English - Support to Participatory Constitution Building in Nepal ...

The Remake of a Statestrengthening broader democratic process. The major concern in postconflictsocieties is ensuring that the people engaged in violence will notresume such acts (Upreti 2006b).Reintegration is a complex psychological, social, political and economicprocess. In this process, the demobilised soldiers or ex-combatants, theirfamilies and conflict victims start to live a civilian life as active membersof either their communities or new communities. In a conventional level,reintegration is a process of assimilation of disarmed 3 and demobilised 4armed forces of warring parties and their families into the civilian socioeconomiclife. Reintegration is all about accepting ex-combatants and theirfamilies by host communities and developing a feeling of co-existence.Former combatants and other conflict victims have to reconstruct theirlife styles, community relations and actively participate in civic life.Reintegration is inevitably a lengthy and difficult process. 5 Hence, it isa complex and long-term economic, political, social and psychologicalprocess of transition of ex-soldiers from their military life to a civilian life,and of conflict victims from conflict-related stress to normal life (Aditya etal. 2006). Hence, political, social, economic and psychological reintegrationis inevitable in successful reconciliation (Tutu 1999; Bloomfield et al.2003).Political reintegration, for the purpose of this chapter, is defined asa process by which demobilised soldiers, conflict affected individualsand communities participate in structure and process of social andpolitical organisations in their communities and societies. The politicalparticipation of conflict affected people (IDPs, ex-combatants and otherconflict victims) is accepted and acknowledged by society in all socialand political structures and mechanisms and they could transform theirrelation to start normal civilian life.Social reintegration, for the purpose of this chapter, is defined as a processof acceptance of former soldiers and their dependants, IDPs and conflict3Disarmament is a process of collection, control and disposal of weapons in the post-conflict peaceprocess.4Demobilisation is both a process and an outcome of releasing troops from security service, therefore,a political process. The determination of individuals to be demobilised and their discharge from serviceis a political decision. A demobilisation programme may include encampment of soldiers, relinquishingweapons and equipment; leavong a unit; exchanging their uniform for civilian clothing; receivingidentification papers, medical attention, compensation, short training courses and other forms ofassistance.5See Iqbal Riza, Assistant Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations, quoted in DemobilisedSoldiers Speak: Reintegration and Reconciliation in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mozambique, Managua,Nicaragua: Centro de Estudios Internacionales, 1995, p 4.261