ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that local institutions of transitional justice can operate in tandem with disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) to promote social reconciliation, and that the Colombian case could be a fertile ground for such a collaborative approach. It adopts a minimalist conception of reconciliation, as the re-establishment of constructive and productive political relationships that leverage and sustain other political and economic changes. The chapter explains the conditions for the reintegration of former combatants after the period when they will be located at Temporary Rural Areas of Normalization (ZVTN). Successful DDR will also turn on communities' disposition to assimilate the presence of ex-combatants, and their ability to come to terms with their past. Any DDR policy will be vain if the violence against social leaders and ex-combatants continues, or if their lack of confidence in the process leads them to desertion.