Jeff Kabatunanga, Expert at Disarmament, Demobilization, Community Recovery and Stabilization Programme of the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDDRCS)
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Sandra González Sanabria, Lider of the Association of Women Producers of Peace Essences (ASMUPROPAZ)
Moderation by: Olivier Mukarji, Advisor at the World Bank Group to the AU-UN-WBG Joint Programme
Panellists will be asked to share a brief intervention on the lessons learned, challenges and results of the Colombian DDR process, and discuss ways to create channels of communication and exchange to increase the south-south cooperation between DDR contexts. The panel discussion, moderated by UNITAR, will be followed by a Q&A.