Armed violence reduction
Encyclopedia
The concept of armed violence reduction (AVR) has gained significant in importance after the 2006 Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
. According to OECD, more than 740,000 people die each year as a result of the violence associated with armed conflicts and large- and small-scale criminality. Furthermore, armed violence impedes humanitarian and socio-economic development and, hence, it is an obstruction to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
.
Armed violence reduction is therefore essential for the achievement of the Millenium Development Goals.
Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development highlights the role that states and civil society must play in preventing and reducing violence associated with war, crime, and social unrest...
. According to OECD, more than 740,000 people die each year as a result of the violence associated with armed conflicts and large- and small-scale criminality. Furthermore, armed violence impedes humanitarian and socio-economic development and, hence, it is an obstruction to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
.
Key numbers on armed violence from the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
- More than 740,000 people have died directly or indirectly from armed violence - both conflict and criminal violenceViolent crimeA violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens to use violent force upon the victim. This entails both crimes in which the violent act is the objective, such as murder, as well as crimes in which violence is the means to an end, such as robbery. Violent...
- every year in recent years. - More than 540,000 of these deaths are violent, with the vast majority occurring in non-conflict settings.
- At least 200,000 people - and perhaps many thousands more - have died each year in conflict zones from non-violent causes (such as malnutritionMalnutritionMalnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
, dysenteryDysenteryDysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, or other easily preventable diseases) that resulted from the effects of war on populations. - Between 2004 and 2007, at least 208,300 violent deaths were recorded in armed conflicts - an average of 52,000 people killed per year. This is a conservative estimate including only recorded deaths: the real total may be much higher.
- The annual economic cost of armed violence in non-conflict settings, in terms of lost productivityProductivityProductivity is a measure of the efficiency of production. Productivity is a ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. Usually this ratio is in the form of an average, expressing the total output divided by the total input...
due to violent deaths, is USD 95 billion and could reach as high as USD 163 billion - 0.14 percent of the annual global GDP.
Armed violence reduction is therefore essential for the achievement of the Millenium Development Goals.