Both DDR and SSR address the heart of the relationship between a state and its people: political control of armed force. What are the connections between DDR and SSR, and how can these be implemented?

Event Summary

Conventional wisdom holds that demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) are separate and unconnected activities. In truth, they both address the heart of the relationship between a state and its people: political control of armed force.  Ignoring the connection between DDR and SSR risks failure for both programs and increases risks for relapse of violent conflict.  What are the connections between DDR and SSR, and how can these be implemented?

8:30 – 9:00 Registration and Coffee

9:00 – 9:15 Introduction and Welcome

  • Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, United States Navy
    President of the National Defense University and
    Member Ex-Officio, Board of Directors, U.S. Institute of Peace

9:15 – 10:00 Opening Keynote

  • General James Mattis, United States Marine Corps
    Commander, U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM)

10:00 – 11:00 The Nexus Between DDR and SSR

  • Sean McFate, Relationship between SSR and DDR
    Assistant Professor, National Defense University, College of International Security Affairs (CISA)
  • Ayaka Suzuki, U.N. DPKO Guidance on DDR and SSR
    Chief, DDR Section, United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (U.N. DPKO)
  • Michelle Hughes, Esq., Relationship between SSR and DDR
    Principal Director, Rule of Law General Dynamics - Information Technology, USJFCOM
  • Daniel Serwer, Moderator
    Vice President, Centers of Innovation, U.S. Institute of Peace

11:15 – 12:30 DDR and SSR: Case Studies

  • Mark Sedra, Afghanistan
    Senior Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
  • Adriaan Verheul, Sudan
    former Chief of the Integrated United Nations DDR Unit in the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS)
  • G. Eugene Martin, The Philippines
    Managing Director, Asia Pacific Strategies, and Adviser, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Lieutenant General David W. Barno, Moderator
    United States Army, Retired, Director, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies

12:30 – 2:00 Lunch and Keynote Speaker

  • Ambassador Jacques Paul Klein,
    Undersecretary-General, United Nations (Retired)

2:00 – 3:30 Reintegration: The “Forgotten R”

  • Mark Knight, Rebel Military Integration and Civil War Termination
    Research and Analysis Officer, Peace Nexus
  • Jacqueline O'Neill, DDR, Gender and Child Soldiers
    Lead Advocacy Coordinator, Institute for Inclusive Security (IIS)
  • Judith Asuni, Consequences of the Forgotten R
    Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
  • Michael Miklaucic, Justice, Reconciliation and Reintegration
    Director of Research and Editor of PRISM, Center for Complex Operations
  • Scott Moore, Moderator
    Deputy Director, Center for Complex Operations

3:30 – 4:00 Concluding Remarks

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