TAKING RISKS WITH PEACE IN BURUNDI IGNORING GOOD PRACTICE IN CIVILIAN DISARMAMENT Charlie Avendaño Susan Brown (editor) Peacebuilding Centre Promoting People, Peacebuilding, & Transformation For more information contact [email protected] Peacebuilding Centre Cover Photo – FDN (Burundian Defence Force) soldier on the beach, Lake Tanganyika, Bujumbura, June 2008 (Charlie Avendaño) Peacebuilding Centre Press Copyright 2011 – this material has been assembled through the collective efforts of donors and peacebuilding practitioners. It may be freely quoted and distributed with acknowledgement to the author and publisher. About the Author Charlie Avendaño is a Canadian researcher and advocate on disarmament issues. His interest is on arms control and civilian disarmament in fragile contexts in Africa and in Latin America, taking into account the extent to which programs in those regions adhere to good policy and practice as agreed to by donor nations, and the reasons and circumstances underlying that. Previously, with the International Development Research Centre of Canada, Charlie was involved in applied research for development activities, including with indigenous peoples in Costa Rica and Canada. With the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, he carried out field research in Andean Peru, Western Venezuela and throughout Colombia, also coordinating a network of researchers and advocates throughout Latin America working on the problem of explosive remnants of war including landmines. Charlie is based in Brussels. About the Editor Susan Brown is the President of the Peacebuilding Centre in Ottawa. She has over 30 years experience in international development, and is formerly the Director of Peacebuilding Programmes at the Pearson International Peacekeeping Centre in Canada, Chief of the Peacebuilding Unit at the Canadian International Development Agency, Canadian Representative to the OECD/DAC Task Force on Conflict, Peace and Development, Member of the Advisory Council of the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in Stockholm, and Professor in Human Security and Peacebuilding at Royal Roads University, and Wilfrid Laurier University. Susan facilitates workshops for the European Union REACT programme (Rapid Expert Assistance and Cooperation Teams), which prepares civilians for deployment to complex emergencies and UN operations, and works in Africa on conflict- sensitive business practice in extractive industries. About the Peacebuilding Centre The Centre consolidates good practice for peacebuilding and human security, compiled over many years by multiple peacebuilding experts and practitioners, and focuses on assembling operational tools. Its purpose is to make it easier for peacebuilding practitioners to find practical approaches to engage with fragile states, conduct Early Warning–Early Response assessments to address root causes of conflict, and to design conflict-sensitive approaches for programming in fragile states. It brings together international experts for capacity building workshops, and maintains a web site of peacebuilding good practice at http://peacebuildingcentre.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Since I was based in Bujumbura for 17 months, all told, the list of people I have to personally thank for their contribution to this work is long. Fortunately for me, Burundians from all walks of life in some way or another informed my thinking or contributed directly to the research, including members of government, national and international NGO staff, consultants, teachers, security guards, domestic workers and cab drivers. I was a member of a dynamic community of expatriate workers that also contributed their insights and experiences, including those in Burundi with donor agencies, the UN, the diplomatic service, NGOs, and the private sector. Special thanks to the Centre d‟Alerte et de Prévention des Conflits, and its Director, Charles Ndayiziga, and to Susan Brown in Ottawa, always there to support me with her knowledge and expertise. DEDICATION This report is dedicated to the memory of my good friend and fellow Bujumbura resident, Emmanuel Rejouis who, along with two of his daughters, died in the earthquake in Port-au- Prince, on Tuesday 12 January 2010. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The pursuit of peace is a noble calling. Substantial resources are invested in war‟s aftermath, but sustainable socio-economic development doesn‟t occur without peace and stability. Donors have reached consensus on good practice on a host of peacebuilding challenges, yet the approach to civilian disarmament in Burundi affirms that lessons of the past have not been learned. A brief civilian disarmament campaign had modest results. Prospects for additional disarmament are dim. There is little awareness in Burundi programming of OECD / DAC Guidelines or other documented good practice on security-related issues. This report provides a “report card” on the performance of donor and NGO programming on civilian disarmament in Burundi (see Table 8.1) and provides a sobering assessment of how lessons are not learned. Institutional capacity-building of the national civilian disarmament authority is critical, and linked to issues of national ownership, better harmonization and coordination between actors, inclusion of youth and rebel associates, and meaningful involvement of civil society organizations. Reintegration has largely failed, and future activities need to be based on established good policy and practice if sustainable peace is to be found. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The 1993 – 2006 civil war and post-conflict period in Burundi .................................. 1 1.2 Purpose, objectives and research questions ............................................................ 5 1.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 6 1.4 Key Terms and Concepts ......................................................................................... 6 1.5 Recapitulation .........................................................................................................12 CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................. 12 CIVILIAN DISARMAMENT PROGRAMMING: CONSENSUS ON GOOD POLICY .................. 13 2.1 Aid effectiveness in fragile states ............................................................................13 2.2 Policy guidelines for civilian disarmament programming ..........................................17 2.3 Key Issues: Gender and age ...................................................................................21 2.4 Key Issues: SSR and DDR ......................................................................................23 CHAPTER 3 …………………………………………………………………….…………………….26 LESSONS LEARNED: PREVIOUS CIVILIAN DISARMAMENT ...............................................27 3.1 Albania ....................................................................................................................27 3.2 Cambodia ................................................................................................................32 3.3 El Salvador ..............................................................................................................36 3.4 Sierra Leone ............................................................................................................41 CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................. 47 THE 1993 – 2006 CIVIL WAR IN BURUNDI............................................................................. 47 4.1 Post independence crises, 1962 – 1993 ..................................................................47 4.2 Bujumbura during the 1993 – 2006 civil war ............................................................48 4.4 Arming militias and government workers during the war ..........................................49 4.4 SALW demand and supply during the civil war ........................................................52 CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................. 58 SMALL ARMS AND LIGHT WEAPONS IN CIVILIAN HANDS ................................................ 58 5.1 Previous figures on the number of SALW in civilian hands ......................................58 5.2 Differences between provinces on the scope of the SALW problem ........................60 5.3 Homemade “Mugobore” small arms ........................................................................61 CHAPTER 6 ............................................................................................................................. 63 ARMED VIOLENCE AND VIEWS ON CIVILIAN DISARMAMENT .........................................63 6.1 Armed violence in Burundi .......................................................................................63 6.2 Women‟s security concerns .....................................................................................68 6.3 Lending and renting small arms ...............................................................................71 6.4 Public views on civilian