12 May 2010, Geneva, Switzerland - The Oslo Conference meeting, hosted by the Government of Norway and UNDP, gathers government representatives, international organizations and civil society organizations to accelerate global efforts against armed violence. The meeting seeks to agree on a series of practical steps to achieve measurable reductions in armed violence. These steps are referred to as ‘the Oslo Commitments on Armed Violence’. For more information on the conference, visit http://www.osloconferencearmedviolence.no/
Armed Violence Threatens Progress on Millennium Development Goals With less than five years to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a growing number of states, international organisations and civil society are addressing one of the paramount obstacles to their achievement: armed violence. Read more...
An estimated 740,000 people die each year as a result of armed violence.
Inter-personal and criminal violence claims more lives than armed conflicts.
Approximately 60% of all homicides are committed with firearms.
The cost of armed violence in non-conflict countries reaches USD 163 billion annually — more than the total annual spending on official development assistance.
The annual cost of a new conflict is estimated at over USD 64 billion.
Half of the countries with the lowest human development indicators are in or emerging from conflict.
Young men are the main perpetrators and victims of armed violence but women are the majority of victims in domestic settings and of sexual abuse and exploitation in public settings.
Armed Violence and Development: The Cost
The global burden of armed violence constitutes a major developmental challenge.
Armed violence can erode governance structures, creates a climate of fear, undermines peace initiatives, exacerbates human rights abuses, prevents investment, disrupts markets, and closes schools and clinics. Young men are the most common perpetrators, as well as the most frequent victims, of armed attacks. Yet the impact of armed violence on women and girls is particularly brutal in many conflict zones, as well as in the home; and many boys and girls are denied education through forced enlistment in armed militias and gangs.
When armed violence reaches a chronic level – as it has in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean – it becomes an impediment to sustainable development and threatens the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is no coincidence that two-thirds of the world’s poorest countries – those least likely to achieve the MDGs by 2015 – also experience high levels of armed violence.
Targeting Demand
UNDP works with partners globally to inhibit the demand for arms and target the root causes of armed violence and community insecurity by supporting armed violence prevention and community security programmes. This approach helps communities to tackle the causes and drivers of armed violence and to reduce the demand for weapons while supporting local and national capacities for armed violence prevention and strengthening state-society relationships and trust.
The Geneva Deceleration on Armed Violence and Development
The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, first signed by 40 states in 2006 at a meeting co-hosted by the Swiss government and UNDP, has helped to coalesce support behind tackling the problem of armed violence and the stifling impact it has on the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This broad international consensus helped secure a UN General Assembly resolution and the UN Secretary-General’s report on “Promoting Development through the Reduction and Prevention of Armed Violence” and is focusing attention on the deterrent effect that armed violence has on development. By September 2009, the Geneva Declaration has been signed by 108 states. The Geneva Declaration process is complemented by the OECD-DAC’s efforts to agree on a common approach to guide development actors’ investments in armed violence prevention programmes (read OECD-DAC Report).
The global burden of armed violence constitutes a major developmental challenge.
Armed violence can erode governance structures, creates a climate of fear, undermines peace initiatives, exacerbates human rights abuses, prevents investment, disrupts markets, and closes schools and clinics. For more information on UNDP’s work on armed violence prevention and small arms control, see our NEW WORLD MAP
UNDP, Norway pledge to reduce armed violence Oslo, 21 October 2009 — UNDP Administrator Helen Clark met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre today to discuss ways in which Norway and UNDP could work together to reduce armed violence, which kills more than 2,000 people every day worldwide, most of whom are civilians.Read more...
