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. The Declaration was adopted on 7 June 2006 and is now endorsed by 113 states. It is the strongest political statement to date that addresses the impact of armed violence within a development context. Regular high-level diplomatic regional meetings and ministerial review conferences take place to assess progress concerning the process and implementation of the Geneva Declaration; the first two ministerial review conferences took place in 2008 and 2011. During 2014 a series of Regional Review Conferences have been organized not only to review the process in implementing the Geneva Declaration but also to reflect and gather support in integrating meaningfully armed violence reduction in national and international development processes, including the post-2015 development agenda.

WWW genevadeclaration.org

Overview

By signing the Geneva Declaration states commit to:

Support initiatives to measure the human, social and economic costs of armed violence;
Undertake assessments to understand and respond to risks and vulnerabilities;
Evaluate the effectiveness of armed violence prevention and reduction programs around the world; and
To disseminate lessons and best practices.

Understanding that the fight against the global scourge of armed violence and the prospects for sustainable development are closely linked, the signatories recognize that armed violence constitutes a major obstacle to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. They agree to strengthen their efforts to integrate armed violence reduction and conflict prevention programs into national, regional, and multilateral development frameworks and strategies.
The approach is based on three pillars:

Advocacy: dissemination and coordination initiatives for implementing the Geneva Declaration
Measurability: country based armed violence mapping and monitoring to identify entry-points and opportunities for interventions
Programming: practical programming on armed violence prevention and reduction

A Core Group of 14 signatory states and affiliated organizations is responsible for steering the process and guiding the implementation of the Geneva Declaration. Affiliated organizations include the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery of the United Nations Development Programme, the Small Arms Survey—which also hosts the Geneva Declaration Secretariat—, the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Quaker United Nations Office.
Core group member states:

Brazil
Colombia
Finland
Guatemala
Indonesia
Kenya
Morocco
The Netherlands
Norway
The Philippines
Spain
Switzerland
Thailand
United Kingdom

Signatory states:

Afghanistan
Albania
Angola
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
Benin
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Canada
Cameroon
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Ethiopia
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Guatemala
Guinea
Guyana
Holy See
Honduras
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Korea, North
Korea, South
Kyrgyzstan
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia, Republic of
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Mali
Mauritius
Mexico
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Mozambique
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
Norway
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Rwanda
Samoa
Senegal
Serbia
Sierra Leone
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
Sudan
Sweden
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Thailand
Timor-Leste
Togo
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Zambia
Zimbabwe