"Presentation of the Handbook Implementing the Geneva Declaration"
2014 Regional Review Conference on the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
2. TODAY’S TALK
The Geneva Declaration on Armed
Violence and Development;
The GD Handbook: general remarks
The GD Handbook: main areas of
implementation
3. THE GENEVA DECLARATION AND ITS AIM
Geneva Declaration
The GD is a diplomatic initiative with
the aim to achieve “measurable
reductions in the global burden of
armed violence and tangible
improvements in human security by
2015”
Launched in 2006. As of today, 112 states have
endorsed the Geneva Declaration
4. KEY GD COMMITMENTS
Stem the proliferation, illegal trafficking and misuse of small
arms and light weapons and ammunition;
Foster effective and accountable public security
institutions;
Promote a comprehensive approach to armed violence
reduction issues, recognizing the different situations, needs
and resources of men and women, boys and girls;
Ensure that armed violence prevention and reduction
initiatives target specific risk factors and groups, and are
linked to programmes providing non-violent alternative
livelihoods for individuals and communities.
Monitor and measure the scope, scale and distribution of
armed violence at national and sub‐national levels, and
establish national armed violence monitoring and reporting
mechanisms;
5. TODAY’S TALK
The Geneva Declaration on Armed
Violence and Development;
The GD Handbook
The GD Handbook: Main action areas
6. WHO
WHAT
HOW
To support government officials
and other interested parties;
To help states translate
commitments into national and
local approaches;
By offering a flexible and wide
range of suggestions, options
and resources to adapt
according to local context.
WHY THIS HANDBOOK?
7. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Many entry points for action;
Adapt to local knowledge and context;
Be inclusive, adopt an integrated
approach; consider multiple dimensions;
Connect, complement, build on what is
there;
Follow the evidence; build on knowledge
Address nexus between development
and armed violence;
8. MAIN ACTION AREAS FOR
IMPLEMENTATION
Understanding the context
Developing legal and policy frameworks, strategies,
and institutional capacities
Developing and implementing integrated AVRP
programmes
Monitoring and evaluating AVRP policies and
programmes
Fulfilling international commitments to prevent and
reduce armed violence
Increasing the effectiveness of partnerships and
international assistance
9. TODAY’S TALK
The Geneva Declaration on Armed
Violence and Development;
The GD Handbook
The GD Handbook: Main action areas
10. UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT
Understand the nature of armed violence by assessing
the causes and risk factors inherent in a given setting.
Use data to inform policy and programmatic responses
and to establish benchmarks against which to monitor their
effectiveness.
Develop common measurement systems (with common
indicators and methods)
Conduct assessments of the capacities and deficits of
institutions that have a key role in preventing and reducing
armed violence..
Consider preparing a national report on armed violence.
Establish a mechanism to coordinate national AVRP
efforts and set up a National Focal Point (NFP )
11. DEVELOPING LEGAL AND POLICY
FRAMEWORKS, STRATEGIES, AND
INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES
Establish a conducive legal and policy framework, on issues
such as public or citizen security, violence prevention, national
security, criminal justice, small arms control, border
management, gender-based violence (GBV), and the rights of
and support for victims.
Develop, finance and implement national strategies or plans
of action to reduce and prevent armed violence and to address
the key risk factors that foster it.
Strengthen the institutional capacities of government and
CSOs in violence prevention and reduction
Give special focus to municipal and district-level government
institutions and to community-based organizations (CBOs) that
are close to the people affected by violence.
12. DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING
INTEGRATED AVRP PROGRAMMES
Draw on the evidence base of good or promising practices
Develop direct programmes to address the instruments, actors,
and institutional environments that protect against armed violence.
Emphasize indirect programmes designed to address the risk
factors of armed violence
Combine ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ approaches
Promote cross-sector programmes that bring together a range
of strategies to reduce and prevent violence
Consider broader development programmes that produce
favourable outcomes
Integrate into policy and programme development initiatives that
recognize and protect the rights of victims and survivors of
armed violence and provide for their needs.
13. FULFILLING INTERNATIONAL
COMMITMENTS TO PREVENT AND
REDUCE ARMED VIOLENCE
Encourage governments to implement and
comply with existing international and regional
agreements and commitments related to small arms
and light weapons (SALW), people affected by armed
violence and associated risk factors, human
rights,corruption, and drugs.
Support new international or regional conventions
or agreements which present additional opportunities
to address factors that contribute to armed violence.
14. MONITORING AND EVALUATING AVRP
POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES
Invest in strengthening national monitoring
and evaluation (M&E) capacities, including
national and local systems for data collection
and analysis and ensuring that these systems
feed into an integrated response and prevention
mechanism.
Share the findings of evaluations and
experiences with other signatory states in order
to contribute to the evidence base of what is
deemed successful.
15. INCREASING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
PARTNERSHIPS AND INTERNATIONAL
ASSISTANCE
Establish effective partnerships with relevant stakeholders
Promote South–South and triangular cooperation
Invest in AVRP through international donors seeking to
strengthen government ownership and capacity in reducing
and preventing armed violence;
Provide long-term strategic support through
partnerships with international aid agencies and combine it
with short-term interventions and funding
Document and disseminate information about efforts that
encourage collaboration among similar partnerships in other
countries.
The Geneva Declaration is a political instrument based on a set of principles developed in 2006 and at the occasion of the 2nd Ministerial Review Conference held at the end of 2011.
The slide highlighs some of the main GD committments. As you can see, the GD recognizes the importance of
We are talking about ‘armed violence’, so the importance of controlling the proliferation of illegal SALW
The role of security and justice institutions
Work on the risk factors related to violence
Being able to measure the problem but also the effectiveness of solutions
The need for a comprehensive approach to risks and manifestations of armed violence
The Handbook answers a need expressed by several parties who had questions like: «What does it mean in more concrete terms developing an armed violence reduction and rprevention approach?» and « How do we know that we are implementing the Geneva Declaration?»
The Handbook provides government officials and other interested parties with hopefully clear, user-friendly suggestions on how to implement the commitments contained in the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, the subsequent Outcome Documents of the 2008 and 2011 Review
Conferences, and the Oslo Commitments on Armed Violence agreed at the 2010 Oslo Conference on Armed Violence.
-There are multiple options and entry points for action – the process is not linear. You can start anywhere and at any level, locally or nationally, in one sector or across many, with collecting data, a demonstration program or building institutional awareness; action in one area will stimulate and support understanding and further action in another.
-You know best: The GD Guide is intended as a reference guide and a toolbox – you are best positioned to understand the problem of armed violence in your context and to determine the existing capacity and readiness for and suitability of different types of action; this Guide is meant to provide useful suggestions, examples and resources that can be adapted to your environment.
-Be inclusive, adopt an integrated approach: Stimulate broad participation and partnerships – armed violence prevention is by nature multi-sectoral, multi-disciplined, multi-level and mutli-dimensional, requiring participation and partnerships across various government ministries and departments and with non-state actors including civil society, academic institutions, the private sector and with communities; policy advocacy, partnerships and programs in armed violence prevention can originate from any of these areas or actors.
-Connect, complement, build on what is there– use what is already in place and being done as building blocks to increase the effectiveness of your resources, partnerships and interventions.
-Follow the evidence: Measure and monitor the incidence and nature of armed violence, and evaluate the ongoing programs and initiatives to prevent and reduce it; this is not to assign judgment on success or failure, but to help you learn what works so that you can share results with others facing similar challenges and learn from one another.
The Handbook is built around 6 major areas for implementation
Understand the nature of armed violence by making a thorough assessment of the underlying causes and risk factors inherent in a given setting.
A better understanding of the incidence and impact of armed violence can be gained through existing data collection, mapping, and analysis systems.
Use data to inform policy and programmatic responses and to establish benchmarks against which to monitor their long-term effectiveness.
Develop common measurement systems (with common indicators and methods) to make it easier to compare data, thereby enabling a better understanding of what works best in a given context.
Conduct assessments of the capacities and deficits of institutions that have a key role in preventing and reducing armed violence, especially public security, justice, social and development planning institutions, as well as civil society organizations (CSOs), to better inform strategies for institutional capacity-building and so lead to a more effective response.
Consider preparing a national report on armed violence aimed at raising national awareness about armed violence and describing suitable capacities and strategies to respond to it.
Establish a mechanism to coordinate national AVRP efforts in order to enable intragovernmental coordination and set up a National Focal Point (NFP ) within government to act as an information and coordination resource
Establish a conducive legal and policy framework, including the development and
implementation of laws and policies on issues such as public or citizen security,
violence prevention, national security, criminal justice, small arms control, border
management, gender-based violence (GBV), and the rights of and support for victims.
Develop national strategies or plans of action, including development plans and programmes
to reduce and prevent armed violence and to address the key risk factors that foster it.
Strengthen the institutional capacities of government and CSOs in violence prevention
and reduction in ways that foster trust and confidence between governments and
citizens.
Give special focus to municipal and district-level government institutions and to community-
based organizations (CBOs) that are close to the people affected by violence.
Draw on the evidence base of best or promising practices and effective programming.
Develop direct programmes to address the instruments (e.g. arms collection), actors
(e.g. demobilization of armed groups), and institutional environments that protect
against armed violence (e.g. reform of law-enforcement agencies and peace-building
initiatives).
Emphasize indirect programmes designed to address the risk factors that give rise to
armed violence (e.g. programmes or interventions aimed at youths, the comprehensive
rule of law, public education, and urban renewal).
Combine ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ approaches to address both the symptoms and the
broader factors that give rise to armed violence.
Promote cross-sector programmes that bring together a range of strategies to reduce
and prevent violence (such as crime prevention, rule of law, justice, public health,
urban planning and design, conflict prevention, and peace-building).
Consider broader development programmes in which AVRP is not the key objective,
but which produce favourable outcomes (e.g. programmes supporting education,
health, and economic well-being).
Integrate into policy and programme development initiatives that recognize and protect
the rights of victims and survivors of armed violence and provide for their needs.
Encourage governments to implement and comply with existing international and
regional agreements and commitments related to small arms and light weapons
(SALW), people affected by armed violence and associated risk factors, human rights,
corruption, and drugs.
Support new international or regional conventions or agreements which present additional
opportunities to address factors that contribute to armed violence.
Invest in strengthening national monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacities, including
national and local systems for data collection and analysis and ensuring that these
systems feed into an integrated response and prevention mechanism.
Share the findings of evaluations and experiences with other signatory states in order
to contribute to the evidence base of what is deemed successful.
Establish effective partnerships with a wide range of stakeholders, such as CSOs, private sector, donor agencies, and international organizations.
Promote South–South and triangular cooperation and initiatives that encourage countries facing similar capacity constraints as a means of sharing their experiences.
Invest in AVRP through international donors seeking to strengthen government ownership and capacity in reducing and preventing armed violence; and drawing, as necessary, on the comparative strengths of other relevant partners (e.g. CSOs, international organizations, the UN and its specialized agencies, and the private sector).
Provide long-term strategic support through partnerships with international aid agencies and combine it with short-term interventions and funding aligned with the sub-national development and security plans and programmes of affected states.
Document and disseminate information about efforts that encourage collaboration among similar partnerships in other countries.