Geneva Review Summit on Armed Violence and Development
Kathleen Cravero,
Assistant Administrator and Director,
Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, UNDP
12 September 2008, Geneva
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,
On behalf of the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, I also welcome you to this Review Summit on Armed Violence and Development.
It is a great pleasure for UNDP to co-host this summit with the Government of Switzerland. We have partnered with Switzerland and the countries of the Core Group since the 2006 Summit. We are grateful for their leadership. Together we have built global support for the Geneva Declaration and strengthened our collective efforts to prevent and reduce armed violence.
Let me begin with the story of 13-year old Ntombi Mbatha, from Johannesburg, South Africa. She was shot in the back as she was seated in her family car, with her parents and uncle. The bullet lodged next to her spinal column and its removal required four hours of neurosurgery. Ntombi’s father, Joseph Dube, is a long-time activist for gun control.
We must get past the horrifying numbers. Each victim of armed violence is an individual with hopes, fears and dreams. Each victim is a treasured member of a family whose lives are shattered by a stray bullet or a targeted attack.
Unfortunately Ntombi’s story is not unique. Armed violence occurs across countries and regions, in rural and urban settings, in the private and public spheres. It destroys lives and livelihoods, breeds insecurity, fear and terror. And it always has a profoundly negative impact on human development.
Armed violence, whether in the context of civil war, organized crime, street violence or sexual and gender-based violence, feeds on socio-economic inequalities and underdevelopment. Its victims are poor, the innocent and the vulnerable.
The Swiss Foreign Minister has just highlighted how armed violence is both a cause and consequence of poverty and inequality; it perpetuates underdevelopment and insecurity, and it rolls back hard-won development gains. This point is also reinforced in the remarks of my colleague, the Under-Secretary General and representative of the Secretary-General in Europe and in a recent UNDP Human Development Report.
As you may know, the promotion of sustainable development, and in particular the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, is a key mission of the United Nations. And this is why we are so supportive of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.
For the United Nations, the Geneva Declaration represents a powerful instrument for building global political and diplomatic support for the commitments made in the Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. The Declaration gives practical expression to these commitments.
In my brief remarks this morning, I will highlight three key points:
(1) Advocacy must be backed up by action;
(2) Action is driven by national leadership and sound programmes; and
(3) Success depends on solid, broad-based partnerships
First, the importance of action:
Since the 2006 Summit, we have worked closely with the Government of Switzerland and others to build global support for the Geneva Declaration. Our collaboration included support to a series of regional meetings – in Guatemala, Kenya and Thailand – that resulted in the adoption of regional declarations on armed violence and development, reflecting regional and national needs and specificities.
As important as the Geneva Declaration may be, however, its value will ultimately be judged by the difference it makes on the ground. We must back up our diplomatic and political efforts with concrete action in societies and communities most affected by armed violence.
Later today we will hear first-hand from some of the Geneva Declaration Focus countries, including Burundi, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kenya, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. These countries, with support from the United Nations and other partners, are in the process of developing and implementing comprehensive and integrated armed violence prevention programmes. They have demonstrated -- through determination and leadership – that success depends on a number of key factors:
• base-line assessments that identify the nature, scale, frequency and dynamics of armed violence in a particular country, province or community;
• activities to strengthen national and local capacities for conflict prevention and mediation, for example through the establishment of district and community peace committees;
• support to women’s organizations to ensure that local and national development and violence prevention plans are gender sensitive, and to ensure that women are key stakeholders in any responses to armed violence;
• activities related to the management of, and access to, scarce resources (such as water and land);
• support for the development of livelihood opportunities, through micro grants and training, and other income-generation efforts;
• raising awareness on the impacts and costs of armed violence through information and advocacy; and
• support for strengthening national and local capacities to collect, store and if necessary destroy illicit small arms, and to limit the circulation of firearms.
Through such activities, these focus countries are addressing the causes as well as the manifestations of armed violence, both to counter its negative impacts and to help create safe and secure environments.
Second, action is driven by national leadership and sound programmes:
Over the past ten years, the United Nations has provided technical and financial support to more than 40 countries to address issues related to the control of small arms and light weapons, and the prevention or reduction of armed violence. Based on our work in these countries we have learned five key lessons.
First, the importance of national ownership and national leadership are vital ingredients for both initiating and sustaining sound armed violence prevention programmes. Without national ownership, nothing can be achieved. International declarations cannot create it, regional meetings cannot force it and money cannot buy it – yet it is the most critical factor for success.
National governments and institutions are the UN’s key partners, and our work is always focused on the development of national and local capacities to identify, address and resolve the problems at hand.
Second, our support for armed violence programmes must be preceded by careful surveys and assessments of specific contexts and of the needs and perceptions of all stakeholders. This is to ensure that our responses are evidence-based.
Third, the problems of armed violence go well beyond the supply and presence of weapons; unless we address the demand for weapons, and the drivers of this demand, the violence will continue.
Fourth, while the causes of armed violence are context-specific, they are always numerous and they are always complex.
Finally, making women safer lifts up entire societies. Because women bear the brunt of violence – whether from abusive security forces, the police, or their domestic partners – they are also the strongest force for change. No nation can thrive when half its population lives in fear.
This brings me to my third and last point, namely the importance of partnerships
Reducing armed violence is complex and it requires a broad and comprehensive approach. It also requires partnerships that cut across traditional lines and bring together a diverse set of actors united by a vision for a safer, more secure world.
Within the UN, we have built such a partnership. It is called the Armed Violence Prevention Programme, and it brings together a number of UN Agencies, including UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, HABITAT and UNODC. This UN initiative is based on global-level policy-making, regional initiatives and country-level programming, and is already supporting specific programme activities in many of the Geneva Declaration focus countries.
But, we also need partnerships beyond the United Nations. First and foremost, we need partnerships led by national actors, both governmental and non-governmental. In addition, we need collaboration among international organizations, particularly regional organizations, since the incidence of armed violence may have transnational dimensions. Finally, we need the full involvement of local, national and international civil society organizations.
Before I close, let me emphasize the importance of today’s meeting. This is an opportunity both to reaffirm our commitment to the goals and principles of the Geneva Declaration and to strengthen and expand the alliance of countries that will drive this process forward.
It is also an opportunity for countries to share their practical experiences – and challenges – in preventing and reducing armed violence. This sharing of experiences is key, for it is only through practical measures that the scourge of armed violence can be addressed, that countries can realize their development potential, and that communities can live in safety.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Across the globe, children like Ntombi live in fear of violence. And well they might. Worse still, they will continue to be gripped by fear, to miss opportunities and to live on the margins, until the provisions of the Geneva Declaration mean something on the ground. This is our task today and our challenge going forward. We cannot afford to fail.
Thank you.
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