Reintegration: Accord for a Firm and Lasting Peace

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Reintegration: Accord for a Firm and Lasting Peace

Implementations

Reintegration – 1997

After the demobilization of the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) was completed on 2 May, many ex-combatants stayed in shelters set up at the assembly points because they could not return to their communities. Reintegration programs, such as vocational training, began in these camps within a few weeks, and the newly disarmed and demobilized URNG began working on alternative places for them to resettle.1

Governmental Agreement 82-97 established the Special Integration Commission (CEI) on 28 January. The Commission began overseeing the implementation of emergency plans to assist ex-combatants in the areas of education and vocational training, among other things. The Government approved funding for other short-term assistance measures and some long-term reintegration programs. Most URNG ex-combatants received their primary documentation, and most of those who had fled the country returned.2

The URNG began the process of establishing itself as a legal political party on 18 June 1997, and its members reached an agreement on its new structure on 30 August 1997.3

  1. “Report of the Secretary-General on the Group of Military Observers Attached to MINUGUA,” United Nations Security Council (S/1997/432), June 4, 1997.
  2. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/51/936), June 30, 1997; “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/52/757), February 4, 1998.
  3. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/52/757), February 4, 1998.

Reintegration – 1998

The Special Integration Commission made substantial progress in resettling former URNG fighters and coordinating with various domestic and international agencies in the training and support programs designed to equip ex-combatants to transition into civilian life. The Follow-up Commission granted CEI a six-month extension, as much work was yet to be done. The extension ended on 3 November 1998, at which point the Commission submitted a plan to deal some remaining issues from the initial phase of reintegration and proceed into the next phase of definitive integration.4

The URNG’s progress toward becoming an official political party was stalled briefly by internal hang-ups but was then completed in November 1998.5

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/53/421), September 28, 1998; “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/54/526), November 11, 1999.
  2. Ibid.

Reintegration – 1999

Delays in releasing funds pledged by international donors prevented more than one-third of ex-combatants from reintegrating on schedule. Other delays in the implementation of projects for uprooted communities prevented another one-third of ex-combatants from reintegrating. More general difficulties in workforce development also hindered progress toward definitive integration. However, advancements were made in programs for education, granting titles to land, settling land disputes, and building housing and infrastructure.6

The URNG further solidified its standing as a political party in the 1999 elections. Joining with the Alianza Nueva Nacion, it won nine seats in Congress and thirteen mayoral races.7

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/54/526), November 11, 1999.
  2. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/55/175), July 26, 2000.

Reintegration – 2000

The program of production began a year late, but many other delays persisted in integrating ex-combatants into the workforce. While international funds were finally released, the Government’s Program of Support for the Reintegration of Former Combatants (PAREC II) lacked matching funds to fully implemented the prescribed programs. The housing component of the plan for integration moved forward, with construction underway on 891 new units for uprooted and demobilized persons.1

  1. Ibid.

Reintegration – 2001

Some more progress was made on land and housing projects, but the definitive integration phase was still advancing very slowly, especially programs for making ex-combatants part of the country’s economic production.8 The government created a commission to monitor the integration of the URNG in June 2001.9

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/55/973), June 1, 2001.
  2. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/56/1003), July 10, 2002.

Reintegration – 2002

The government had not yet developed a comprehensive policy on rural development, which impeded progress on the definitive integration of URNG ex-combatants. Housing projects for reintegrated former combatants progressed, but the purchase of land through the Land Trust Fund did not. The government cut back the budget allocation for the commission set up in the previous year to monitor the integration of the URNG.1

  1. Ibid.

Reintegration – 2003

Progress in reintegration programs was still lacking. A major project to reintegrate ex-combatants supported by the European Union ended in May 2003.10

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/58/267), August 30, 2003.

Reintegration – 2004

The reintegration of former URNG combatants into civilian life was a general success. However, the broad shortcomings of the economic and social development programs left the ex-combatants who relied on government support in a precarious situation.11

  1. “United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala: Report of the Secretary-General,” United Nations General Assembly (A/59/307), August 30, 2004.

Reintegration – 2005

No further developments observed.

Reintegration – 2006

No further developments observed.