thematic sessions

Organiser: Geneva Declaration Secretariat

The past decade has seen a surge of interest in supporting those countries affected by and recovering from conflict. Humanitarian, development and post-conflict recovery support programmes face a number of challenges in the transition from conflict to peace.

The session was structured around the particular armed violence challenges of post-conflict settings (crime, conflict, insecurity) and their implications for daily life. A key point for discussion was how such situations could be stabilized in order to lay the groundwork for sustainable long-term development.

Organiser: Small Arms Survey (SAS)

Measuring and monitoring armed violence and development data is one of the main pillars of the Geneva Declaration. Efforts to effectively reduce and prevent armed violence require clear diagnosis of its scope, distribution and drivers:  Effective strategies to prevent and reduce violence need to target context-specific drivers of violence, and hence need to be informed by a clear analysis of its nature and scope.  The use of baseline assessments and the creation of crime and violence observatories, both make important contributions to armed violence reduction and prevention efforts.

The session was organised around two main axes: i) The importance of evidence-based programming using common standards and indicators; ii) presenting the experiences of relevant initiatives such as the crime observatories.

The panel brought together the experiences from the Small Arms Survey, an existing armed violence observatory, an armed violence reduction practitioner, a policy centre, and a donor country.

Chair:

• H.E. Steffen Kongstad, Permanent Representative of Norway in Geneva
  Links between the Oslo commitments and the development of national armed violence reports

Speakers:

• Elisabeth Gilgen, Researcher at the Small Arms Survey - Switzerland 
  How to monitor armed violence: The experience from armed violence monitoring systems
• Mark Bellis, Director of Center for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University - United Kingdom
  Violence in perspective: views from a national public health observatory
• Daniel Ladouceur, Project Manager, UNDP Somalia
  Using baseline data to inform programming
• Jorge Restrepo, Director of Centro de Recursos para el Análisis de Conflictos CERAC - Colombia
  Policy perspective on monitoring and measuring armed violence and development

Background document:

• GD Secretariat: Working Paper on “Contributing Evidence to Programming: Armed Violence Monitoring Systems” (September 2011)

Organiser: Geneva Declaration Secretariat

Urban violence is a major preoccupation of policymakers, planners, and development practitioners in cities around the world. States routinely seek to contain such violence through repression, or to contain it at the periphery of metropolitan centres. Yet urban violence is a highly heterogeneous phenomenon and not amenable to reified diagnosis and coercive intervention. Muscular state-led responses tend to overlook and conceal the underlying factors shaping the emergence of urban violence, as well as the motivations and means of so-called violence entrepreneurs.

The session brought together international experience on developmental approaches to urban violence reduction and prevention. The session included city authorities, academics, and non-governmental organisations. 

Organiser: Institute of Human Rights and Business (UK)

Organiser: Geneva Declaration Secretariat

The session gathered municipalities from different regions of the world, represented by Mayors or high level administrators responsible for urban safety and security, with a view to discuss and recognize the role of cities in the fight against armed violence. The session aimed to provide a political platform for cities to promote them as a longer-term actor within the Geneva Declaration process. It was expected that such recognition would support cities in their efforts to prevent and reduce armed violence and in advocating stronger links with initiatives at the national and international level. 
 
The event was supported by the City of Geneva.

 
Chair:   

• Paula Miraglia, Director of International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) - Canada

Speakers:

• Pierre Maudet, Mayor of Geneva - Switzerland
• Jairo Jorge da Silva, Mayor of Canoas - Brazil
  Peace building in the territory: the experience of Canoas
• Lorena Martinez, Mayor of Aguascalientes - Mexico
  Programa de seguridad y convivencia ciudadana: La aplicación de una política pública de prevención social de las violencias y el delito con participación ciudadana
• Philip Kisia, Town Clerk at the City Council of Nairobi - Kenya

Background documents:

• OECD DAC : Programming Note on “Preventing and Reducing Armed Violence in Urban Areas” (2011)
• GD Secretariat and CERAC: Policy Brief “Inclusive Security, Inclusive Cities” (2011)
  
  
  

Organiser: UNDP / BCPR & UNODA

Research shows that firearms are the tool most often used to perpetrate armed violence. The session gave an opportunity to review the achievements at the international, national and local level.

Chair:

• Jordan Ryan, UNDP Assistant Administrator and BCPR Director

Speakers:

• Daniël Prins, Chief of Conventional Arms Branch, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA)
  Introduction:  International initiatives to control small arms
• John Patrick Ochieng, Deputy Director of the Kenya National Focal Point on Small Arms and Light Weapons
  National efforts to SALW control: the case of Kenya
• Elisabeth Ward, Chaiman of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) - Jamaica
  Local initiatives to control small arms

Background documents:

• UNDP : How to Guide on “The Establishment and Functioning of National Small Arms and Light Weapons Commissions” (April 2008)
• UNDP : How to Guide on “Small Arms and Light Weapons Legislation” (July 2008)
• GD Secretariat: Working Paper on “Contributing Evidence to Programming: Armed Violence Monitoring Systems” (September 2011)

Organiser: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

The session was articulated around discussions on i) integrating armed violence reduction into national development strategies; ii) integrating armed violence reduction into municipal-level strategies; iii) adapting development strategies to address demonstrated risk factors and strengthen resilience and; iv) strengthening partnerships between governments, international organizations and civil society.

The speakers on the panel brought their experiences from their countries, and speak about challenges and perspectives of mainstreaming the armed violence prevention and reduction in development cooperation, drawing on examples from Afghanistan, Brazil, Burundi, and Haiti. 

Moderator:

• Andreas Zumach, Journalist, Geneva

Speakers:

• Lucas Duarte Melillo, Expert, MFA/Brazilian Cooperation Agency
  [presentation]
  
• Ndabaneze Zénon, President of the Burundian Commission on SALW and Civilian Disarmament
  [presentation]
• Rubem César Fernandes, Executive Director, Viva Rio - Haiti and Brazil
  [presentation]
  
• Willi Graf, Deputy Head of Regional Cooperation, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs/Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation - Swiss Confederation
  [presentation]
  

Background documents:

• OECD-DAC: Conflict and fragility, Investing in Security: A global assessment of armed violence reduction initiatives (2011)
• Stéphanie Pézard and Savannah de Tessières: Insecurity Is Also a War: An Assessment of Armed Violence in Burundi (October 2009). Also available in French
  
  
  

Organiser: Geneva Declaration Secretariat

Approximately 1.3 billion youth live in developing countries, making youth the largest and potentially most significant segment of the population in the developing world. The majority of these young people lack basic education, marketable skills, decent employment, and opportunities for positive engagement in their communities.

Evidence suggests that out-of-school and un- or underemployed youth are at greater risk of becoming perpetrators—and victims—of violence and crime. Such negative outcomes have costs for the individuals themselves, as well as their families, communities, society, and the economy. When their energies and skills are supported and channelled productively, youth can be a powerful force for constructive change.

The session was centered around the discussion concerning the need for a holistic approach to youth and armed violence, presenting concrete experiences in dealing with these issues, and building on the positive role that youth can play with regards to armed violence reduction.

Chair:          

• Daniel Avila, Director Presidential Programme on Antipersonnel Mines - Colombia

Speakers:

• Dennis Rodgers, Senior Research Fellow, Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), University of Manchester - UK
  Youth violence in perspective: Crime vs. criminalization in Central America
• Judy Grayson, Senior Advisor, Child Protection Section, UNICEF
  Youth and armed violence: a child protection perspective
• Luke Dowdney, Founder and Director, Fight for Peace - UK/Brazil
  Neither War nor Peace: The International Growth of Fight for Peace
• Kennedy Odhiambo Otina, Regional Programme Associate Men to Men, African Women's Development and Communication Network - FEMNET, Kenya

Background document:

• OECD DAC : Programming Note on “Reducing the Involvement of Youth in Armed Violence” (2011)

Organiser: Geneva Declaration Secretariat

The effective provision of security and justice is central to the rule of law, peace building and development. The control over, and access to, security and justice, can be controversial and affected by diverging interest. Despite the fact that changes in these domains touch the foundations of power, locally–owned and incremental crime prevention policies are important for sustainable reduction and prevention of armed violence.

The session will discuss key results from the Global Burden of Armed Violence 2011 report (GBAVII) and experiences in developing crime prevention approaches in different settings.