Regional Review Conference on the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development

Nairobi, Kenya| 26-27 November 2014

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Ending armed violence for peace and development

 

Government representatives and other stakeholders working to prevent and reduce armed violence met in Nairobi, Kenya, on 26 and 27 November 2014 in order to review progress to the implementation of the principles of the Geneva Declaration. The conference was open to all state members of the Sub-Saharan Africa region (i.e. Central, Southern, Southeast, and Western Africa, as well as the Horn of Africa). The RRC specifically focused on partnerships and ways to work together between governments, civil society, international organizations and development cooperation agencies. The conference also highlighted the links between armed violence reduction and prevention to development, especially to the framework that will succeed the current MDGs.

Background

Rather than a further global Ministerial Review Conference in 2014, a series of Regional Review Conferences (RRCs) were held between April and November of 2014. This regional process allows for greater attention to the particular realities of armed violence as they are faced in different regional settings. The meetings cover the regions of the Americas (Guatemala, 28-30 April 2014), Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (Geneva, 8-9 July 2014), Asia and the Pacific (Manila, 8-9 October 2014), the Middle East and North Africa (Rabat, 28-29 October 2014), and Sub–Saharan Africa (Nairobi, 26-27 November 2014). These meetings are intended not only to allow for the review of implementation steps by states of the Geneva Declaration commitments but also to gather support for the meaningful integration of armed violence reduction and prevention into national and international development processes, including the framework that will be follow on from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development (GD) is a high-level diplomatic initiative designed to support states and civil society actors to achieve measurable reductions in the global burden of armed violence in conflict and non-conflict settings by 2015 and beyond. To date, more than one hundred states have endorsed the Declaration.

Since its inception in 2006, regular Review Conferences have served as opportunities to assess progress in the process and implementation of the Geneva Declaration, highlight important elements of the armed violence reduction and prevention agenda, survey effective policies and practices, and build momentum behind the core objectives of the GD. Ministerial Review Conferences were held in Geneva in 2008 and in 2011.