CYIL 2014

PRIVATE MILITARY CONTRACTORS, PARAMILITARIES AND MERCENARIES … are made to activities and involvement by the United States in the overthrow of the former Ukrainian government and support for the current regime, as well as Russian support of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, then both sides may be found to have committed acts of aggression. Yet, if the international community stands by and no accountability is upheld, the criminality of aggression may lose any footing it had achieved. 4. Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Regardless of the potential responsibility for any mercenaries, private military contractors or paramilitaries operating in Ukraine, or whether recent development in Ukraine could be attributable to aggression by other States, if peace is to find its way back into the region, the fighters will have to be disarmed, demobilized and reintegrated into society. This will be critical not only for peace in the region, but also for preventing future violence. At present, there is fear that “[e]ven if there is a negotiated solution to the ongoing conflict—itself an unlikely development—it may not be sufficient to halt the cycle of violence across the Donetsk region.” 65 Therefore, it is crucial that a functional Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program is created and well-rooted. The United Nations has established the Integral Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Standards, which are a comprehensive set of policies, guidelines and procedures that were derived from the experience of all UN agencies and programs involved in DDR. 66 Although not binding, these Standards can provide a backdrop for understanding Ukraine’s general requirements for conducting a successful DDR process with the separatists or other armed groups. While the Ukrainian Parliament made attempts to order police to disarm any unofficial armed groups, these efforts were largely futile and unsuccessful. However, the effectiveness of the future DDR process will be crucial to re-stabilizing the region. With the high tensions involved in the Ukraine crisis, and the disparity between the cultures and beliefs of the people, it is essential that an effective DDR process is achieved in order to restore some level of peace to the region and to avoid a re-ignition of the tensions. Clearly, there will need to be real political changes accompanying the DDR of the armed groups, but DDR will be vital for the communities to rebuild and live in peace. Accordingly, the DDR’s overarching aim is to contribute to security and stability in post-conflict environments so that recovery and development can begin. The DDR of ex-combatants is a complex process, with political, military, security, humanitarian and socio-economic dimensions…Through a process of removing weapons from the hands of combatants, taking the combatants out of military structures and helping them to integrate socially and economically

65 Jaffa, supra note 11. 66 United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Resource Center, available at http:// www.unddr.org/whatisddr.php.

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