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

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132 counts <strong>of</strong> extrajudicial killings are used to classify GLOBAL BURDEN <strong>of</strong> ARMED VIOLENCE Photo " A man holds up a picture <strong>of</strong> his son, who has been on death row for more than a decade as a result <strong>of</strong> a confession he made under torture. © Ian <strong>The</strong>/Panos Pictures countries into the three categories (Cingranelli and Richards, 2008b, pp. 7–10). 3 In 2006 there were at least 31 countries 4 in which extrajudicial killings occurred frequently (more than 50 deaths) and 73 countries 5 in which they occurred occasionally (between 1 and 49 deaths) (see Map 7.1). <strong>The</strong>se figures serve as a reminder that the burden <strong>of</strong> other forms <strong>of</strong> armed violence requires more investigation and attention. Comparison <strong>of</strong> the distribution <strong>of</strong> extrajudicial killings to maps generated by Uppsala’s Conflict Database displaying the distribution <strong>of</strong> direct conflict deaths for 2006 shows that at least 12 countries register more than 50 extrajudicial killings but are not considered to be in ‘conflict’. <strong>The</strong>se countries include Cambodia, China, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic People’s Republic <strong>of</strong> Korea, the Dominican Republic, the DRC, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, and Venezuela. Although certain national human rights agencies can provide confidential information to international organizations, there are few monitoring mechanisms to track trends and investigations in this area over time. In 1982 the UN established a special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, with a mandate to perform country visits. In a recent report on Brazil, for example, the special rapporteur found that many killings registered by on-duty police were classi- fied as ‘acts <strong>of</strong> resistance’ or cases <strong>of</strong> ‘resistance followed by death’, suggesting that such events were under-diagnosed. Indeed, in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro, the police recorded 1,330 resistance killings, a figure that accounts for 18 per cent <strong>of</strong> the total number <strong>of</strong> killings in the city (HRC, 2008a, para. 10). <strong>The</strong>re are a number <strong>of</strong> reasons why comprehensive statistics on extrajudicial killings have not been tabulated and publicized. Existing human rights practice tends to focus on individual cases rather then cross-country comparisons. As a result, few comprehensive databases exist within the human rights community. Similarly, the UN special rapporteur was issued a mandate to investigate ‘situations’ rather than establish global or even national datasets on extrajudicial killings. It is thus extremely difficult to verify and validate extrajudicial killings. In many cases, human rights agencies render assessments on the basis <strong>of</strong> information transferred to them by local people or local NGOs. Allegations frequently contradict <strong>of</strong>ficial accounts, and legal cases can take years, even decades, to build. Equally challenging is the fact that instances <strong>of</strong> such killing frequently go unreported, for the simple reason that there is nobody to report them or a lack <strong>of</strong> awareness about reporting practices and a fear <strong>of</strong> the legiti- macy <strong>of</strong> relevant institutions.
<strong>The</strong> absence <strong>of</strong> data makes it difficult to compare extrajudicial killings across time and space. One element <strong>of</strong> violence reduction policies, however, could include improving reporting rates, enhanc- ing access to legitimate justice mechanisms, and providing meaningful protection. At the most basic level, the pooling <strong>of</strong> information on extrajudicial killings by the special rapporteur and human rights organizations could be one step forward in gen- erating awareness <strong>of</strong> the frequency and magnitude <strong>of</strong> this form <strong>of</strong> armed violence. Disappearances Typically described as ‘enforced disappearances’, such acts constitute yet another facet <strong>of</strong> illegitimate armed violence. In certain cases, disappearance may include the eventual killing <strong>of</strong> the person who is abducted. In many cases, the victim’s family does not know whether the disappeared person is alive, contributing to their pain and suffering. Disappearances are also frequently linked to criminal violence, including social cleansing; executions; displacement; and, in certain circumstances, rape, sexual violence, and forced recruitment. <strong>The</strong> category <strong>of</strong> ‘enforced disappearances’ is invoked by human rights specialists to describe violence by state <strong>of</strong>ficials. While exceptions exist, the term does not usually refer to disappearances committed by non-state actors. 6 <strong>The</strong> illegitimacy <strong>of</strong> such actions is enshrined in a number <strong>of</strong> legal instruments, including the 2006 International Convention for the Protection <strong>of</strong> all Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Included in the definition are those who suffer: arrest, detention, abduction or any other form <strong>of</strong> deprivation <strong>of</strong> liberty by agents <strong>of</strong> the State or by persons or groups <strong>of</strong> persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence <strong>of</strong> the Box 7.3 Gender-based violence by state <strong>of</strong>ficials State security and justice agencies bear the responsibility to protect citizens and to ensure the protection <strong>of</strong> human rights and the maintenance <strong>of</strong> public order. However, all too <strong>of</strong>ten, these agencies are involved in gender-based violence (GBV) in the execution <strong>of</strong> their tasks. GBV occurs either through discriminatory laws and policies, their inadequate implementation, or granting impunity for acts <strong>of</strong> GBV committed by state <strong>of</strong>ficials, including police <strong>of</strong>ficers, prison guards, and soldiers. <strong>The</strong> absence <strong>of</strong> an impartial and effective criminal justice system <strong>of</strong>ten protects delinquent state <strong>of</strong>ficials. GBV includes, for example, the abuse <strong>of</strong> persons in custody by supervising authorities or other detainees. As required by Rule 8 <strong>of</strong> the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment <strong>of</strong> Prisoners, men and women should be detained separately. But due to a lack <strong>of</strong> facilities or inadequate policies, women and girls share facilities with men in many countries. This exposes women to a high risk <strong>of</strong> sexual violence by other detainees. In the United States, at least two-thirds <strong>of</strong> imprisoned women have experi- enced violence, sexual harassment, and abuse by male guards, and at least one out <strong>of</strong> four women has been sexually assaulted while in state custody (Vlachová and Biason, 2005, pp. 96–97; HRW, 1996). <strong>The</strong> police can also perpetrate acts <strong>of</strong> GBV through the mistreatment and revictimiza- tion <strong>of</strong> survivors, or their unwillingness to investigate such crimes. In Haiti and Zimbabwe, for example, ‘political rapes’ against women were committed by government <strong>of</strong>ficials in retaliation for supporting political opposition groups (Bastick, Grimm, and Kunz, 2007, pp. 67, 79). State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation <strong>of</strong> liberty or by concealment <strong>of</strong> the fate or whereabouts <strong>of</strong> the disappeared person, which place such a person outside the protection <strong>of</strong> the law (UNGA, 2006, art. 2). <strong>The</strong> distribution <strong>of</strong> enforced disappearances around the world suggests that they are highly concentrated (see Map 7.2). Although probably an undercount, there appear to be at least 12 countries where such disappearances are frequent (defined as 50 or more cases annually) and another 22 countries where such actions are more occa- sional (defined as fewer than 49 cases annually). 7 133 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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��
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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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sistent increases during the time p
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Page 111 and 112: In Uganda, a protracted armed confl
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Page 115 and 116: Figure 5.3 Potential gains in life
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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
Page 129 and 130: disaggregated data is still not ava
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Page 133 and 134: Dowry-related violence A dowry is t
Page 135 and 136: sex ratios reported at birth is pre
Page 137 and 138: Chapter Seven Other Forms o
Page 139 and 140: will likely emerge. Armed</
Page 141 and 142: Gangs in Central America Central Am
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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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