MISSING PIECES - Inter-Parliamentary Union

THEME 7
and summary execution. An Amnesty International survey found incidents
of torture inflicted by national officials in 150 countries over the period
1997-2000, whether in isolated incidents or systematically. 7 Practices may
be based on prejudice or racism, as was the policing of apartheid-era
South Africa, or the result of an over-militarised police force, as is the case
in many nations transitioning from periods of dictatorship.
3. Breakdown of the rule of law
When abuse becomes routine and there is little or no recourse for civilians
to legal remedies because the justice and security sector is corrupt, an
atmosphere of impunity can reign. The power structures designed to make
and enforce the law are no longer bound by those laws themselves, and
operate according to other principles. 8
4. Weak institutions
Lawlessness may also result where police and other national security
agents are absent, either through neglect, indifference, or incapacity—as
when the state cannot afford to equip, train, and deploy police to all areas
and communities.
BREAKING THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE
Crippled and corrupt justice and security sector institutions are challenging
to repair, and this can take years of effort from governments and NGOs.
Reform requires financial investment and dedicated political will, but also
participative and locally owned processes. To be successful in reducing the
armed violence associated with the shortcomings and failures of these
sectors, a number of remedies should be applied. Measures discussed here
include the adoption and enforcement of clear guidelines on the use of
force, including the integration of international human rights law into
national law; the training of police and other agents of the security sector
in these standards; and making the security sector accountable to democratically
elected bodies, the courts, and the communities themselves.
JSSR must be considered as an essential element of violence prevention
and reduction strategies, including weapons collection and legislative
reviews. This is true even beyond the question of the appropriate use of
force by law enforcement agencies. One lesson of the rejection by the
Brazilian population in October 2005 of a referendum that aimed to ban
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