Global Burden of Armed Violence - The Geneva Declaration on ...

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130 tionalist claims linking Central American gangs to migrant trafficking, kidnapping, and international organized crime, it appears that most maras and pandillas are involved in small-scale localized crime and delinquency, such as theft and muggings (Rodgers, 2006). GLOBAL BURDEN <strong>of</strong> ARMED VIOLENCE While there is some evidence that certain mara groups in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are involved in extortion and racketeering, these <strong>of</strong>ten extend no further than the territories they physically control. <strong>The</strong>re are, however, growing risks <strong>of</strong> their assuming a more prominent role in the drug trade in the coming decade, owing to the way in which Central America is assuming an important transit function in the trafficking <strong>of</strong> narcotics from South America to North America. Box 7.2 Maras and pandillas in Central America Maras are organizations that can be directly linked to specific migratory patterns. Formerly, there were just two mara groups—the Dieciocho and the Salvatrucha, which today operate in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and southern Mexico. <strong>The</strong> gangs find their origins in the gangs <strong>of</strong> Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan refugees and migrants in the United States during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Following the imposition <strong>of</strong> strict antigang laws and immigration reform in the United States, however, many gang members were repatriated back to Central America. Between 1998 and 2005, the United States deported almost 46,000 convicts to Central America— with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras receiving more than 90 per cent <strong>of</strong> the total. <strong>The</strong>se gang members reproduced many <strong>of</strong> the structures and functions they exhibited in the United States (Rodgers, 2006). Pandillas have their origins in the Central American peace processes <strong>of</strong> the 1990s. Demobilized former combatant youths in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala returned home to situations <strong>of</strong> heightened insecurity and socio-economic uncertainty. Many eventually formed localized vigilantestyle self-defence groups in an effort to provide safety for themselves and their families. From relatively organic beginnings, however, they rapidly expanded and developed semi-ritualized patterns <strong>of</strong> behaviour, including gang warfare. Some acquired new names—Los Dragones, Los Rampleros, and Los Comemeuertos in Nicaragua—and assumed strict hierarchies. Source: Muggah and Stevenson (forthcoming) Extrajudicial killings, disappearances, and kidnapping A number <strong>of</strong> forms <strong>of</strong> armed violence perpetrated by individuals acting in the name <strong>of</strong> the state can be classified as illegitimate. Two described here include extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Owing to their political nature, they <strong>of</strong>ten remain purposefully hidden from view. It is, <strong>of</strong> course, important to recognize that not all uses <strong>of</strong> force are illegitimate. International norms and, in most cases, domestic laws recognize a state’s legal monopoly <strong>of</strong> the legitimate use <strong>of</strong> armed force to protect and safeguard citizens, institutions, and core values. But states are also bound by international law and human rights principles, together with national laws, to exercise only legitimate force. Excessive or inappropriate uses <strong>of</strong> force can contravene international and domestic laws, and can thus be declared illegitimate. In certain cases, the illegitimate use <strong>of</strong> force by public actors against the population—ranging from extortion and harassment to extrajudicial killings and disappearances— can undermine the legitimacy <strong>of</strong> the state and its institutions and generate negative socioeconomic impacts. As a result, many multilateral and bilateral assistance programmes are seeking to build effective and accountable security institutions. Extrajudicial killings Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch or trade unionists and local NGOs, have long decried the use <strong>of</strong> extrajudicial armed violence. Until recently, little data existed to compare the severity <strong>of</strong> such violence among countries and over time. Activists and others are frequently unable to disclose precise information on extrajudicial violence for legal and ethical reasons. Similarly, owing to international
�� norms condemning such violence, states are sel- dom prepared to volunteer such information for public consumption. 2 One crucial source is the Cingranelli–Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Data Project, which features cross- country data on extrajudicial killings. Such killings are broadly defined as the illegitimate use <strong>of</strong> fatal armed violence by agents <strong>of</strong> the state against its citizens. <strong>The</strong>y may result from the deliberate, illegal, and excessive use <strong>of</strong> force by the police, security forces, or other state actors against criminal suspects, detainees, prisoners, or other Map 7.1 <strong>Global</strong> extrajudicial killings, 2006 individuals or groups, and can also include mur- ders committed by private groups, if instigated by the government (Cingranelli and Richards, 2008b, p. 7). <strong>The</strong> CIRI Human Rights Data Project collects data on extrajudicial killings along with other human rights variables. Data is drawn from reports <strong>of</strong> the US State Department and Amnesty International. <strong>The</strong>y are coded in three categories that capture whether extrajudicial killings occur not at all (0 deaths), occasionally (1–49 deaths), or frequently (more than 50 deaths). When available, numerical Note: Data for Somalia is not available in this map as there was no central political authority in the country in 2006. Source: Cingranelli and Richards (2008a) 131 OT H E R FORMS OF A R M E D V I O L E N C E 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
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G L O B A L www.genevadeclaration.o
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G L O B A L www.genevadeclaration.o
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Foreword Armed vio
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Contents Executive Summary ........
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About the Geneva <
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of direct conflict
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Executive Summary Armed</st
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Figure 1 captures graphically the d
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This report also finds that the aft
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Chapter One Direct Conflict Death <
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approaches that featured cross-nati
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us, non-state and intercommunal arm
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niques and inclusion requirements (
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Figure 1.2 Estimates of</st
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North Africa Sudan 7,284 1,098 2,60
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Map 1.1 The GBAV c
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�� Increasing di
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Table 1.4 Estimated direct conflict
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Table 1.7 Direct conflict death rat
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accounts overwhelmingly for the glo
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Chapter Two The Ma
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Sexual violence in armed conflict a
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continued for six months due to the
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Table 2.1 Comparison of</st
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of sexual violence
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can be explained by the relatively
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Box 2.3 A very dark number: direct
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Photo Victims of v
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Table 2.5 Violent death estimates f
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Chapter Three Armed</strong
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ized by a clear victory of<
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On the basis of Ch
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illegal war economies, including th
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standards issued by UNHCR emphasize
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Table 3.4 Risk factors for youth vi
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Map 3.2 The youth
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Given the potential importance <str
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interventions based on identified n
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Chapter Four Lethal Encounters: Non
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violence in Mexico in 2007-08 (BBC,
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comparisons between regions <strong
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tively. The Caribb
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the homicide count is derived. None
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Table 4.1 National-level homicide t
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Page 121 and 122: Chapter Six Armed
Page 123 and 124: (Myrttinen, 2003, p. 38). T
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Page 127 and 128: go missing, or are killed. In such
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Page 131 and 132: Acts of sexual vio
Page 133 and 134: Dowry-related violence A dowry is t
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Page 137 and 138: Chapter Seven Other Forms o
Page 139 and 140: will likely emerge. Armed</
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Page 147 and 148: Table 7.1 Recorded cases of
Page 149 and 150: Figure 7.2 Kidnap for ransom cases
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Page 153 and 154: Bibliography Executive Summary CNP
Page 155 and 156: Burr, M. 1993. A Working Document:
Page 157 and 158: Thieren, Michael. 2005. ‘Health I
Page 159 and 160: ——. 2008. Small Arms Survey 200
Page 161 and 162: Nations-Survey-on-Crime-Trends-and-
Page 163 and 164: ground Paper. Geneva</stron
Page 165 and 166: --. 2003. ‘Masculinities and Masc
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Page 169 and 170: Boxes List of Illu
Page 171 and 172: Map 4.1 Homicide rates per 100,000
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