Safer Cities Programme UN-HABITAT

The role of local actors in enhancing Security and Preventing Urban Crime

25 years of international debate

Compendium of UN Guidelines, resolutions and

international declarations Printed with the financial support of the Government of Canada

National Crime Prevention Strategy, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Canada

TABLE OF CONTENTS Presentation...............................................................................................................................................................................4 UN RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOLUTIONS Technical Cooperation and Interregional Advisory Services in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, ECOSOC, UN Resolution 1995/15...........................................................................................................................................5 Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, ECOSOC, Commission on Crime and Criminal Justice, New York, United States of America, April 2002.............................................................................................................................8 Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China, September 1995 ...........................................................................16 Habitat Agenda, UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), Istanbul, Turkey, June 1996....................................21 “Beijing + 5” Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century, 23rd Special Session of the UN General Assembly, June 2000, New York, United States of America ..................................26 UN-HABITAT Governing Council Nineteenth Session Resolutions, Nairobi, Kenya, May 2003 ...................................29 INTERNATIONAL DECLARATIONS Conference on the reduction of urban insecurity, Barcelona, Spain, November 1987......................................................34 II International Conference on Urban Safety, Drugs and Crime Prevention, Paris, November 1991............................49 International Forum on Security in the City, Saint Denis de la Réunion, France, December 1995..................................52 Mayors’ Summit on Safer Cities, Vancouver, Canada, March 1996 ...................................................................................54 International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities, Johannesburg, South Africa, October 1998 ..........................................57 The Cities' Manifesto for "Safety and Democracy", Safety and Democracy Forum, Naples, Italy, December 2000 .......................................................................................................................................................................60 Forum Ivoirien pour la Sécurité Urbaine "Des Stratégies de Prévention pour des Villes Plus Sûres", Yamoussoukro,Côte d’Ivoire, décembre 2001........................................................................................................................73 First International Seminar on Women’s Safety: Making the Links, Montreal, Canada, May 2002 ...............................77 Nelson Mandela Metropole Declaration on the Development of Citizenship among Youth in Conflict with the Law on the African Continent, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, June 2002 .............................................................81 Prevent Gender-Based Violence in Africa, Kampala, Uganda, September 2003................................................................86

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International Conference on Sustainable Safety: Municipalities at the Crossroads, eThekwini Municipality (Durban), South Africa, November 2003 ..........................................................................................................89 Mayors' Declaration, International Conference on Sustainable Safety, eThekwini Municipality (Durban), South Africa, November 2003 ................................................................................................................................................92 Africities Summit 2003, Yaoundé, Cameroon, December 2003 ...........................................................................................93 Mayors' Declaration on Community Safety, Africities Summit 2003, Yaoundé, Cameroon, December 2003 .......................................................................................................................................................................97 International Seminar for Safer Cities, Guarulhos, Brazil, December 2003 ......................................................................98 Declaracion de Monterrey, Conferencia Internacional de Jóvenes en Riesgo en América Latina y el Caribe, Monterrey, Mexico, Octubre 2004 ..........................................................................................................................100 Safe Cities for Women and Girls, Bogota D.C., Colombia, November 2004....................................................................102

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INTRODUCTION Crime and violence have a severe impact on urban development prospects, livelihoods and quality of life in cities across the world. As major factors that jeopardise our quest for socially, economically and environmentally vibrant cities, urban crime and violence have been the focus of discussion for cities and their partners for at least the past three decades. The debate has centred on the understanding of causes and vectors of violence and crime, its linkages with other urban issues, in particular urban poverty and urban management and governance, and on the strategies addressing it in a sustainable way, without jeopardising democratic systems and up holding human rights and the protection of the most vulnerable. The role of cities and other local actors has been a specific object of discussion, as cities have taken up more and more a proactive role in addressing residents’ concerns on safety and personal security. Over thirty years, cities have on several occasions reaffirmed their commitment to work on the prevention of crime, and have pointed to the need for adequate international and national support to their action at local level. Key milestone in this debate have been produced by the United Nations. In 1995 UN Guidelines for the prevention of urban crime were adopted by the General Assembly. In 1996, the Habitat Agenda, endorsed by 171 countries recognised clear role for local authorities and spelled out critical areas for intervention and support. In 2002, the UN formulated Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime which reaffirm the principles of sound crime prevention. As the issue of crime and violence takes new dimensions and remains one of the key challenges to sustainable urbanization, this collection of international documents presents the commitments and policy statements issued by governments and cities gathered to discuss different dimensions of urban crime, to review practices and lessons learnt, to identify gaps and needs in terms of analysis of trends and issues, availability and access to technical tools, and formulation and enactment of appropriate policy frameworks. The commitment and the ‘demands’ of the various actors take shape in these resolutions and declarations, as a trajectory in the international debate, with its milestones and areas of growing consensus and focus. As they prompt us to action and further reflection, they can also be the basis of a renewed effort to build and support partnerships for safer cities and communities.

CONTENT AND STRUCTURE

The present document collects only two types of documents: • UN Guidelines and other official UN documents dealing with urban crime prevention • Declaration and conclusions issued from gatherings of cities and practitioners discussing urban crime and its

various dimensions Actors involves span from the UN member states, to associations of local authorities in the various regions, to expert organizations, NGOS and practitioners. The documentation is organised in two sections, with the UN documents in the first part and other declarations and resolutions in the second part. They are presented as much has possible in chronological order and in English. When an English version was not available, the original, either French or Spanish has been used. The original documents, and more information on the meetings and organizations that issued most of these declarations is accessible trough http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities

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TECHNICAL COOPERATION AND INTERREGIONAL ADVISORY SERVICES IN CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL UNITED NATIONS RESOLUTION 1995/15.

49th plenary meeting 24 July 1995 The Economic and Social Council, Recalling its resolution 1994/22 of 25 July 1994, on technical cooperation in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, Recalling also its resolution 1994/16 of 25 July 1994, in which it requested the Secretary-General to provide adequate funds to build and maintain the institutional capacity of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme to respond to requests of Member States for assistance in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice, if necessary through the reallocation of resources, Recalling further General Assembly resolution 49/158 of 23 December 1994, on strengthening the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, particularly its technical cooperation capacity, Convinced that establishing the rule of law and maintaining efficient criminal justice systems is one of the essential elements of developmental efforts, and recognizing the direct relevance of crime prevention and criminal justice to sustained development, stability, security and improved quality of life, Underlining the fact that one of the most effective ways to meet the needs of States in this area is through operational activities, such as advisory services, training programmes and the dissemination and exchange of information, Recognizing the need, in making specific proposals on the resolutions of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders related to technical cooperation and advisory services, to take into account the capacity of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme and its future role in providing services in that field, 1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the technical cooperation and advisory services of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme; 2. Welcomes the call of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders for intensified efforts to strengthen the rule of law by means of international cooperation and practical technical assistance; 3. Reaffirms the high priority attached to technical cooperation and advisory services as a means for the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme to respond to the needs of the international community in the face of both national and transnational criminality and to assist Member States in achieving

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the goals of preventing crime within and among States and improving the response to crime, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/152 of 18 December 1991, on the creation of an effective United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, and in line with the recommendations of the Ninth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders; 4. Stresses the importance of continuing to improve the operational activities of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, particularly in developing countries and countries in transition, so as to meet the needs of Member States, at their request, for support in crime prevention and criminal justice, by undertaking advisory services and training programmes and by carrying out field studies and action-oriented research at the regional, subregional, national and local levels, also drawing upon extrabudgetary contributions; 5. Expresses its appreciation to Member States and other entities supporting the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme, through contributions to the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Fund or by other means, and invites them to continue their support; 6. Invites Member States to contribute to the activities of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme by other means, for example by providing the services of associate experts, by providing the services of consultants and experts for training purposes and advisory missions, by developing training manuals and other material, by offering fellowship opportunities and by hosting problem-oriented workshops and expert group meetings; 7. Calls upon the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and other international, regional and national funding agencies to support technical cooperation activities devoted to crime prevention and criminal justice and, in pursuance of their mandates, to include such activities in their programmes, utilizing the expertise of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme in such activities and cooperating closely on relevant technical assistance projects and advisory missions; 8. Calls upon all relevant international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to continue cooperating with the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme in support of its operational and technical activities; 9. Requests the Secretary-General to facilitate, as appropriate, joint initiatives and the joint formulation and implementation of technical assistance projects, involving interested donor countries, funding agencies and other relevant entities, and to organize meetings of interested donor and recipient countries; 10. Notes with appreciation the contribution of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme to United Nations peace-keeping and special missions, as well as its contribution to the follow-up to those missions, inter alia, through advisory services, and encourages the Secretary-General, as a way of strengthening the rule of law, to recommend the inclusion of the re-establishment and reform of criminal justice systems in peace-keeping operations; 11. Notes the work of the crime prevention and criminal justice programme on collecting and disseminating data and other information on technical cooperation projects, and requests the Secretary-General further to strengthen the capacity of the Secretariat to establish and develop relevant databases, by cooperating in this

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endeavour with the United Nations Development Programme and the network of institutes cooperating with the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme; 12. Reiterates its appreciation for the provision of the services of two interregional advisers for crime prevention and criminal justice and strongly recommends to the Secretary-General that those posts should be retained and that the interregional advisory services of the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme should be further strengthened to support technical assistance activities, including short-term advisory services, needs assessment, feasibility studies, field projects, training and fellowships; 13. Requests the Secretary-General to provide, within the regular budget, appropriate resources for the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme to provide better planning support and backstopping for the interregional advisory services, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 49/158 and Economic and Social Council resolutions 1994/16 and 1994/22. Notes 1/ E/CN.15/1995/6. 2/ A/CONF.169/16, chap. I, resolution 2.

Available at: http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc/1995res.htm

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GUIDELINES FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRIME UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

COMMISSION ON CRIME PREVENTION AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE Report on the eleventh session, Official Records 2002, Supplement No. 10

16-25 April 2002, New York, United States of America

Draft resolution II Action to promote effective crime prevention The Economic and Social Council, Bearing in mind its resolution 1996/16 of 23 July 1996, in which the Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary-General to continue to promote the use and application of United Nations standards and norms in crime prevention and criminal justice matters, Recalling the elements of responsible crime prevention: standards and norms annexed to its resolution 1997/33 of 21 July 1997, in particular those relating to community involvement in crime prevention contained in paragraphs 14 to 23 of that annex, as well as the revised draft elements of responsible crime prevention, prepared by the Expert Group Meeting on Elements of Responsible Crime Prevention: Addressing Traditional and Emerging Crime Problems, held in Buenos Aires from 8 to 10 September 1999, Taking note of the international colloquium of crime prevention experts convened in Montreal, Canada, from 3 to 6 October 1999, by the Governments of France, the Netherlands and Canada, in collaboration with the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime in Montreal, as a preparatory meeting for the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Noting that the draft elements of responsible crime prevention were considered at the workshop on community involvement in crime prevention, held at the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in Vienna from 10 to 17 April 2000, Acknowledging the need to update and finalize the draft elements of responsible crime prevention, Aware of the scope for significant reductions in crime and victimization through knowledge-based approaches, and of the contribution that effective crime prevention can make in terms of the safety and security of individuals and their property, as well as the quality of life in communities around the world, Taking note of General Assembly resolution 56/261 of 31 January 2002, entitled “Revised draft plans of action for the implementation of the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century”,1 in particular the action on crime prevention in order to follow up the commitments undertaken in paragraphs 11, 13, 20, 21, 24 and 25 of the Vienna Declaration, Convinced of the need to advance a collaborative agenda for action with respect to the commitments made in the Vienna Declaration, Noting with appreciation the work of the Group of Experts on Crime Prevention at their meeting held in Vancouver, Canada, from 21 to 24 January 2002, and the work of the Secretary-General in preparing a report on the results of that interregional meeting, containing revised draft guidelines for crime prevention and proposed priority areas for international action,2 Recognizing that each Member State is unique in its governmental structure, social characteristics and economic capacity and that those factors will influence the scope and implementation of its crime prevention programmes,

1 See Report of the Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of

Offenders, Vienna, 10-17 April 2000, chap. I (A/CONF.187/15). 2 E/CN.15/2002/4.

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Recognizing also that changing circumstances and evolving approaches to crime prevention may require further elaboration and adaptation of crime prevention guidelines, 1. Accepts the Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, annexed to the present resolution, with a view to providing elements for effective crime prevention; 2. Invites Member States to draw upon the Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime, as appropriate, in the development or strengthening of their policies in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice; 3. Requests relevant United Nations bodies and other specialized organizations to strengthen inter-agency coordination and cooperation in crime prevention, as set out in the Guidelines, and, to that end, to disseminate the Guidelines widely within the United Nations system; 4. Requests the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention of the Secretariat, in consultation with Member States, the institutes of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme network and other relevant entities in the United Nations system, to prepare a proposal for technical assistance in the area of crime prevention, in accordance with the guidelines of the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention; 5. Requests Member States to establish or strengthen international, regional and national crime prevention networks, with a view to developing knowledge-based strategies, exchanging proven and promising practices, identifying elements of their transferability and making such knowledge available to communities throughout the world; 6. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at its fourteenth session on the implementation of the present resolution. Annex Guidelines for the Prevention of Crime I. Introduction 1. There is clear evidence that well-planned crime prevention strategies not only prevent crime and victimization, but also promote community safety and contribute to the sustainable development of countries. Effective, responsible crime prevention enhances the quality of life of all citizens. It has long-term benefits in terms of reducing the costs associated with the formal criminal justice system, as well as other social costs that result from crime. Crime prevention offers opportunities for a humane and more cost-effective approach to the problems of crime. The present Guidelines outline the necessary elements for effective crime prevention. II. Conceptual frame of reference 2. It is the responsibility of all levels of government to create, maintain and promote a context within which relevant governmental institutions and all segments of civil society, including the corporate sector, can better play their part in preventing crime. 3. For the purposes of the present Guidelines, “crime prevention” comprises strategies and measures that seek to reduce the risk of crimes occurring, and their potential harmful effects on individuals and society, including fear of crime, by intervening to influence their multiple causes. The enforcement of laws, sentences

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and corrections, while also performing preventive functions, falls outside the scope of the Guidelines, given the comprehensive coverage of the subject in other United Nations instruments.3 4. The present Guidelines address crime and its effects on victims and society and take into account the growing internationalization of criminal activities. Community involvement and cooperation/ partnerships represent important elements of the concept of crime prevention set out herein. While the term “community” may be defined in different ways, its essence in this context is the involvement of civil society at the local level. 6. Crime prevention encompasses a wide range of approaches, including those which: (a) Promote the well-being of people and encourage pro-social behaviour through social, economic, health and educational measures, with a particular emphasis on children and youth, and focus on the risk and protective factors associated with crime and victimization (prevention through social development or social crime prevention); (b) Change the conditions in neighbourhoods that influence offending, victimization and the insecurity that results from crime by building on the initiatives, expertise and commitment of community members (locally based crime prevention); (c) Prevent the occurrence of crimes by reducing opportunities, increasing risks of being apprehended and minimizing benefits, including through environmental design, and by providing assistance and information to potential and actual victims (situational crime prevention); (d) Prevent recidivism by assisting in the social reintegration of offenders and other preventive mechanisms (reintegration programmes). III. Basic principles Government leadership 7. All levels of government should play a leadership role in developing effective and humane crime prevention strategies and in creating and maintaining institutional frameworks for their implementation and review. Socio-economic development and inclusion 8. Crime prevention considerations should be integrated into all relevant social and economic policies and programmes, including those addressing employment, education, health, housing and urban planning, poverty, social marginalization and exclusion. Particular emphasis should be placed on communities, families, children and youth at risk. Cooperation/partnerships 9. Cooperation/partnerships should be an integral part of effective crime prevention, given the wide-ranging nature of the causes of crime and the skills and responsibilities required to address them. This includes partnerships working across ministries and between authorities, community organizations, non-governmental organizations, the business sector and private citizens.

3 See Compendium of United Nations Standards and Norms in Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.92.IV.1 and corrigendum).

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Sustainability/accountability 10. Crime prevention requires adequate resources, including funding for structures and activities, in order to be sustained. There should be clear accountability for funding, implementation and evaluation and for the achievement of planned results. Knowledge base 11. Crime prevention strategies, policies, programmes and actions should be based on a broad, multidisciplinary foundation of knowledge about crime problems, their multiple causes and promising and proven practices. Human rights/rule of law/culture of lawfulness 12. The rule of law and those human rights which are recognized in international instruments to which Member States are parties must be respected in all aspects of crime prevention. A culture of lawfulness should be actively promoted in crime prevention. Interdependency 13. National crime prevention diagnoses and strategies should, where appropriate, take account of links between local criminal problems and international organized crime. Differentiation 14. Crime prevention strategies should, when appropriate, pay due regard to the different needs of men and women and consider the special needs of vulnerable members of society. IV. Organization, methods and approaches 15. Recognizing that all States have unique governmental structures, this section sets out tools and methodologies that Governments and all segments of civil society should consider in developing strategies to prevent crime and reduce victimization. It draws on international good practice. Community involvement 16. In some of the areas listed below, Governments bear the primary responsibility. However, the active participation of communities and other segments of civil society is an essential part of effective crime prevention. Communities, in particular, should play an important part in identifying crime prevention priorities, in implementation and evaluation, and in helping identify a sustainable resource base.

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A. Organization Government structures 17. Governments should include prevention as a permanent part of their structures and programmes for controlling crime, ensuring that clear responsibilities and goals exist within government for the organization of crime prevention, by, inter alia: (a) Establishing centres or focal points with expertise and resources; (b) Establishing a crime prevention plan with clear priorities and targets; (c) Establishing linkages and coordination between relevant government agencies or departments; (d) Fostering partnerships with non-governmental organizations, the business, private and professional sectors and the community; (e) Seeking the active participation of the public in crime prevention by informing it of the need for and means of action and its role. Training and capacity-building 18. Governments should support the development of crime prevention skills by: (a) Providing professional development for senior officials in relevant agencies; (b) Encouraging universities, colleges and other relevant educational agencies to offer basic and advanced courses, including in collaboration with practitioners; (c) Working with the educational and professional sectors to develop certification and professional qualifications; (d) Promoting the capacity of communities to develop and respond to their needs. Supporting partnerships 19. Governments and all segments of civil society should support the principle of partnership, where appropriate, including: (a) Advancing knowledge of the importance of this principle and the components of successful partnerships, including the need for all of the partners to have clear and transparent roles; (b) Fostering their formation at different levels and across sectors; (c) Facilitating their efficient operation. Sustainability 20. Governments and other funding bodies should strive to achieve sustainability of demonstrably effective crime prevention programmes and initiatives through, inter alia: (a) Reviewing resource allocation to establish and maintain an appropriate balance between crime prevention and the criminal justice and other systems, to be more effective in preventing crime and victimization; (b) Establishing clear accountability for funding, programming and coordinating crime prevention initiatives; (c) Encouraging community involvement in sustainability.

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B. Methods Knowledge base 21. As appropriate, Governments and/or civil society should facilitate knowledge-based crime prevention by, inter alia: (a) Providing the information necessary for communities to address crime problems; (b) Supporting the generation of useful and practically applicable knowledge that is scientifically reliable and valid; (c) Supporting the organization and synthesis of knowledge and identifying and addressing gaps in the knowledge base; (d) Sharing that knowledge, as appropriate, among, inter alia, researchers, policy makers, educators, practitioners from other relevant sectors and the wider community; (e) Applying this knowledge in replicating successful interventions, developing new initiatives and anticipating new crime problems and prevention opportunities; (f) Establishing data systems to help manage crime prevention more cost-effectively, including by conducting regular surveys of victimization and offending; (g) Promoting the application of those data in order to reduce repeat victimization, persistent offending and areas with a high level of crime. Planning interventions 22. Those planning interventions should promote a process that includes: (a) A systematic analysis of crime problems, their causes, risk factors and consequences, in particular at the local level; (b) A plan that draws on the most appropriate approach and adapts interventions to the specific local problem and context; (c) An implementation plan to deliver appropriate interventions that are efficient, effective and sustainable; (d) Mobilizing entities that are able to tackle causes; (e) Monitoring and evaluation. Support evaluation 23. Governments, other funding bodies and those involved in programme development and delivery should: (a) Undertake short- and longer-term evaluation to test rigorously what works, where and why; (b) Undertake cost-benefit analyses; (c) Assess the extent to which action results in a reduction in levels of crime and victimization, in the seriousness of crime and in fear of crime; (d) Systematically assess the outcomes and unintended consequences, both positive and negative, of action, such as a decrease in crime rates or the stigmatization of individuals and/or communities.

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C. Approaches 24. This section expands upon the social developmental and situational crime prevention approaches. It also outlines approaches that Governments and civil society should endeavour to follow in order to prevent organized crime. Social development 25. Governments should address the risk factors of crime and victimization by: (a) Promoting protective factors through comprehensive and non-stigmatizing social and economic development programmes, including health, education, housing and employment; (b) Promoting activities that redress marginalization and exclusion; (c) Promoting positive conflict resolution; (d) Using education and public awareness strategies to foster a culture of lawfulness and tolerance while respecting cultural identities. Situational 26. Governments and civil society, including where appropriate the corporate sector, should support the development of situational crime prevention programmes by, inter alia: (a) Improved environmental design; (b) Appropriate methods of surveillance that are sensitive to the right to privacy; (c) Encouraging the design of consumer goods to make them more resistant to crime; (d) Target “hardening” without impinging upon the quality of the built environment or limiting free access to public space; (e) Implementing strategies to prevent repeat victimization. Prevention of organized crime 27. Governments and civil society should endeavour to analyse and address the links between transnational organized crime and national and local crime problems by, inter alia: (a) Reducing existing and future opportunities for organized criminal groups to participate in lawful markets with the proceeds of crime, through appropriate legislative, administrative or other measures; (b) Developing measures to prevent the misuse by organized criminal groups of tender procedures conducted by public authorities and of subsidies and licences granted by public authorities for commercial activity; (c) Designing crime prevention strategies, where appropriate, to protect socially marginalized groups, especially women and children, who are vulnerable to the action of organized criminal groups, including trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.

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V. International cooperation Standards and norms 28. In promoting international action in crime prevention, Member States are invited to take into account the main international instruments related to human rights and crime prevention to which they are parties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (General Assembly resolution 44/25, annex), the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (resolution 48/104), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines) (resolution 45/112, annex), the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power (resolution 40/34, annex), the Guidelines for Cooperation and Technical Assistance in the Field of Urban Crime Prevention (Economic and Social Council resolution 1995/9, annex), as well as the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century (General Assembly resolution 55/59, annex) and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols thereto (resolutions 55/25, annexes I-III, and 55/255, annex). Technical assistance 29. Member States and relevant international funding organizations should provide financial and technical assistance, including capacity-building and training, to developing countries and countries with economies in transition, communities and other relevant organizations for the implementation of effective crime prevention and community safety strategies at the regional, national and local levels. In that context, special attention should be given to research and action on crime prevention through social development. Networking 30. Member States should strengthen or establish international, regional and national crime prevention networks with a view to exchanging proven and promising practices, identifying elements of their transferability and making such knowledge available to communities throughout the world. Links between transnational and local crime 31. Member States should collaborate to analyse and address the links between transnational organized crime and national and local crime problems. Prioritizing crime prevention 32. The Centre for International Crime Prevention, the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme network of affiliated and associated institutes and other relevant United Nations entities should include in their priorities crime prevention as set out in these Guidelines, set up a coordination mechanism and establish a roster of experts to undertake needs assessment and to provide technical advice. Dissemination 33 Relevant United Nations bodies and other organizations should cooperate to produce crime prevention information in as many languages as possible, using both print and electronic media. Available at: http://www.crime-prevention-intl.org/io_old/english/features/features_n06_01.htm

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BEIJING DECLARATION AND PLATFORM FOR ACTION Fourth World Conference on Women, 4 -15 September 1995, Beijing, China

1. We, the Governments participating in the Fourth World Conference on Women,

2. Gathered here in Beijing in September 1995, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations,

3. Determined to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity,

4. Acknowledging the voices of all women everywhere and taking note of the diversity of women and their roles and circumstances, honouring the women who paved the way and inspired by the hope present in the world's youth,

5. Recognize that the status of women has advanced in some important respects in the past decade but that progress has been uneven, inequalities between women and men have persisted and major obstacles remain, with serious consequences for the well-being of all people,

6. Also recognize that this situation is exacerbated by the increasing poverty that is affecting the lives of the majority of the world's people, in particular women and children, with origins in both the national and international domains,

7. Dedicate ourselves unreservedly to addressing these constraints and obstacles and thus enhancing further the advancement and empowerment of women all over the world, and agree that this requires urgent action in the spirit of determination, hope, cooperation and solidarity, now and to carry us forward into the next century.

We reaffirm our commitment to:

8. The equal rights and inherent human dignity of women and men and other purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, to the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights and other international human rights instruments, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and the Declaration on the Right to Development;

9. Ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

10. Build on consensus and progress made at previous United Nations conferences and summits - on women in Nairobi in 1985, on children in New York in 1990, on environment and development in Rio de Janeiro in1992, on human rights in Vienna in 1993, on population and development in Cairo in 1994 and on social development in Copenhagen in 1995 with the objective of achieving equality, development and peace;

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11. Achieve the full and effective implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;

12. The empowerment and advancement of women, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief, thus contributing to the moral, ethical, spiritual and intellectual needs of women and men, individually or in community with others and thereby guaranteeing them the possibility of realizing their full potential in society and shaping their lives in accordance with their own aspirations.

We are convinced that:

13. Women's empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society, including participation in the decision-making process and access to power, are fundamental for the achievement of equality, development and peace;

14. Women's rights are human rights;

15. Equal rights, opportunities and access to resources, equal sharing of responsibilities for the family by men and women, and a harmonious partnership between them are critical to their well-being and that of their families as well as to the consolidation of democracy;

16. Eradication of poverty based on sustained economic growth, social development, environmental protection and social justice requires the involvement of women in economic and social development, equal opportunities and the full and equal participation of women and men as agents and beneficiaries of people-centred sustainable development;

17. The explicit recognition and reaffirmation of the right of all women to control all aspects of their health, in particular their own fertility, is basic to their empowerment;

18. Local, national, regional and global peace is attainable and is inextricably linked with the advancement of women, who are a fundamental force for leadership, conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting peace at all levels;

19. It is essential to design, implement and monitor, with the full participation of women, effective, efficient and mutually reinforcing gender-sensitive policies and programmes, including development policies and programmes, at all levels that will foster the empowerment and advancement of women;

20. The participation and contribution of all actors of civil society, particularly women's groups and networks and other non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, with full respect for their autonomy, in cooperation with Governments, are important to the effective implementation and follow-up of the Platform for Action;

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Platform for Action

21. The implementation of the Platform for Action requires commitment from Governments and the international community. By making national and international commitments for action, including those made at the Conference, Governments and the international community recognize the need to take priority action for the empowerment and advancement of women.

We are determined to:

22. Intensify efforts and actions to achieve the goals of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women by the end of this century;

23. Ensure the full enjoyment by women and the girl child of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and take effective action against violations of these rights and freedoms;

24. Take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and the girl child and remove all obstacles to gender equality and the advancement and empowerment of women;

25. Encourage men to participate fully in all actions towards equality;

26. Promote women's economic independence, including employment, and eradicate the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women by addressing the structural causes of poverty through changes in economic structures, ensuring equal access for all women, including those in rural areas, as vital development agents, to productive resources, opportunities and public services;

27. Promote people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth, through the provision of basic education, life-long education, literacy and training, and primary health care for girls and women;

28. Take positive steps to ensure peace for the advancement of women and, recognizing the leading role that women have played in the peace movement, work actively towards general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control, and support negotiations on the conclusion, without delay, of a universal and multilaterally and effectively verifiable comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty which contributes to nuclear disarmament and the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects;

29. Prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls;

30. Ensure equal access to and equal treatment of women and men in education and health care and enhance women's sexual and reproductive health as well as education;

31. Promote and protect all human rights of women and girls;

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32. Intensify efforts to ensure equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all women and girls who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability, or because they are indigenous people;

33. Ensure respect for international law, including humanitarian law, in order to protect women and girls in particular;

34. Develop the fullest potential of girls and women of all ages, ensure their full and equal participation in building a better world for all and enhance their role in the development process.

We are determined to:

35. Ensure women's equal access to economic resources, including land, credit, science and technology, vocational training, information, communication and markets, as a means to further the advancement and empowerment of women and girls, including through the enhancement of their capacities to enjoy the benefits of equal access to these resources, interalia, by means of international cooperation;

36. Ensure the success of the Platform for Action, which will require a strong commitment on the part of Governments, international organizations and institutions at all levels. We are deeply convinced that economic development, social development and environmental protection are interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development, which is the framework for our efforts to achieve a higher quality of life for all people. Equitable social development that recognizes empowering the poor, particularly women living in poverty, to utilize environmental resources sustainably is a necessary foundation for sustainable development. We also recognize that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social justice. The success of the Platform for Action will also require adequate mobilization of resources at the national and international levels as well as new and additional resources to the developing countries from all available funding mechanisms, including multilateral, bilateral and private sources for the advancement of women; financial resources to strengthen the capacity of national, subregional, regional and international institutions; a commitment to equal rights, equal responsibilities and equal opportunities and to the equal participation of women and men in all national, regional and international bodies and policy-making processes; and the establishment or strengthening of mechanisms at all levels for accountability to the world's women;

37. Ensure also the success of the Platform for Action in countries with economies in transition, which will require continued international cooperation and assistance;

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38. We hereby adopt and commit ourselves as Governments to implement the following Platform for Action, ensuring that a gender perspective is reflected in all our policies and programmes. We urge the United Nations system, regional and international financial institutions, other relevant regional and international institutions and all women and men, as well as non-governmental organizations, with full respect for their autonomy, and all sectors of civil society, in cooperation with Governments, to fully commit themselves and contribute to the implementation of this Platform for Action.

Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/

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HABITAT AGENDA United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II)

3 - 14 June 1996, Istanbul, Turkey Section II: GOALS AND PRINCIPLES 22. The objectives of the Habitat Agenda are in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law.

23. While the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of all States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.

24. Implementation of the Habitat Agenda, including implementation through national laws and development priorities, programmes and policies, is the sovereign right and responsibility of each State in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and taking into account the significance of and with full respect for various religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds, and philosophical convictions of individuals and their communities, contributing to the full enjoyment by all of their human rights in order to achieve the objectives of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development.

25. We, the States participating in the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), are committed to a political, economic, environmental, ethical and spiritual vision of human settlements based on the principles of equality, solidarity, partnership, human dignity, respect and cooperation. We adopt the goals and principles of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world. We believe that attaining these goals will promote a more stable and equitable world that is free from injustice and conflict and will contribute to a just, comprehensive and lasting peace. Civil, ethnic and religious strife, violations of human rights, alien and colonial domination, foreign occupation, economic imbalances, poverty, organized crime, terrorism in all its forms, and corruption are destructive to human settlements and should therefore be denounced and discouraged by all States, which should cooperate to achieve the elimination of such practices and all unilateral measures impeding social and economic development. At the national level we will reinforce peace by promoting tolerance, non-violence and respect for diversity and by settling disputes by peaceful means. At the local level, the prevention of crime and the promotion of sustainable communities are essential to the attainment of safe and secure societies. Crime prevention through social development is one crucial key to these goals. At the international level, we will promote international peace and security and make and support all efforts to settle international disputes by peaceful means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.

26. We reaffirm and are guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring the full realization of the human rights set out in international instruments and in particular, in this context, the right to adequate housing as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and provided for in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, taking into account that the right to adequate housing, as included in the above-

22

mentioned international instruments, shall be realized progressively. We reaffirm that all human rights - civil, cultural, economic, political and social - are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. We subscribe to the principles and goals set out below to guide us in our actions.

[…]

Section IV: GLOBAL PLAN FOR ACTION : STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION A.Introduction 53. Twenty years ago in Vancouver, at the first United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, the world community adopted an agenda for human settlements development. Since then, there have been remarkable changes in population and social, political, environmental and economic circumstances that affect the strategic outlook. These changes have led many Governments to adopt and promote enabling policies to facilitate actions by individuals, families, communities and the private sector to improve human settlements conditions. However, it is estimated that at least one billion human beings still lack adequate shelter and are living in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in developing countries.

54. While the rate of population growth is on the decline, during the past 20 years world population has increased from about 4.2 billion to about 5.7 billion, with nearly one third under 15 years of age and an increasing number of people living in cities. By the turn of the century, humankind will be crossing a threshold where over 50 per cent of the population lives in urban areas. Meeting the needs of the nearly two billion more people expected in the coming two decades and managing human settlements towards sustainability will be a daunting task. In developing countries, in particular, rapid urbanization and the growth of towns, cities and megacities, where public and private resources tend to concentrate, represent new challenges and at the same time new opportunities: there is a need to address the root causes of these phenomena, including rural to urban migration.

55. In the economic sphere, the increasing globalization of the economy means that people in communities are trading in broader markets, and investment funds are more often available from international sources. As a result, the level of economic development has increased in many countries. At the same time, the gap between poor and rich - countries as well as people - has widened, hence the continuing need for partnerships to create a more favourable international economic environment. New communications technology makes information much more widely accessible and accelerates all processes of change. In many societies, new issues of social cohesion and personal security have emerged and the issue of solidarity has become central. Unemployment, environmental degradation, social disintegration and large-scale populations displacements, as well as intolerance, violence, and violation of human rights, have also emerged as critical factors. We must keep these new conditions in view as we draw up human settlements strategies for the first two decades of the twenty-first century.

56. While Habitat II is a conference of States and there is much that national Governments can do to enable local communities to solve problems, the actors who will determine success or failure in improving the human settlements condition are mostly found at the community level in the public, private and non-profit sectors. It is they, local authorities and other interested parties, who are on the front line in achieving the goals of Habitat II. Although the structural causes of problems have often to be dealt with at the national and

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sometimes the international level, progress will depend to a large degree on local authorities, civic engagement and the forging of partnerships at all levels of government with the private sector, the cooperative sector, non-governmental and community-based organizations, workers and employers and civil society at large.

57. Habitat II is one in an extraordinary series of world conferences held under the auspices of the United Nations over the past five years. All addressed important issues of people-centred sustainable development, including sustained economic growth and equity, for which successful implementation requires action at all levels, particularly the local level. Strategies on social, economic, environmental, disaster reduction, population, disability and gender issues will have to be implemented in urban and rural areas - in particular, where the problems are acute and generate tension.

58. At Habitat II, Governments at all levels, the community and the private sector have considered how the achievement of the two principal goals of "Adequate shelter for all" and "Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world" can be furthered at the local level through an enabling process in which individuals, families and their communities play a central role. This is what is special about the global plan of action of Habitat II and the strategies for its implementation. Implementation of these measures will need to be adapted to the specific situation of each country and community.

59. The strategy of the global plan of action is based on enablement, transparency and participation. Under this strategy, government efforts are based on establishing legislative, institutional and financial frameworks that will enable the private sector, non-governmental organizations and community groups to fully contribute to the achievement of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development and enable all women and men to work with each other and in their communities with Governments at all levels to determine their future collectively, decide on priorities for action, identify and allocate resources fairly and build partnerships to achieve common goals. Enablement creates:

(a) A situation in which the full potential and resources of all actors in the process of producing and improving shelter are mobilized;

(b) The conditions for women and men to exercise their individual rights and responsibilities equally and to engage their abilities effectively in activities that will improve and sustain their living environments;

(c) The conditions for organizations and institutions to interact and network, building partnerships for the objectives of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development;

(d) The conditions for self-improvement by all;

(e) The conditions for enhancing international cooperation.

_________ * Whenever the term "Governments" is used, it shall be deemed to include the European Community within its areas of competence.

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[…] C. Sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world

[…] 3. Social development: eradication of poverty, creation of productive employment and social integration

[…]

123. To prevent, reduce and eliminate violence and crime, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in partnership with all interested parties, should:

(a) Design, create and maintain liveable human settlements that encourage the use of public spaces as centres of community life so that they do not become places for criminal activity;

(b) Promote awareness and provide education in an effort to mitigate crime and violence and strengthen society;

(c) Promote crime prevention through social development by finding ways to help communities deal with underlying factors that undermine community safety and result in crime by addressing such critical problems as poverty, inequality, family stress, unemployment, absence of educational and vocational opportunities, and lack of health care, including mental health services;

(d) Encourage youth and children, in particular street children, to become interested parties in their own future and in their community's future through education, recreation, and job training and counselling that can attract private-sector investment and support from non-profit organizations;

(e) Enhance women's safety in communities through the promotion of a gender perspective in crime prevention policies and programmes by increasing in those responsible for implementing those policies the knowledge and understanding of the causes, consequences and mechanisms of violence against women;

(f) Establish programmes designed to improve the skills of local leadership in group facilitation, conflict resolution and intervention;

(g) As appropriate, promote personal security and reduce fear by improving police services, making them more accountable to the communities they serve, and by encouraging and facilitating, whenever appropriate, the formation of lawful community-based crime prevention measures and systems;

(h) Provide accessible, affordable, impartial, prompt and humane local systems of justice by, inter alia, facilitating and strengthening, where appropriate, existing traditional institutions and procedures for the resolution of disputes and conflicts;

(i) Encourage the establishment of programmes and projects based on voluntary participation, especially of children, youth and older persons, to prevent violence, including violence in the home, and crime;

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(j) Take concerted and urgent action to dismantle international and national sex trafficking networks.

124. To protect vulnerable and disadvantaged people, Governments at the appropriate levels, in partnership with all interested parties, should work together to:

(a) Adopt integrated, transparent and gender-sensitive environmental, social and economic policies and programmes for distressed areas and areas characterized by social exclusion;

(b) Facilitate the participation of local organizations, including elder councils, women's groups, people's movements, youth groups, children's groups and organizations of people with disabilities and other organizations based in the community, in the decision-making processes concerning social welfare programmes;

(c) Promote and establish operational partnerships with social welfare and community development initiatives;

(d) Improve the planning and design of human settlements so as to respond specifically to the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged people, especially people with disabilities.

9. Improving urban economies

[…]

161. To strengthen urban economies so that they may be competitive in a globalizing economy, Governments at the appropriate levels, including local authorities, in consultation with all interested parties, should, inter alia:

(a) Improve education and enhance job training in order to improve the quality of the local workforce;

(b) Support the restructuring of local industries, where appropriate, develop urban infrastructure and services, promote a reliable, efficient and environmentally sound supply of energy and enhance telecommunication networks;

(c) Review and revise, as appropriate, the regulatory framework in order to attract private investment;

(d) Prevent crime and enhance public safety in order to make urban areas more attractive for economic, social and cultural activities;

(e) Encourage sound financial practices at all levels of government;

(f) Promote legislative action that may be necessary to implement the above.

[…]

Available at: http://www.unchs.org/unchs/english/hagenda/

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RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY POLITICAL DECLARATION S-23/2.

“Beijing + 5” Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st Century 23rd Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly

10 June 2000, New York, United States of America

Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly

[on the report of the Ad Hoc Committee of the Whole of the Twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly (A/S-23/10/Rev.1)]

S-23/2. Political declaration The General Assembly Adopts the political declaration annexed to the present resolution. Annex Political declaration We the Governments participating in the special session of the General Assembly 1. Reaffirm our commitment to the goals and objectives contained in the Beijing Declaration4 and Platform

for Action,5 adopted in 1995 at the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women to the year 2000 as the culmination of the United Nations Decade for Women, 1976 to 1985;6

2. Also reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the twelve critical areas of concern in the Beijing Platform for Action, which are women and poverty, education and training of women, women and health, violence against women, women and armed conflict, women and the economy, women in power and decision-making, institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women, human rights of women, women and the media, women and the environment, and the girl child; and call for the implementation of the agreed conclusions and resolutions on the follow-up to the Fourth World

4 Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 4-15 September 1995 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.96.IV.13), chap. I, resolution 1, annex I. 5 Ibid., annex II. 6 Report of the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, Nairobi, 15-26 July 1985 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.85.IV.10), chap. I, sect. A.

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Conference on Women adopted by the Commission on the Status of Women since the fortieth session of the Commission;

3. Recognize that we have primary responsibility for the full implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and all the relevant commitments for the advancement of women, and, in this connection, call for continued international cooperation, including the reaffirmation to strive to fulfill the yet to be attained internationally agreed target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of developed countries for overall official development assistance as soon as possible;

4. Welcome the progress made thus far towards gender equality and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and reaffirm out commitment to accelerate the achievement of universal ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women7 and in this regard acknowledge the efforts at all levels of the Governments, the United Nations system, and intergovernmental, other international and regional organizations and urge continued efforts for the full implementations of the Beijing Platform for Action;

5. Recognize the role and contribution of civil society, in particular non-governmental organizations and women'’ organizations, in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and encourage their participation in further implementation and assessment processes;

6. Emphasize that men must involve themselves and take joint responsibility with women for the promotion of gender equality;

7. Reaffirm the importance of mainstreaming a gender perspective in the process of implementation of the outcome of other major United Nations conferences and summits and the need for a coordinated follow-up to all major conferences and summits by Governments, regional organizations, and all of the bodies and organizations of the United Nations system within their respective mandates. We the Governments, at the beginning of the new millennium,

8. Reaffirm our commitment to overcoming obstacles encountered in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women and to strengthening the safeguarding a national and international enabling environment, and to this end pledge to undertake further action to ensure their full and accelerated implementation, inter alia, through the promotion and protection of all human rights fundamental freedoms, mainstreaming a gender perspective into all policies and programmes and promoting full participation and empowerment of women and enhanced international cooperation for the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action;

7 Resolution 34/180, Annex.

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9. Agree to assess regularly further implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action with a view to bringing together all parties involved in 2005 to assess progress and consider new initiatives, as appropriate, ten years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action and twenty years after the adoption of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women;

10. Pledge to ensure the realization of societies in which both women and men work together towards a world wher e every individual can enjoy equality, development and peace in the twenty-first century.

Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/ress232e.pdf

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UN-HABITAT Governing Council Nineteenth session Resolutions 19/12 Decentralization and strengthening of local authorities

19/13 Enhancing the engagement of youth in the work of UN Habitat 19/16 Women's role and rights in human settlements development and slum upgrading

5-9 May 2003, Nairobi, Kenya

19/13. Enhancing the engagement of youth in the work of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme The Governing Council, Recalling the United Nations Millennium Declaration and its important goals and targets pertaining to youth, Recalling its resolution 18/3 of 16 February 2001, which invites all relevant stakeholders and partners to formalize partnerships with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) with a view to realizing the goals of the secure tenure and urban governance campaigns, Recalling its resolutions 17/19 of 14 May 1999 and 18/8 of 16 February 2001 on partnership with youth, Recalling General Assembly resolution 50/81 of 14 December 1995 in which the General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond; and aware of the outcome of the review at the forty-first session of the Commission for Social Development of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the global situation of social groups including the youth, Acknowledging that in paragraph 170 of its Plan of Implementation the World Summit on Sustainable Development resolved to "promote and support youth participation and activities relating to sustainable development through, for example, supporting local youth councils or their equivalent, and by encouraging their establishment where they do not exist", Taking note of the Declaration on Cities and other Human Settlements in the New Millennium6 of the twenty-fifth special session of the General Assembly, for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda, which called for intensification of efforts towards enhancing the role of youth, Noting with appreciation the partnerships already established by UN-HABITAT with several bilateral donors on undertaking urban youth development programmes focusing on crime prevention and employment generation, Noting the establishment by the Executive Director of a Partners and Youth Section as a mechanism to support and advance the engagement of youth organizations in the work of the Programme,

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Noting also the UN-HABITAT global campaign on urban governance, which promotes the involvement of youth in local governance; as well as the activities of UN-HABITAT in support of vulnerable urban youth within the framework of the Safer Cities Programme, Considering the implementation of related youth programmes by various United Nations agencies and in specific the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Enviroment Programme and the United Nations Children's Fund, and the need to enhance inter-agency coordination on UN-HABITAT's work programme elements on youth employment and youth crime prevention at the city level,

1. Requests the Executive Director to continue to strengthen and advance the work programme of UN-HABITAT in the engagement of youth in urban governance and in addressing the problem of youth at risk, and to develop actions with special focus on capacity-building and poverty alleviation;

2. Also requests the Executive Director to ensure the active participation of UN-HABITAT in the

Secretary General's initiative on youth employment, in the framework of the United Nations Millennium Declaration goal of improving the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020;

3. Also requests the Executive Director to develop a Global Partnership Initiative on Urban Youth

Development in Africa, in partnership with other relevant United Nations agencies, such as the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Childrens Fund, as well as, multilateral institutions and private foundations, in the context of the New Partnership for Africa's Development;

4. Requests the Executive Director to establish an interim youth consultative mechanism to contribute

to the work of UN-HABITAT and to initiate the development of a draft strategy on enhancing the engagement of youth and youth organisations including Youth for Habitat International Network in the work of UN-HABITAT, to be submitted to the Governing Council at its twentieth session, in 2005;

5. Invites Governments to support and enable the participation of youth in national and local activities

related to human settlements development, including through the formulation of integrated, gender-sensitive and cross-sectoral youth policies at the local level and through supporting the development of local youth plans of action targeting vulnerable groups;

6. Invites Governments to develop programmes to sensitize and educate youth in sustainable

development, particularly in matters of human settlements. 7. Encourages Governments, as appropriate, to allocate financial resources for protection,

rehabilitation and reintegration of urban children and urban youth at risk;

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8. Invites Governments, non-governmental and private-sector organizations and international financial institutions to provide or increase their support to the activities of UN-HABITAT on urban youth development programmes;

9. Requests the Executive Director to report to it at its next session progress made in the

implementation of the present resolution. 19/16. Women's role and rights in human settlements development and slum upgrading The Governing Council, Recalling the commitment made by Governments in the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements to ensure the full and equal participation of all women and men and the effective participation of youth in political, economic and social life, Recognizing that the empowerment of women and their full and equal participation in political, social and economic life, the improvement of health and the eradication of poverty are essential to achieving sustainable human settlements (resolution 17/11 of 14 May 1999), Bearing in mind the importance that the Habitat Agenda, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), places on women's equal access to adequate housing, land and property, and the importance of all actors adopting and implementing policies, laws and programmes aimed at the realization of these rights, Recalling paragraph 23 of the Habitat Agenda, which states that, "[w]hile the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of all States to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development", Recalling further paragraph 24 of the Habitat Agenda, which states that "implementation of the Habitat Agenda, including implementation through national laws and development priorities, programmes and policies, is the sovereign right and responsibility of each State in conformity with all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, and taking into account the significance of and with full respect for various religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of individuals and their communities, contributing to the full enjoyment by all of their human rights in order to achieve the objectives of adequate shelter for all and sustainable human settlements development", Recalling the Commission on Human Rights resolutions 2000/13 of 17 April 2000, 2001/34 of 23 April 2001, 2002/49 of 23 April 2002 and 2003/22 of 22 April 2003 on women's equal ownership of, access to and control over land and the equal rights to own property and to adequate housing, as well as the emphasis placed on women's equal access to land, credit, adequate shelter and basic services in the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

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Stressing that the impact of gender-based discrimination and violence against women on women's equal access to adequate housing, land and property is acute, particularly during complex emergency situations, reconstruction and rehabilitation, Also recalling the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women, Mindful of the commitment to formulate and strengthen policies and practices to promote the full and equal participation of women in human settlements, planning and decision-making, made in the Habitat Agenda (inter alia, paragraph 184), and reaffirmed in the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium 6 (inter alia, paragraph 44), Mindful also that in its resolution 16/6 of 7 May 1997 on women in human settlements development, the Habitat Commission had requested the creation of a Gender Coordinating Unit directly under the Executive Director in order to mainstream the gender perspective in all policies, projects, programmes and activities of the Centre (also resolution 17/11 of 14 May 1999), Bearing in mind the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the resolve to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways of combating poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate development that is truly sustainable (paragraph 20), Recalling also the Goal in the Millennium Declaration of making a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020, Recognizing that women form a large proportion of the urban poor, especially those living in slums, Recognizing also that urban poor women and children are particularly severely affected by unlawful forced evictions and emphasizing the need for promoting policy alternatives to unlawful forced evictions through the campaigns on secure tenure and urban governance, Bearing in mind also the importance of the empowerment of women in the fight against HIV/AIDS, Emphasizing that gender mainstreaming is a priority for the whole of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT),

1. Requests the Executive Director, in developing and implementing UN-HABITAT gender policy, to promote the full integration of gender perspectives in all activities of UN-HABITAT, especially in the campaigns on secure tenure and urban governance and in slum upgrading projects;

2. Requests the Executive Director in consultation with Governments to develop or, where they

already exist, to strengthen mechanisms for monitoring the impact of human settlement policies and programmes on the lives and work of women in cities, especially those in low-income areas and slums, as well as strengthening women's networks and other organizations active in this area;

3. Invites Governments to increase financial and other assistance to UN-HABITAT to enable the

Programme to strengthen the mainstreaming of gender issues and the work of the Gender Coordinating Unit, in particular in support of gender-specific slum upgrading projects and especially

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those related to employment creation, women's empowerment, housing improvement and property rights;

4. Also requests Governments to promote and protect women's equal access to adequate housing,

property and land including rights to inheritance, and to secure access to credit through appropriate constitutional, legislative and administrative measures;

5. Encourages Governments to support the transformation of customs and practices that discriminate

against women and deny women security of tenure and equal ownership of, access to and control over land and equal rights to own property and to adequate housing;

6. Urges Governments to address the issue of forced relocation and forced evictions30 from home and

land, and to eliminate its disproportionate impact on women; 7. Urges Governments to promote the effective participation of women in human settlements planning

and development at all levels of government and in particular to utilize the untapped resources and knowledge of urban, poor women in local community development;

8. Also urges Governments to ensure gender sensitive implementation of slum upgrading programmes

and in particular to emphasize poor women’s rights and equal access to adequate housing and land and need for secure tenure, basic amenities and income generating activities and education and measures to protect women and girls against violence;

9. Requests Governments to promote credit schemes for shelter and income generating activities that

are affordable to poor women in particular those affected by HIV/AIDS; 10. Also requests the Executive Director to include a report on the implementation of the present

resolution in her progress report to the Governing Council at its twentieth and future sessions. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/governingbodies/gcreport_annex1a.asp

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CONFERENCE ON THE REDUCTION OF URBAN SAFETY Council Of Europe

Barcelona, 17-20 November 1987 INTRODUCTION 1. Approximately 800 persons, including mayors and representatives of local and regional authorities in Europe; officials from national and city administrations; representatives of police services and associations; magistrates and representatives of prison administrations; members of university and research institutes; organisations concerned with youth policies; specialists dealing with rehabilitation of victims and offenders; members of the medical profession concerned with drug abuse; officials and experts responsible for the physical and social urban environment, e.g. architects and town planners, representatives of community associations and groups, social workers, etc, met at Barcelona from17-20 November 1987 to take part in an international Conference on “the reduction of urban insecurity”. 2. The Conference was organised by the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe (CLRAE) and the City of Barcelona with the support of its Commission for Urban Security. 3. The participants came together to discuss local policies for the reduction of urban insecurity, covering six main areas: i. the social development of neighbourhoods, participation and the reduction of insecurity and urban violence; ii. local policies and experiences concerning the rehabilitation of victims and offenders; iii. statistics, data banks, victimisation surveys and the possibility of creating a European data bank for security and crime prevention; iv. the role of the police, particularly their relationship with the community as a whole and the participation of local authorities in the action of police services; v. the relationship between the urban physical environment and the reduction of insecurity, e.g. town planning measures which might be taken to reduce the level of urban delinquency; vi. the relationship between drug abuse and crime; and local authority policies for the prevention of drug abuse. 4. Major statements on these themes were made by invited national, regional and local political figures; the themes were examined in working sessions and case studies were presented from different towns in Europe highlighting significant innovative approaches to deal with urban delinquency.

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The participants: 5.- Wish to record their gratitude to the Standing Conference (CLRAE) of Local and Regional Authorities

of Europe and the City of Barcelona for having organised the Conference and to the cities which hosted the preparatory seminars for the Conference themes (London, Montpellier, Barcelona, Turin and the Hague);

6.- Recall the objectives of the Conference as an exchange of information and experience between local

authorities on policies and strategies for dealing with urban insecurity and violence; 7.- Recall Resolution 163 of the Standing Conference on “Security in Towns”; 8.- Approve the development of the urban policies work programme of the Council of Europe based on

the principles of the European Campaign for Urban Renaissance which highlighted strategies aimed at improving the quality of urban life and note that a fundamental part of this work programme, currently conducted by the Standing Conference is based, in part, on the organisation of international conferences;

9.- Support the results of the Strasbourg Hearing on “Urban Violence and Insecurity: the Role of Local

Policies”, September 1986 which represented a major united international attempt to explore the range of local policies for the prevention of crime in urban areas;

10.- Welcome the national institutions which have been created in some member countries to deal with

crime prevention in a co-ordinated way, bringing together the different actors, officers and public authorities responsible for crime prevention;

11.- Welcome the present Conference and its six themes as an in-depth attempt to examine the

interrelationships of crime prevention policies in European towns and valuing the professional exchange of contact made possible by it;

12.- Wish to mark their concern at the levels of violence and delinquency in European towns and

underlining that crime results in loss, injury and emotional distress to victims and their families; 13.- - Believing that there is no liberty without security and that crime prevention should top the political

agenda; 14.- - Wishing for the purposes of this Conference to define crime as being that concerned with petty and

general delinquency and vandalism, these constituting the main sources of insecurity, rather than organised crime or political terrorism;

15.- Considering that there is insufficient transfer of knowledge between countries; 16.- Believe that levels of crime can be reduced if different approaches and attitudes are adopted; 17.- Wish to present the following conclusions, structured around:

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A. an analysis of the current situation of local authorities in combating crime; B. proposals for future local policies and strategies; C. recommendations to member countries of the Council of Europe and its Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities. A. ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN COMBATTING CRIME

General 1 In many of the industrial democracies, police statistics suggest dramatic rises in common crime over the last twenty years. Such crime, a particularly urban phenomenon, has its roots in social and economic causes (social alienation, high unemployment, urban decay, racial problems) producing frustration, bitterness, and anger, especially among deprived and under-privileged groups. Studies show crime rates to be highest in poor, disadvantaged areas, where access to recreational, health and educational services may be lacking, where poor-quality and crowded housing conditions exist. 2. On top of the objective reality of urban delinquency, there is a high level of subjective fear of crime felt by the local population. This feeling of insecurity, the fear of crime and the fear of being a victim of crime are the major concerns of town dwellers. It is an anxiety which does not necessarily stem from the most serious crimes, but primarily from minor offences, which accumulate and potentially affect every member of the community. 3. Although crime prevention is well studied and documented, there is still no significant advance in reducing the level of delinquency. Central and local government are not always capable of analysing or dealing effectively with the complicated causes, for a variety of reasons; for example, local authorities do not always have up-to-date information on current techniques dealing with crime in urban areas; there is inadequate transfer of information between the different categories and sectors of professionals called upon to deal with the problem. Above all, the process of implementation of existing machinery is difficult, because of the traditional divisions between different sectors, creating inefficiency, irrational use of manpower, equipment and money and leading to recrimination between the various professions involved. Such deficiencies lead to a growing lack of confidence of the public in the criminal justice system and occasionally give rise to a fortress-like mentality and the privatisation of security, a particularly dangerous response implying that authorities have relinquished their own responsibilities.

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4. In relation to the six themes of the Conference: i. The social development of neighbourhoods

The concentration in the same neighbourhood of sections of the population which have increasingly difficult economic and social problems has caused, in many countries, deterioration of the social fabric and of the sense of community, in themselves necessary if delinquency and the sentiment of insecurity are to be reduced. Such communities are characterised by an accumulation of factors such as: - a breakdown of family life; - the loss of community identity and the development of a feeling of alienation; - the lack of involvement of tenants in the management of housing; - the lack of collective facilities (creche, leisure, sport facilities etc); - an increase in scholastic absenteeism, problems at school and academic failure; - lack of respect of social, racial and ethnic differences; - particular problems of specific groups (women, elderly people etc) - above all, acute problems of youth unemployment.

Although social development of neighbourhoods is generally recognised as a method which will help reduce levels of delinquency, it cannot be achieved in an efficient manner without the development of national and regional policies for employment, social protection, housing and integration of ethnic minorities, or without the real participation of inhabitants in changes in their living conditions. ii. The reinsertion of offenders and the rehabilitation of victims

Shortcomings exist in the reinsertion and rehabilitation of victims and offenders. Too often, too much emphasis and financial support is placed on a punitive system rather than a system of reinsertion and rehabilitation.

This exaggerated emphasis on the use of imprisonment is expensive: the cost of associated buildings and of the running of prisons is high. iii. Statistics, data banks and victimisation surveys

Not enough information or data exists for the public and professional authorities on the scope and incidence of crime and where this exists, it is not sufficiently well co-ordinated or used.

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Calculating the real incidence of crime is rendered difficult by the absence of accurate victimisation surveys. iv. The role of the police The police play both a repressive and preventive role. Although prevention is not the responsibility of the police alone, it must take the lead in encouraging good crime prevention action by the public.

The closer the police can be involved with the public in their daily work, the better will be the level of crime prevention. Good police/public relations must be pursued by the police and the local authorities. Crime prevention campaigns conducted by the police are equal2y effective at national and local level but must be complementary.

Police and local authorities must be aware of crime prevention measures taking place internationally so that they can identify and adopt best practice. v. The physical urban environment

There is a direct correlation between crime and housing, in terms of its layout, standards, maintenance and types of management.

Certain forms of urban development, e.g. high-rite tower blocks, inadequate open space, poor

quality of the urban environment have an adverse effect on human behaviour. The importance of good quality urban space as a means of maintaining psychological equilibrium is

not always respected. A badly conceived housing policy (demolition and rehousing elsewhere of inhabitants) leads to the

loss of the familiar environment, creates a climate of tension and insecurity, provokes a breakdown of collective life and can lead to a growth in delinquency.

Yet despite this realisation, urban planning and design have until comparatively recently paid little

attention to safety in cities and few professionals have any training or experience in planning and designing for safe and secure communities. vi. Policies for dealing with drug misuse

Drug. misuse and delinquency contribute to the climate of insecurity in our cities. However, and despite the fact that there is an obvious relationship between drug misuse and delinquency, links of causality between these two phenomena are difficult to identify. The same psychosocial problems often underlie both delinquency and drug misuse.

Within drug-related delinquency, it is important to clearly distinguish direct delinquency, i.e.

offences committed under the effect of a substance, and indirect delinquency, which aims at obtaining money to finance drug misuse, and inducted delinquency in as far as drug misuse itself is regarded as a crime.

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Drug misuse, because it takes place outside socially accepted behaviour, may be a first step or an accelerating factor in a criminal career.

The community often lacks reliable, accurate information on the real size and nature of the drug

misuse problem because of the illegal and underground character of misuse and because the indicators available are limited and partial, and the statistical system is inadequate. Moreover, official data reflect the action of the public sector at a given moment rather than the real extent of the phenomenon. This makes it more difficult to formulate effective policies in this field. In the absence of objective information and of reliable data, public perceptions of the phenomena may become exaggerated by rumours or underestimated by the silence which is sometimes chosen to hide the problem. Both rumours and silence reflect attempts by the population to respond to this problem and must be taken into consideration when formulating policies. B. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE FOREGOING ANALYSIS, PARTICIPANTS WISH TO SUGGEST THAT: 1. A stronger political will and, above all, new policy instruments are required to bring a greater and more effective response to urban delinquency; 2. Cutting back persistent violent offenders requires targeted intervention in family, youth employment, school and housing; 3. Prevention policies imply co-ordination of policies for justice, education, teaching, training, employment, health, culture, housing and leisure; 4. There is a need for an overall departmental inter-institutional and inter-disciplinary scheme worked out jointly by central, regional and local government, i.e. a concerted approach looking at prevention and rehabilitation; 5. It is necessary to devise a thorough knowledge of mechanisms which generate, alter and alleviate the feeling of insecurity. Equally, it is important to identify which social groups are most seriously affected by the problem; 6. Dealing effectively with crime prevention means major investment in inner cities and co-operation to this end between the public and private sectors; 7. The underlying aim should be a new concept of urban order drawing on public support and co-ordination between the police and the various institutions with a view to replacing, at least in part, a punitive system by one for prevention, rehabilitation and compensation; 8. Special measures are required to resolve the fear, and not just the reality, of crime; 9. A national comprehensive approach is not always capable of being adapted to a variety of local situations; pragmatic field related policies are just as important, particularly if conducted at local level.

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Local authorities are best able to conduct an approach dealing comprehensively with alternatives to imprisonment, community policing, combating illiteracy, promoting civic education and dealing with research and communication; 10. Preference should be given to programmes for small-scale, diversified ventures tailored to the local situation in each district, in preference to “mass” prevention; 11. Training periods conducted in common for different social workers and planners and policemen should be organised, not in order to provide them with ready-made solutions which they merely have to apply, but to teach them to diagnose the problems facing them and to prepare an action programme to be carried out jointly; 12. Security and crime prevention are not only a matter for "specialists" but for the entire community; 13. Conciliation agencies at local level for minor petty disputes could be created; 14. Recommend in particular, in relation to the six themes of the Conference: i. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF NEIGHBOURHOODS

The social development of neighbourhoods is a necessary step in the prevention and reduction of delinquency. It implies: Participation of inhabitants

The participation of inhabitants should be at the basis of all programmes for community and social

development of neighbourhoods; those include programmes for environmental improvement,, involvement in the planning, manning and development of public services, the creation of workshops aimed at stimulating employment.

Partnership and co-ordination of services

The social development of neighbourhoods implies work in concert between administration, civic

amenity groups, associations of inhabitants and the population in order to achieve a synergy in the improvement of the living conditions of inhabitants.

This co-operation between different partners works best if the representatives of the different

institutions working within neighbourhoods are, as far as possible, localised in these neighourhoods. This is particularly true for training and recycling programmes, social development schemes,

general work of prevention and in respect of police services which should try to achieve a balance between the necessary knowledge of a neighbourhood and its population and the obligation to maintain a minimum of independence in relation to the local population.

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Such partnership means new methods of professional organisation, new attitudes and new procedures; it means the establishment of training programmes derived through reference to common norms as defined, for example, by a European research and training centre.

Decentralisation and neighbourhood democracy

Effective participation of inhabitants and the co-ordination of action of different partners in major

urban areas also implies a political organisation of towns which takes into consideration the requirements of democracy at all levels, including that at the level of neighbourhoods (local neighbourhood mayors, neighbourhood and residents’ associations).

The important role of the state

In addition to its particular responsibilities in respect of employment, social protection etc, central

administration has an important responsibility in terms of the social development of neighbourhoods, particularly in respect of a global analysis of problems, dissemination of information and experience, the evaluation of programmes and actions.

In order to fulfil these responsibilities, it is necessary to encourage contracts between central,

regional and local governments with a financial, logistical and administrative support.

Combat ting scholastic absenteeism and problems at school Educational and training achievement and level is of fundamental importance in determining access

to jobs. In this perspective, work should be conducted in order to promote the involvement and intervention of different partners in and around the school; opening of the school to its economic and cultural environment, in order to obtain an improvement in the level of educational attainment of young people.

Combating scholastic absenteeism and scholastic problems means more co-operation between

teachers, parents and schoolchildren. The action of young people, themselves having experienced scholastic difficulties, in support of

other members of their family, also is of value. It is often necessary to develop activities aimed at improving the social capacity of young people, as

a prerequisite of any action concerning professional qualifications and employment. Such action is aimed at helping young people in difficulty to be more socially at ease (information on administrative procedures, etc).

Promoting activities of and by young people

It is indispensable that programmes be developed which aim at the encouragement of initiatives by

young people themselves, within their own neighbourhoods. Such initiatives would help young people to be involved direct]y with social change and

development of their neighbourhood and permit them, through the acquisition of knowledge of new technology, to help affirm their own identity.

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This could take the form of various activities, ranging from participation in housing rehabilitation,

improvement of public and open space, development of political and sporting activities (outside organised sporting federations), activities of cultural development, such as music, theatre or in the communication industry, e.g. running of local radio stations etc.

Integration of ethnic minorities

In harmony with national policies for the integration of foreign communities, the social

development of neighbourhoods should include the participation of ethnic minorities in the daily life of their areas.

The different ways of life of such communities, constituting an enrichment of the social

environment, should be respected and if necessary particular measures taken in order to guarantee the individual expression of these communities. Such actions should take particularly into consideration:

- housing questions, in avoiding too heavy concentrations of disadvantaged groups, itself conducive to social rejection; - training and teaching, combining a rapid understanding of the language of the host country with the maintenance of minimum links with original cultures. ii. LOCAL STRATEGIES FOR THE REINSERTION OF DELINQUENTS AND

REHABILITATION OF VICTIMS The prevention of urban insecurity cannot be left to state bodies alone but is a collective

responsibility, as emphasised in the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted on 23 June 1983, on public participation in criminal policy.

The policy of participation should be prepared and implemented in local consultative bodies

characterised by co-operation between different parties. These bodies should seek the rehabilitation of victims, i.e. avoid all forms of exclusion by

promoting their access to different forms of assistance (judicial, health, social, education, psychological support, occupational retraining...).

The rehabilitation of delinquents and victims are not independent questions but are linked by the

interaction of their effects. Promoting rehabilitation of delinquents reduces the likelihood of recidivism and the risk of creating new victims. Helping victims helps with public acceptance of a criminal policy stressing rehabilitation of delinquents.

A special effort is called for from local authorities which, in consultation with the judicial

authorities, should set up structures of conciliation between victims and delinquents adapted to the specific situation of the districts in a municipality and aimed at recreating a peaceful society and communication between citizens:

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In respect of the rehabilitation of victims National agencies for victims support to provide information, advice and emotional support for

victims of crime and their families should be established. This should be made up of representatives from different sectors (police, social services, medical services and voluntary agencies) working with interested individuals.

All agencies which come into contact with victims of crime and offenders should be aware of the

effects of crime and take all necessary steps to ensure that the victims’ interests are protected at all times. Information about the effects of crime and the needs of victims should be published widely amongst

the public. Information and advice about the process of criminal justice and available sources of compensation

and support be provided to all victims of crime at the earliest opportunity. The principle of full compensation of victims’ damages, whatever their origins, be confirmed as am

objective for European countries.

In respect of the reinsertion of offenders Prisons should only be used as a last resort. Local government has a considerable role to play:

- in working, in collaboration with the courts and other appropriate bodies, to develop a range of non-custodial alternatives to prison, such as community service work, and in pressing for legislation to facilitate the use of such measures; - in the care and resettlement of offenders in the community; - in working in partnership with the appropriate organisations to ensure that every offender has somewhere to live and has all the basic requirements needed to live a normal life, and that those offenders who have special needs can use sheltered accommodation; - in acting as major employers and service providers and in ensuring equal opportunities for people from an offending background; - in promoting partnership between prison and the local community; - in providing, or helping others to provide, employment opportunities for offenders, including measures for providing access and advice towards the labour market, vocational training and education opportunities, direct employment schemes; - in providing qualified outside staff to offer their services inside prisons.

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In order that these objectives be attained: - it is important to develop effective training adapted to all who may become involved with victims and offenders (police, judges, various social workers, local authority employees, volunteers); - public authorities and persons with local responsibilities should be encouraged to implement a communication and information policy likely to aid public acceptance of these policies and promote its active participation; - relevant studies and research should be made available to those persons with local responsibilities in the matter to help them determine policies appropriate to their problems and subsequently evaluate their action.

iii. STATISTICS: DATA BANKS, VICTIMISATION SURVEYS

There is an increased need for information networks, development of statistics, enquiries and

studies. Adequate crime prediction ensuring that a crime prevention policy is well targeted, calls for a thorough knowledge of the facts, to identify the major crime trends prevailing in the city.

If policies are to succeed, it is necessary to provide the public with hard facts about crime and elicit

their active involvement at all levels (analysis and understanding of crime, prevention, punishment, rehabilitation, reinforcement of sentences).

Special courses for schoolchildren on the impact of vandalism should be instituted, using a

standardised teaching package. Information schemes could be developed, e.g. tours and official openings of projects associated with

crime prevention, exhibitions, a municipal newsletter, videocassettes. The files of the International Crime Prevention Information Network in The Hague (members:

organisations from Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Sweden, the World Society of Victimology and the UN-affiliated institute HEUNI in Helsinki) should be made available to local authorities and that local reports be entered. The network should provide for the information to be stored, and, at a later stage should seek to distribute other categories of relevant information on projects, statistical data sets and original reports.

In Europe, population surveys are now widely used, not only to assess the level of criminal

victimisation but also to measure the attitudes of the public towards crime and crime policies of various sorts. Such surveys are particularly welcomed in large cities, whose inhabitants, because of fear of crime, in particular amongst those who have been personally victimised by crime, there is a readiness to participate in crime prevention policies.

In order to monitor and evaluate objectively local crime prevention or victim assistance projects,

local crime surveys are an indispensable tool. The relevance of local evaluation studies would be greatly enhanced if a set of standardised core questions on experiences and attitudes were to be available and be generally applied.

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It is of great importance to conduct a standardised crime survey amongst the urban population of all

member countries using the same research methods. Such a survey would, for the first time, yield reliable statistical indicators on the impact of crime and would put the crime problems of the member countries into a European perspective. Such international comparisons would also lead to a better understanding of the social causes of crime, fear of crime and of the effectiveness of national crime policies.

iv. POLICE

In order to achieve maximum results in the prevention of crime all agencies of local authorities must

work in contact with the police. Since uniformed foot patrols are perceived by the public as the best police methods for preventing

local crime, their increase is likely to produce improved public co-operation with the police in achieving better crime prevention.

The police must constantly review the development of their resources to meet the changing pattern

of crime and the expectations of the public. Local authorities must play their part in ensuring that the concerns of the public they represent are

brought to the attention of the police. Police should be given the proper level of training to allow them to adapt to the new demands

imposed by the increasing levels of urban crime. Where a multiplicity of police organisations operated within the same area, every effort should be

made by the authorities responsible to ensure good co-ordination and to prevent conflict in the role of the various organisations.

As well as having a right to publish, the press can play a major part in reducing the feeling or urban

insecurity.

v. THE PHYSICAL URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND INSECURITY It should be appreciated that although city planning cannot influence the criminal intentions of

people, it can play a role in shaping or cutting dawn the opportunities, e.g. through better streetlighting, better maintenance and choice of materials to avoid vandalism, better parking areas.

There is a pool of untapped experience available among the agencies concerned with safety, police,

fire brigade and social services, which could be utilised by the planning, housing, highway and transport authorities.

An objective of town planning is to produce a stimulating environment where individuality can be

expressed, where there is a sense of belonging, and where places are created in which the residents are proud to live.

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The process of rehabilitation and urban renewal should ensure the maintenance of valuable social networks, themselves important in safeguarding community viability and stability.

Policies and proposals for urban rehabilitation and renewal should ensure that proposals are not

imposed on local people but undertaken in a collaborative way so that proprietary attitudes can be created. It is an important right of citizens that the whole of their city be safe and secure and that there exist

no districts where they are reluctant to enter. Development proposals should be matched to local needs, culture and traditions in order to respect

the unique character of each town. During the development process of localities, social priorities should be given at least equal weight

as economic priorities. Local government should be made more responsive to the pressures for urban changes and should

bear in mind that opportunities to produce safer environments occur at all stages in the development process. It is important to stimulate the return of inhabitants to the inner city, avoid deserted streets at night,

ensure as far as possible in inner- cities a mix of functions and avoid grouping minorities, the socially deprived and the already delinquent in one place.

vi. DRUG ABUSE AND INSECURITY

An integrated approach to tackling drug misuse and trafficking should be adopted, at national,

regional and local level, covering prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and repression and involving all the official departments and services concerned as well as voluntary groups.

Action to tackle drug misuse should be integrated with employment, social, health, leisure and town

planning policies. Wide-ranging and differentiated prevention projects should be implemented, geared towards young

people in general, those at risk and drug addicts. Municipalities, given the fact that they are particularly well placed to do so, should ensure the

necessary co-ordination at local. level and mobilise the full potential resources of the community. It would be useful, in order to help the municipalities assume this role, to organise exchanges of

experience, in particular regarding prevention projects and their evaluation, between elected officials, administrators, professional workers and voluntary bodies in different towns.

In each local context, co-operation between specialists and non-specialists should be ensured and

developed.

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Action undertaken should take account of the needs of some young persons to take risks, as well as proposing role models, avoiding the rejection of the youth by their environment and promoting their progressive social integration.

In many cases it is necessary for municipalities to complete and improve data available to them on

the drug misuse situation in their area, making them more relevant, accessible and reliable. Differentiated police strategies should be implemented to fight small-time and medium-sized drug

dealing as well as big-time trafficking. In order to implement prevention projects, training programmes should be devised, geared towards

all those called upon to intervene whether from the statutory or voluntary sectors.

C. CONCLUSIONS a. Recommendations to national administrations and local authorities - Member countries should create national and local crime prevention councils to include all levels of

government and different institutions responsible for criminal justice (e.g. political parties, law societies, employers associations, small and medium-sized industries, trade unions, social welfare agencies, etc).

- Research on the causes of urban insecurity and ways and means of reducing it should be pursued

and intensified, in particular by setting up a European University Institute for teaching, training and research concerning prevention of delinquency and aid to victims.

- Pilot projects illustrating the six themes of the Conference should be identified and implemented in

member countries. - Measures should be taken to facilitate the action of the European Forum for Urban Security for the

promotion of co-operation between local and regional authorities, based in particular on prevention policies.

- A European data bank or network of documentation centres should be established and developed to

facilitate the exchange of information on crime prevention, victim assistance and other subjects of common interest, between officials of central and local government, universities and other agencies.

- A standardised set of questions should be prepared for a survey on criminal victimisation, attitudes

towards crime and crime policies (in particular crime prevention and victim assistance policies) for use by local and national governments.

- The European Convention on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crime should be notified as

soon as possible.

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b. Recommendations to the Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

- A Conference on urban security should be organised at regular intervals. - The reports to be presented to the plenary session of the Standing Conference on, respectively,

urban insecurity and community development in towns should incorporate the results of the present Conference.

- The Standing Conference should put into operation a study programme on the relationship between

the police and local authorities, in order to explore the advantages and disadvantages of their different interrelationships in combating crime prevention, the success or otherwise of programmes for improving the relationship of the police with the local community, the role of the police with the local community, the role of the police in policies of prevention and that this programme includes a seminar on this subject.

- In respect of policies for offender and victims, the Standing Conference should:

• set up an enquiry to look at the use of imprisonment across Europe, and consider alternative sentences as well as strategies that local government and local communities can pursue to divert young people from both crime and prison;

• initiate a detailed study on the cost-effectiveness of prison sentences and to organise a

seminar on this subject; and

• compile evidence of good practice of alternatives to prison sentencing with special reference to the treatment of young offenders in the community.

- In respect of data banks, statistics and victimisation surveys, facilities should be provided for a

working group of European experts to prepare and carry out a crime survey in all member countries, using the same research methods and techniques.

- All appropriate means should be used to advance the international exchange of information on crime

prevention and victim assistance, such as the International Crime Prevention Information Network (ICPIN) in The Hague.

- The Standing Conference should work together with the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe

on drug abuse problems, in particular on local prevention programmes and their evaluation. - The Standing Conference should continue to co-operate actively with international governmental

organisations working on related subjects, for example, the World Health Organisation and its Healthy Cities Projects.

- Its Committee on Environment and Town Planning should consider work on other aspects of crime

prevention in towns in the light of the results as a whole of the present Conference.

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FINAL DECLARATION II INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON URBAN SAFETY, DRUGS

AND CRIME PREVENTION Paris, November 18-20, 1991

Countries around the world are faced with crime rates that have risen at 5% per year in the last few decades doubling every 14 years. Drug abuse, crime and the fear of crime are serious threats to the stability and social climate of cities, to sustainable development, the quality of life and human rights. The problems of physical and sexual violence are compounded by inequalities and discrimination in society based on gender, race, national origin, age, sexuality, disability and economics. Nations should not delay their implementation of crime prevention efforts since specific models involving environmental design and social development have been proven effective. Efforts to control the availability and use of drugs are equally urgent. Following the conference of Barcelona organized by the Council of Europe, the first conference on urban safety and prevention of crime was held in Montreal in 1989 and established the “Agenda for Safer Cities”, which was adopted at the 8th United Nations Congress in its resolution on the Prevention of Urban Crime. This Agenda has been endorsed widely by community leaders in Europe, North America and Latin America. Preparations for the Second International Conference on Urban Safety, Drugs and Crime Prevention focussed on international collaboration around theme reports on drugs, young persons, rehabilitation and community mobilization. These themes were discussed in workshops organized by cities across Europe, North America and Latin America. More than 1,600 mayors, councillors, police executives, social development leaders and government representatives from 65 countries came to Paris to exchange experiences and decide how to better implement the Agenda for Safer Cities. Major delegations represented Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia and Africa. The U.N. resolution on the Prevention of Urban Crime stated that: • municipalities are strategically based to bring together those who can change the conditions that

generate crime, but other levels of government must provide financial and technical support; • comprehensive crime prevention must give priority to partnerships that find better solutions to

problems of child poverty, youth, schooling, housing, policing and justice; and • crime prevention must involve long-term action that is responsive to short-term needs.

The Paris Conference demonstrated clearly that effective models for action are available from governments which have national crime prevention structures, and from individual projects, which have reduced various types of criminal activity. Governments are unlikely to reduce national levels of crime until they spend substantially more on prevention; current spending for prevention is inadequate in all countries represented.

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SEVEN STEPS TO MAKE WORLD COMMUNITIES SAFER To implement the attached recommendations from this conference: 1. Governments must invest now to meet socio-economic and urban needs, particularly the needs of

alienated groups such as young persons at risk. By 1995, the spending to meet these needs should be increased significantly; as a goal, 50 percent of

any savings from post-cold war defence spending..(external security) should be reallocated to these needs (domestic security.)

2. Governments must establish national crime prevention structures to recommend improved national

policies, undertake research and development, and foster the implementation of effective crime prevention programs, particularly by cities.

By 1995, the number of countries with national crime prevention structures should be doubled,

including three or more in developing countries. All increases in funding for law enforcement, courts and corrections must be matched by funding for prevention.

3. Municipalities must establish crime prevention structures to mobilize the local officials who control

policies relating to housing, schooling, youth, families, social services, policing and justice. By 1995, the number of cities with such structures particularly cities with populations over 250,000 -

should be doubled. There should be at least ten of these in developing countries. 4. The public must be encouraged by local, regional and national governments, international agencies

and non-governmental groups to participate in comprehensive crime prevention and to understand the importance to urban development of implementing effective ways of making communities safer from crime.

By 1995, all crime prevention structures should have established a way to involve the public, and of all new money allocated to prevention, ten percent should be used for evaluation, which is essential for the identification of successful efforts. Countries must develop reliable statistical tools.

5. Developed countries should support the creation of an International Center for the Prevention of

Crime, consistent with the objectives of the United Nations and which might become affiliated with it.

(i) By 1992, the European Forum of Local Authorities on Urban Safety, The Federation of Canadian Municipalities, The United States Conference of Mayors and the Montreal Urban Community, in collaboration with governments and cities, will have established this International Center. (ii) By 1993, the International Center will have established a program of technical assistance, funding, training courses and follow-up to ensure the implementation of this Declaration and its elaboration in the future.

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(iii) By 1995, the Center will facilitate the establishment of regional networks in Latin America, Africa and Asia. (iv) The Center should be integrated with any agency put in place by the United Nations which relates to crime prevention.

6. The United Nations Ministerial Meeting on Effective International Cooperation on the Prevention of

Crime and the Treatment of Offenders is requested to make comprehensive prevention of crime a visible and important part of the program in the next decade. In particular, they are asked to:

(i) place greater emphasis on the prevention of crime in relation to arrest, detention, and sentencing. (ii) ensure that the resources available for the United Nations efforts on crime prevention are equivalent to those available for efforts on drug abuse and control. (iii) ensure that the 1995 United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders does, in fact, stress the prevention of crime as a major theme. (iv) continue to foster actively’ the establishment and the activities of the International Center fur the Prevention of Crime and its affiliation with the United Nations.

7. The European Forum of Local Authorities on Urban Safety, The United States Conference of Mayors

and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities will adopt ways to implement this Declaration by working to:

(i) mobilize international and regional organizations of governments; (ii) collaborate with agencies internationally in the promotion of crime prevention; and (iii) prepare the III International Conference on Urban Safety and Crime Prevention in conjunction with key partners. The agenda for this conference should build on the central issues identified in the Paris Conference and examine both successes and failure in dealing with them.

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FINAL DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON SECURITY IN THE CITY

4 - 8 December 1995, Saint Denis de la Réunion, France

We, the participants in the International Forum on Security in the City held at Saint-Denis de la Reunion from 4 to 8 December 1995, representing intergovernmental organisations, States, local authorities, non-governmental organisations, professionals and researchers, and hailing from thirty (30) countries from Europe, North and south America, Africa and the Indian ocean, having been welcomed by the Municipality of Saint-Denis de la Reunion to address the theme of urban violence and access to justice at the initiative of the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (Habitat), the European and the French Forums for Urban Security and the Urban Management Programme (PGU), with the financial support of the United Nations, the European Union, the French Government, the Municipality of Saint-Denis and the Department and Region of La Reunion, following the international conferences on the theme of urban violence and security held successively in Barcelona (1987, 1995), Montreal (1989), Paris (1991), Cali (1993) Ibadan (1994), Ouagadougou (1995): Noting:

• The rapid pace of urban growth and the major role of the city in an increasingly urban world • The increasing problem of insecurity and violence, and the demand for an urban policy integrating

the needs of local populations. Concerned at the deterioration of living conditions, particularly those of the poor, and considering that this deterioration primarily affects women, children and minorities. Aware of the inability or the difficulties experienced by the legal systems in responding to the need for security and justice, and that cities are built-up areas represent a chance for justice. Noting the generalisation of the phenomena of crime, violence and injustice and the need to find both global and local solutions. Noting the processes of democratisation that call for the implementation of good local urban "governance" in which justice plays a part. Acknowledging the central role played by the local authorities in the regulation of social tensions and disputes through the setting up of innovative machineries and approaches to bring justice closer to the citizen. Saluting and encouraging original approaches, and in particular the initiatives taken by the City of Saint-Denis and Reunion Island. Placing ourselves deliberately in the context of the preparation of the 2nd United Nations Conference for Human Settlement (Istanbul, from 3 to 14 June 1996), also called the "City Summit", on the definition of the urban policies of the 21st century.

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Mindful of the strategic role of the World Action Plan Habitat II and the imperious need to include in it the recommendations of the Forum in Saint-Denis on the reduction of urban violence and crime, and on access to justice of the poor. Considering the important role of the PGU, the European Forum and the French Forum in the implementation of the recommendations of the Saint-Denis Forum, in order to pave the way for the development of networks of exchanges of experiences between cities and regions. Recommend:

• The setting up of a Forum of African Cities for the reduction of injustice and urban violence, along the lines of the European and Latin American regional Forums;

• The opening of Observatories of urban crime and security for Latin America, Africa and the Indian Ocean, with a view of facilitating the development of indicators for reaching more effective decisions and generalising the best practices;

• The implementation of policies and strategies to reduce violence and facilitate access to justice for local communities, in partnership with the state, the Judiciary and non-governmental organisations;

• The reinforcement of the capacity of the different levels of government of the cities and of local communities to act, by setting up information, mediation and conciliation tools;

• The training, with the support of the European and the French Forums for Urban Security, of coordinators for the networks that will be set up in the different regions starting in 1996.

Acknowledging and capitalising on formal and informal community experiences and formal and informal community experiences of the interest of the different institutions involved in urban security; Request

• The UNCHS (Habitat), the European Union and the Governments of the countries of America, Africa and Indian Ocean to take the necessary steps to implement these recommendations;

• The French Government, with the support of the Ministers of the countries present at the Forum in Saint Denis, to submit this Declaration to the 3rd meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Habitat II Conference, to be held in New York from 5 to 14 February 1996;

• The participants to strive to make sure that their National Habitat II Committees take this Declaration into account, and to publicise to results of the Conference as widely as possible.

Saint-Denis, 8 December 1995 The Forum

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FINAL DECLARATION MAYORS’ SUMMIT ON SAFER CITIES

31 March 1996, Vancouver, Canada On March 30 and 31, 1996, Mayors and Councilors from 3 continents and 15 cities gathered in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to exchange ideas and set out a global plan of action to strengthen urban crime prevention policies, reduce crime and violence on the street and in the home, and work towards building safer, more sustainable cities into the new millennium. While the Summit focused on cities, participants recognized the importance of addressing crime in small and rural communities. The Summit was organized by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime, in cooperation with The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the European Forum for Urban Safety, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and the National Crime Prevention Council of the United States. The Summit has received the support of the Department of Justice Canada and the Delegation Interministeriel a la Ville (France). This Summit builds on the Montreal (1989) and Paris (1991) conferences that set the agendas for safer cities across the world and identified the top priorities for action. The Summit reaffirmed the following principles: • Safety and security are key elements of the quality of life in urban centres from the perspective of

sustainable social, cultural, economic development, civic vitality, and human rights. • Violent crime and delinquency are the result of lack of attention to the situations that generate crime,

such as those affecting women, children, and families. So the agencies in the community that can change those situations must be the focal point of crime prevention. Crime prevention requires the co-operative joint efforts of those responsible for housing, social services, recreation, schools, policing, and justice to tackle the situations that breed crime.

• Elected municipal officials must exert political leadership in partnership with the other levels of

government to take on the task of preventing urban crime. • We must go beyond our traditional criminal justice system - police, courts, and corrections - if we are to

prevent crime in our cities. We must continue to analyze the situations that generate crime and mobilize the organizations that can change those situations. Our response must be innovative and be part of a long-range approach, while at the same time being responsive to immediate needs.

• We must bring together and use the best data on violent crime and delinquency and link these to urban

and social planning data. • Crime prevention must be supported by the whole society. Political leaders must encourage the

development of a feeling of solidarity among community members.

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The participants in the Mayors’ Summit were unanimous in recognizing that the following problems which threaten their cities livability and growth must be tackled on a priority basis: • Insecurity felt by women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. • Violence against women and children. • Youth violence and youth as victims of violence. • Deteriorating relations and tensions arising out of social, political, and economic exclusion. In recent years, cities have made significant progress in taking innovative measures in tackling these issues. Some of them have organized communities holistically to face the challenge of crime and insecurity. As a result, they have gained considerable knowledge about what works and what is needed to make communities safer and more sustainable. Programs that tackle problems in early childhood and adolescence can demonstrate significant reductions in violent crime over time and reduce costs. Programs that confront residential burglary and car theft can achieve sustainable reductions of 50% or more, thus potentially human suffering and dollars. Local governments are closest to the people and are in the best position to empower and mobilize communities to tackle the root causes and modify the situations which breed crime. The Mayors’ Summit has determined that the following approaches must be developed further and implemented on a wider scale in order to reduce crime and insecurity in urban centres: • Community-wide coalitions which bring together all of the stakeholders, including youth. • Local action plans stressing partnerships and coordination. • Crime prevention through social and economic development, and integration. • Urban planning and urban design. • Community and problem-oriented policing. • Conflict resolution through mediation. Based on their knowledge of what works and what is needed for their communities to make further progress in reducing and preventing crime and addressing the root causes, city leaders stressed the importance of: • Partnerships with all levels of government which have the responsibilities for policy and program

development. • Partnerships with other public and private entities. • The national government must be a partner in financing local, comprehensive crime prevention efforts. • Greater access to and sharing of best practices of preventing crime and victimization through a resource

bureau on best practices. • Greater access to technical assistance to develop comprehensive community-wide action plans. • Better training for city leaders, crime prevention practitioners, and police. • More rigorous evaluation tools to measure the scope and efficiency of prevention

measures.

We call for technical and concrete assistance to enable us to implement the preventive strategies that will give our citizens better security.

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The Mayors’ Summit calls upon the mayors attending the City Summit (Habitat II), Istanbul, in June 1996, to table this Declaration for consideration by the international community. The Mayors’ Summit calls for the joining of hands of all city leaders, national governments, development agencies, and community organizations across the world to implement these recommendations. March 31, 1996

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FINAL DECLARATION AND PLAN OF ACTION INTERNATIONAL FORUM OF MAYORS FOR SAFER CITIES

27 October 1998, Johannesburg, South Africa The Mayors, elected officials and other city representatives participating in the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities in Johannesburg on 26and 27 October 1998 came to the following conclusions: Delinquency, violence and insecurity increasingly threaten the harmonious and sustainable development

of cities, both in the North and in the South. Crime jeopardises efforts aimed at and investments in the economic and social development of cities. Drug use and trafficking contribute to the deterioration of the urban environment and are major public

health problems related to the propagation of HIV/AIDS. Of the many causes of crime, poverty (both absolute and relative) remains one of the central challenges

in any crime reduction strategy, particularly in the cities of the South. Safety and security are fundamental elements and basic rights of citizens that contribute to the quality of

life and the civic vitality in urban centres. The response to crime and insecurity should be global, involving all stakeholders at local, national and

international levels and should address the root causes of crime. The mobilisation of all actors under the leadership of local authorities will pave the way to effective and

affordable crime prevention and reduction strategies. Considering the principles mentioned above, the participants stressed the importance of developing a strong solidarity between institutions, civil society, the private sector and citizens in addressing crime and insecurity in cities. Without such solidarity, the efforts to curb delinquency and violence will not bear fruit and social exclusion may be reinforced. Based on this perspective, participants agreed that all stakeholders, including local and national governments should make a strong commitment to respond to crime in a rigorous, coherent and effective manner. In particular, the importance of the following is underlined: responding adequately to the demands of the poor for safety - the impact of crime on the poor being

dramatically more important than for other social groups; analysing and taking into account the nature and impact of crime on women, including domestic

violence and violence in the streets; understanding and addressing the specific victimisation of children, as well as developing approaches

which address the needs of children at risk; developing strategies and initiatives targeting youth at risk and focusing on rehabilitation, reintegration

and prevention instead of punishment and incarceration; and clearly affirming the responsibility and financial commitment of each actor, including local authorities,

in the concerted effort to create urban safety and prevent crime. The action of cities will have limited results and impact if these criteria are not met. Taking the above into consideration, the Mayors and city officials participating in the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities agreed to actively promote and contribute to the implementation of the following action plan in order to foster urban safety and reduce delinquency, violence and insecurity in the future.

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The full implementation of this plan will require the support and commitment of all stakeholders, including international organisations, government agencies, community organisations and the private sector. This plan of action calls for a concerted effort in the spirit of solidarity, in order to make cities safer in a sustainable manner. The Safer Cities approach needs to be more widely supported and implemented in the different countries across the world and more specifically in Africa. The approach focuses on problem-solving partnerships at the local level aimed at mobilising key actors through the leadership of municipal authorities. It reinforces the capacity of cities to manage urban safety issues and to develop integrated strategies to prevent crime and insecurity. To achieve this goal, participants in the Forum declared the following plan of action: Local authorities are to adopt urban safety as a cross-cutting priority in the strategic planning and

development of their cities and involve all local government departments in this process. Local authorities are to initiate and support a comprehensive crime prevention process, involving all key

institutional, community and private sector partners, in order to develop and implement a strategy addressing the needs of each city to prevent and reduce crime in a sustainable way.

Local authorities are to fully integrate the concept of Safer Cities into their municipal or metropolitan police services.

Local authorities are to promote the creation of national Forums of Cities for Urban Safety and/or to actively participate in their activities, focusing on the sharing of experience, the exchange of expertise and the training of local co-ordinators and city officials.

National governments are to integrate the Safer Cities approach in their crime prevention and reduction policies and strategies and provide support for the development of Safer Cities projects and networks in their countries.

The private sector is to become more involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of Safer Cities strategies by contributing their expertise, resources and commitment as corporate citizens preoccupied with the quality of urban safety.

Specialised institutions and other interested stakeholders are to develop specific tools to support local authorities in the development and implementation of Safer Cities projects, such as victim survey, safety audits, monitoring and evaluation measurements.

Specialised institutions and other interested stakeholders are to develop training programmes on the Safer Cities concept and methodology for urban safety co-ordinators, local elected officials, urban managers and police executives.

All stakeholders are to promote and facilitate the exchange of expertise and access to best and promising practices in the field of urban safety and crime prevention.

International organisations and development agencies are to provide support for Safer Cities projects and networks by facilitating technical assistance and the exchange of expertise.

The United Nations Urban Management Programme, in collaboration with the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime and the European Forum for Urban Safety, accept responsibility to monitor the progress in the implementation of the recommendations of this Forum, and agree to present a report to the next meeting of the International Forum for Urban Poverty that will take place in Cote d'Ivoire at the end of 1999.

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The conclusions of the International Forum of Mayors for Safer Cities held in Johannesburg will be officially transmitted to associations of cities, national governments and appropriate international agencies to enable them to follow up on this Declaration.

Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/

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THE CITIES' MANIFESTO FOR "SAFETY AND DEMOCRACY" Safety and Democracy Forum 9 December 2000, Naples, Italy

The representatives of two hundred and fifty cities, meeting in Naples on 7, 8 and 9 December 2000, in the presence of representatives of African, North American and Latin American cities, adopted the "Safety and Democracy" Manifesto. They called on other cities in Europe and world-wide to join them by adopting and implementing the principles set down in the Manifesto.

1 - We want our cities to be quality cities -safe, vital places of harmonious development. Insecurity and fearfulness, violence and feelings of abandonment can seriously and enduringly endanger the development and renewal of a city.

2 - The challenge to us all is to guarantee the legitimate right to safety of each and every individual, family, neighbourhood, community and city. The struggle against crime must avoid practices based on racism, fanaticism, discrimination, or scape-goating (of young people, immigrants, or particularly vulnerable groups); these attitudes would result in fragmentation and jeopardise the future of a Europe of cities.

3 - The European Union -having established the internal market and the single currency, and laid the foundations for a social Europe - has decided to give top priority to the development of "a space of freedom, safety and justice." This goal cannot be achieved without Europe's cities.

Cities of freedom

4 - Our cities are not egalitarian: rich neighbourhoods exist side by side with poor neighbourhoods. This co-existence needs to be organised in ways, which do not involve creating physical or symbolic barriers in urban planning or access to services and decision-making processes. Let us affirm the concept of inclusive cities, where citizens participate in local policies.

5 - Cities are heterogeneous, and different lifestyles can cause tension between population groups. This diversity is our wealth, and conflicts, when they arise, must be solved by prevention and inclusion policies and by appropriate design and organisation of space. Quality of physical space can contribute to personal safety, through an approach to urban planning which maintains a careful balance between development and quality. Public spaces, residential areas and commercial areas must always be meeting places.

6 - We want our cities to be friendly cities where migrants, nomads and citizens of other parts of the world are made welcome. Immigration problems cannot be solved by criminalising immigrants or by rejecting diversity. Trust requires clear regulations concerning admission of foreigners and permission to remain (in particular with regard to family reunification); it demands that we combat illegal immigration by targeting criminal networks that traffic in human beings; it calls for legal definitions of conditions for massive influxes of refugees from unsafe or war-tom areas, and for appropriate conditions of reception and settlement of asylum seekers, in full respect of their fundamental human rights.

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7 - Cities of freedom are tolerant cities; they reject extremist strategies for the eradication of conflicts. They educate their citizens to due process and solidarity, with a view to transforming violence and fear into incentives for personal growth, in openness to the world and tolerance of others. To educate is to help young people channel their violence into positive energy towards a better future for themselves and for others.

Cities of justice

8 - Insecurity is not merely fear of burglaries and muggings. It can also grow out of dangers such as traffic, an unhealthy or precarious environment and, above all, the fear of having nowhere to go for help or support in case of need, no services offering protection or compensation.

9 - Citizens do not all have equal access to safety. Depending on factors such as ethnic origin, status, gender, age, and condition, fear is more or less incapacitating; danger in the streets, in public areas and at home is more or less serious; recourse to justice against violence is more or less difficult; access to legal process and recognition of rights is more or less uncertain. These are wrongs which must be addressed at every level of public authority.

10 - We cannot rely on market laws alone to redress these iniquities. If commercial interests are allowed to determine the capacity of groups and individuals to maintain public order and to control crime, safety will depend on personal wealth and on an individual's capacity to access new technologies and protected areas.

11 - Governance of safety builds confidence in justice through participatory management of real insecurity, of fearfulness and of social problems. The answer lies in involving families, adults, citizens, and communities. Recourse to conciliation, mediation and arbitration heals relationships in the framework of rules and standards which are rooted in our customs and traditions, there- by strengthening bonds of conviviality, neighbourliness and community, as well as the feeling of belonging to a communitarian and multicultural city.

12 - Cities must guarantee adequate living conditions to all citizens, in full respect of their fundamental human rights: access to housing (including reception sites for travelling people), access to employment, access to education, access to justice. A city of responsible citizenship enables its citizens to access their rights and expects them to fulfil their obligations.

13 - Harmonisation of civic rights and obligations at local, national and European levels will foster trust among citizens and increase the effectiveness of our struggle against all forms of sexual and racial discrimination.

Safe cities

14 - Safety is a common good which is essential to sustainable development. It is the sign and the condition of social inclusion and of equal access to other common goods such as education, justice, health and environmental quality. Promoting safety is not primarily about policing and relying on the penal system. To promote safety is above all to develop a common good.

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15 - Our safety policies are first and foremost prevention policies based on risk-reduction and increased provision of services.

16 - Such policies call for a renewed commitment to partner- ships between economic and social key-players in the cities. They reaffirm the role of families, schools, businesses, streets and public spaces, and place a new emphasis on solidarity and on civil society.

17 - Such policies are based on criminal justice systems designed to introduce a sense of responsibility where violence is destroying families, businesses and streets, and to contribute ~ risk-reduction and prevention of insecurity.

18 - These policies are based on community public services which operate in a climate of transparency and respect for the users' rights.

19 - Cities have an obligation to take care of victims -to provide them with support, assistance and help in obtaining redress and compensation.

20 - Such policies call for active involvement of every level of government, and for greater cooperation between cities.

Europe and the cities

21 - The cities of the European Forum subscribe to the United Nations' draft declaration on the principles of good urban governance which calls on local authorities to participate in the development of crime prevention strategies, in partnership with al1 the key-players, making sure that poor and marginalised citizens ; are fully involved in the definition of these strategies.

22 - The cities of the European Union must be encouraged to introduce the issue of safety into the governance of their cities. While respecting the principle of subsidiarity, Europe must integrate safety and crime prevention policies into urban development programmes.

23 - Europe must promote ex changes between cities, encourage training of local key-players, and develop common policies around transnational issues such as violence in sports, racism drugs, exploitation of human beings, links between petty crime and organised crime.

24 - Europe's political will must find concrete expression in the creation of a European network which will bring together all the key-players of safety policies, and in particular the representatives of civil society. Assisted by a Monitoring Centre, this network will develop the necessary instruments for comparisons between cities, create training programmes, and spread information on good practices in the area of urban safety.

25 - A European budget must be approved to provide support for local safety policies.

26 - European cities would like to see inter-city cooperation spread to include cities world-wide, and calls on the Union to take into account the need for such a global approach to safety policies. To implement the above principles, the cities have set the following priorities for action:

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1- Safety, urban planning and sustainable development. 2- Options in the area of safety. 3- Young people, cities and the law. 4- Mobility and safety: friendly cities. 5- Partnerships for safer cities. 6- Violence in a woman's city.

1 - Safety, urban planning and sustainable development

Urban safety can no longer be reduced to crime control. Lack of safety is a complex problem: - it is linked with problems in other areas such as - health, environment, urban planning and education; it is the result of growing inequalities in access to

resources - it involves conflicts of interest, in particular - with regard to shared space and time in the city - (leisure activities by night, sports, prostitution, etc.). Insecurity is an urban risk and it calls, in part, for civil responses. In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action: 1.1 -Safety calls for the establishment of a global policy for risk-management: - a global approach to problems; - reduction of risks associated with insecurity; an inter-disciplinary approach; - political leadership of this complex system, requiring organisation of dialogue between municipal

agencies (which are all too often left out), and in particular between agencies in charge of urban planning and agencies responsible for urban safety.

1.2 -New projects for urban renewal or reconstruction must integrate the issue of safety at the planning stage and at the management stage: - a social impact study must be built into every urban project; - social management (policy and technical implementation) must be part of every urban project; - planning for post-project management must be included in the earliest stages of project design. 1.3 -A qua1ity approach must always favour negotiation over normative or prescriptive action. Local authorities shall ensure that: - local political and administrative agencies engage in negotiations with the local population; - all population groups and all neighbourhoods in the city have equal access to participation in the

development, evaluation and implementation of projects; - all have access to information and to urban services; this is an essential prerequisite for community

participation. 1.4 -Urban safety calls for the development of quality urban services accessible to everyone. In particular, it

calls for quality public space and for a high standard of management of such space.

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2 - Options with regard to safety

Community safety and personal safety are basic requirements of human existence. Crime threatens the quality of life of the inhabitants; it is traumatic to the victims and a threat to civic vitality.

Efforts to reduce crime, violence and insecurity have commonly and all too frequently been limited to action by police services and criminal justice agencies, followed by detention. The huge increase in the number of people detained in European prisons over the last two decades is unacceptable. It is essential to respect both the interests of the victims and communities and those of the offenders.

To achieve the right balance between control, sanction and prevention, greater emphasis must be placed on social and "situational" prevention, both from the organisational standpoint and from the standpoint of funding. Studies have confirmed that preventive approaches which promote integration of young people into community life, thus attacking the deeper causes of crime, reduce violence and victimisation. Research has also shown that these approaches are far more cost-effective than those based only on repression and detention.

In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action:

2.1 -Crime prevention programmes and zero tolerance for exclusion

National governments need to look at the situations produced by the growing gap between rich and poor, the exclusion of young people, real gender inequalities, racial discrimination, rapid urban growth, design of consumer goods, and the availability of guns, illegal drugs and alcohol.

To address the causes of crime and insecurity, local authorities must focus on strategies for joint mobilisation of sectors such as schools, housing, social services, police, justice, and citizens. They need to target the causes of local problems through the development of operational coalitions. This process will involve organisational changes, safety appraisals, as well as evaluations and cost effectiveness studies.

The efforts of local authorities need to be supported with funding and expertise from other levels of government.

2.2 -Effective responses and sanctions which foster inclusion Local authorities must implement programmes to prevent recidivism; these must be based, in particular, on social development and on conflict resolution through mediation and compensation by offenders.

2.3 -Minimal recourse to detention Prisons are a limited resource; their use must be strictly limited and always justified by clearly defined imperatives based on social consensus. Prison inmates must not be cut off from their communities; they must be detained in locations which are as close as possible to their families and to services which can promote their future re-integration into community life. It is important to facilitate access to prisons by social services and services providing training, education and employment.

Local authorities must be involved in developing alternative community service and other sanctions which can reduce recourse to detention in prisons.

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2.4 -Improved communication and increased community participation

Citizens must not only participate in the development of strategies for crime reduction and reduction of insecurity. They deserve to be informed on what is effective and fruitful. Police and justice services need to take people's concerns more fully into account.

2.5 -Our strategies must have at their core the exchange of information The decisions we make with regard to urban safety must be based on all the knowledge that is available. They must be based on an accurate analysis of the costs and benefits of every short-, medium- or long-term project, in particular in terms of the effects of detention measures and the distribution of police personnel.

Numerous examples of urban safety practices illustrate the fact that it is possible to have an impact on the reduction of crime and insecurity. It is essential that we develop discussion and training opportunities for all local practitioners and key-players, so that these concrete solutions may be implemented more widely in our communities. We call for the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for crime prevention and safety, designed to cover an enlarged Europe.

3 -Young people, cities and the law

We must work for young people -girls and boys -but also with young people. Our societies must learn to trust them and to avoid generalisations which stigmatise them and portray them as potential criminals.

We want safety which is respectful of young people:

⋅ responses must be proportionate to problems;.

⋅ to the extent that this is possible, young people must be involved in safety and crime prevention projects in ways which allow them to become active players in these projects.

In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action:

3.1 -Reaffirming the role of families in early prevention

We have noted an overall trend towards a decrease in the age of offenders. Prevention measures targeting young people appear to be 1ess effective beyond a certain age. We need to work with very young chi1dren -boys and girls -with a personalised approach.

To this end, the role of parents in education and in the transmission of rules and values is critical. Some parents seek help in understanding their children, in order to avoid becoming alienated from them and in order to assume more fully their role as parents. It is our responsibility to provide support and assistance to these families without labelling them "bad parents".

We should also point out that schools are equally crucial to this process of transmitting the values and rules of our societies.

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3.2 -Cities are the driving force of essential partnerships

Partnerships have become a key factor in the success and effectiveness of safety and crime prevention projects. Such partnerships must bring together all the local key players of a city; partnerships must also develop between cities in order to promote

⋅ the exchange of experience between cities; ⋅ the implementation of the principle of "break-away pedagogy", providing boys and girls a chance to

extricate themselves from their habitual environment.

3.3 -Protecting our young people -both male and female.

We must not forget that young people are also the principal victims of violence. Crime prevention must not be at the expense of a better system of assistance to victims, one that is better able to identify young people in distress. To this end, we need to provide consciousness-raising and training courses for all local key-players o ways of detecting various forms of distress and encouraging victims to speak out.

This is all the more important in light of the findings of numerous studies which indicate that those who have experienced violence are most likely to inflict violence.

3.4 -Evaluations guarantee higher effectiveness

Although we now have a considerable store of information on juvenile delinquency, this has not yet been translated into a sufficient number of effective and concrete projects. We need to make better use of our accumulated knowledge and to develop gender-specific approach.

Our projects will only become more effective if they are built around solid preliminary appraisals and authentic evaluations. Project evaluations must look at cost-effectiveness, but also at value added.

Our evaluation systems need to be harmonised in order to promote a common culture of evaluation and thus foster exchanges between cities and between countries.

4 - Mobility and safety: friendly cities

We must combat the recurrent stereotype which links the issue of safety to that of immigration.

However, if are to effectively put an end to this stereotype, we cannot ignore or under-estimate those situations where immigration and illegality come together. We need a clear understanding of facts if we are to develop instruments capable of breaking down prejudices linked to identity. To this end, prevention and repression must work hand-in-hand to develop, where necessary, procedures for verifying identity, more effective sanctions to prevent recidivism, measures to combat exploitation of migrants, and so forth.

In addition, we need to give a larger place to social structures: although they are not in themselves a solution to illegal immigration, without them we cannot hope to obtain concrete and lasting results.

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In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action:

4.1 -A new common immigration policy for Europe

In the framework of the new powers conferred by the Amsterdam Treaty with regard to immigration, we call on the European Union to adopt without further delay a common immigration policy for the fifteen Member States. We welcome with enthusiasm the European Union's declaration on a strategy for immigration, which was submitted to the Council and to the Parliament. While stressing our desire to actively participate in the preparation of such a document, we also wish to express our support for the global approach described in this innovative proposal - one that takes into account all of the issues linked wit migration (economic, social, political and humanitarian). The main lines of this approach include:

⋅ new channels for legal immigration, abandoning the closed borders approach; ⋅ the struggle against illegal immigration; ⋅ integration policies; ⋅ partnerships with the countries of origin; ⋅ admission on humanitarian grounds.

4.2 -The fight against trafficking in migrants

We call for an active commitment at all levels to the struggle against trafficking in human beings; along with trafficking in migrants, this is now one of the most lucrative forms of illegal trade by organised criminal networks. We wish to stress the importance of the United Nations Convention against organised crime, signed in Palermo in December 2000. Over one hundred countries were to sign the Convention and the protocols on smuggling of migrants, thus laying the foundations for judicial and police cooperation in the fight against organised crime which, until now, has operated freely across national borders We support all action leading to the ratification of this Convention by the Parliament.

4.3 - Measures to promote integration and combat discrimination

We vigorously support European initiatives - and those of Member States - designed to provide migrants with living and working conditions equal to those of other citizens. We must focus our efforts on the struggle against exclusion which affects migrants in a special way and explains their over - representation in prisons. Clear directives must be adopted concerning family re-unification ( with reference to European directives), and concerning entry and permission to stay, with regard to both migrants and refugees. All the measures against discrimination and xenophobia mentioned in the action programmes and in the two declarations of the European Community must be implemented. Such measures shall be supplemented by specific integration programmes at the national, regional and local levels. We must pay special attention to the issue of nomads and travelling people, and be mindful of their wish to be recognised as a nation of approximately ten million people in Europe.

A multicultural society requires some adjustments on both sides - by the immigrants, and by the host society. Mindful of the International Convention on the rights of children, we must pay special attention to children, and in particular to those who are alone. All forms of representation and participation in local politics must be encouraged; the right to vote in local elections must be extended to all legal residents. Though it cannot be enforced, the Charter on fundamental human rights approved by the Nice Conference can be used to develop

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a new and broader understanding of citizenship that includes migrants and addresses both rights and obligations.

4.4 - A new model

Policies designed to promote integration and combat exclusion have led to the development of a cooperative and participatory model which focuses in particular on the participation of migrants and their representatives in local institutional bodies: In this respect, we emphasise the importance of the UK experience in combating discrimination through the establishment of a Commission for Racial Equality.

5 - Partners for safer cities

Decentralisation is the framework within which we identify potential partners and redefine their functions with a view to safer cities. Decentralisation allows cities to exercise their proper role in the governance of safety, and other institutional bodies to contribute to the development of a joint national policy, in full respect of the specificities of each partner.

The central role of cities allows - and calls for - the development of "grass-roots policies" and of a form of territorial governance which requires active participation on the part of the citizens, both individually and collectively.

Cities are today the laboratories of democracy, experimenting with policies and producing concrete and effective solutions to safety problems which the central authorities were often unable to tackle. Safety and crime prevention are essential for the reduction of urban and social exclusion and for the effective protection of individual and social rights. Local participation is a crucial element of this new approach adopted by local authorities; other approaches, such as zero tolerance, have not achieved satisfactory results and have sometimes proved to be counter-productive.

Community participation policies must involve all the citizens, whatever their income level and whether or not they are beneficiaries of inclusion or protection policies.

In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action:

5.1 -Development and leadership of new policies for the promotion of subjective safety and for the prevention of crime and incivility. Such policies are already in place in some European municipalities.

5.2 -Development of permanent urban safety coalitions -both municipal and inter-municipal -under the leadership of political authorities. These coalitions bring together

⋅ .representatives of the public sector, and in particular of police, justice, housing, urban planning, social action, health and education services;

⋅ .representatives of the voluntary sector; ⋅ .representatives of the private sector -transport agencies, chambers of commerce and industry, etc.

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5.3 -Urban safety practitioners and others involved in crime prevention and safety are to be encouraged to favour civil rather than penal or police-centred approaches.

5.4 -Development of new procedures for qualification and "professionalisation" of key-players who contribute to urban safety at various levels. In particular, development of a legal frame - work and third-level degrees in support of the new jobs which are emerging in local communities to address safety-related problems more appropriately and effectively.

5.5 -The relationship between public authorities and commercial safety providers needs to be organised more efficiently.

5.6 -National governments participate in crime prevention policies by supporting:

⋅ local safety policies; ⋅ the development of crime prevention agencies at all levels; ⋅ development of instruments for data collection: local safety appraisals, social monitoring centres,

evaluation of agencies and procedures; ⋅ changes in central services to adjust to the needs of proximity.

6 -Violence in a woman's city

Violence perpetrated against women by men must be recognised everywhere by law, and condemned. We must continue to put pressure on national governments, local authorities and international agencies to en sure that political authorities are held accountable for the implementation of legislation to this effect.

Private and public acts of violence by men against women are related; they reflect the inequality which characterises relationships between men and women. For this reason, all action programmes designed to reduce insecurity must involve gender related approaches; in addition, such programmes must include projects designed to promote egalitarian relationships between men and women.

Urban safety key-players must integrate gender-specific approaches into their action plans, which must also have precise objectives and evaluation indicators.

In view of the above, the cities are agreed on the following principles for action:

6.1 -Recognition of gender-related violence

Gender-related violence is misunderstood and often completely ignored. Statistics on all types of insecurity must be based on gender-specific approaches. Because women are victims of "symbolic" violence as well as of acts of violence, collected data must be based on women's own accounts: qualitative interviews, exploratory walks, breakdown of data by gender. We must also promote pooling of information at the international level.

6.2 -To combat women's feelings of insecurity we must change cultures, perceptions and attitudes.

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Education of children and adults is the first priority:

⋅ in schools (boys and girls) ⋅ ongoing education throughout life ⋅ training of professionals to promote common reference points.

6.3 -Both men and women contribute to urban safety; both men and women must together, as equals and in equal measure, initiate and participate in the definition of policies.

To achieve this goal, we must make sure that women have access to political power, and that participation by women citizens and by groups of women is firmly built into urban policies and decision-making processes.

6.4 -Partnerships between groups of women, technical agencies, criminal justice systems and political authorities have proved to be effective -perhaps even essential - factors in the development of coherent and successful projects.

6.5 -The only way to guarantee that these recommendations are implemented is to allocate specifically earmarked funds.

In view of the urgency and of the complexity of the issue of violence against women, and in view of the extent to which this issue has until now been misunderstood and neglected, public authorities should allocate funds:

⋅ for management of emergency situations (shelters and other reception facilities); ⋅ for the development of prevention programmes, which should rank high among the concerns of

most communities.

6.6 -Cities shall make sure that gender-specific approaches are built into the urban safety policies defined in this Manifesto. They shall pay special attention to the issues of trafficking and commerce in women, and to the problems of immigrant women and asylum-seekers who are victims of domestic violence.

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References

Council of Europe, Final Declaration, Conference on Reduction of Urban Insecurity, 17-20 November 1987, Barcelona, Spain.

European Forum for Urban Safety, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the United States Conference of Mayors. Agenda for Safer Cities, Final Declaration, European and North American Conference on Urban Safety and Crime Prevention, 10-13 October 1989, Montreal, Canada.

European Forum for Urban Safety, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, The United States Conference of Mayors, Final Declaration, Second International Conference on Urban Safety, Drugs and Crime Prevention; 18-20 November 1991, Paris, France.

European Forum for Urban Safety, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNCHS- HABITAT; World Bank, Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion - City of Health, International Conference on Cities, Justice and Poverty, 4-8 December 1995, Saint-Denis-de-la-Réunion, France.

European Forum for Urban Safety, Dakar Declaration establishing the African Forum for Urban Safety, 7 February 1998, Dakar, Senegal.

United Nations, UNDP/UNCHS-HABITAT, "Safe Cities" Conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, 1997

United Nations Centre for Human Settlements - HABITAT; "The Global Campaign for Good Urban Governance" (draft document, 1 May 2000).

Preparatory Seminars for the Naples Conference

Youth and Violence, 1 October 1999, Brussels, Belgium

Women, violence and urban insecurity, 9-10 March 2000, Sintra, Portugal

Community participation (I), 2-3 December 1999, Brent (London Borough), United Kingdom

Community participation (11), 4-5 May 2000, Turin, Italy

Urban Safety and the Media, 11-12 May 2000, Mulhouse, France

Safety and urban planning (I), 6-7- April 2000, Roubaix, France

Safety and urban planning (II), 15-16 June 2000, Rome, Italy

Safety and urban planning (III), 23-24 October 2000, A1cobendas, Spain

The relationship between public and private providers of safety, 12-13 October 2000, Cascais, Portugal

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Meeting of the College of Experts, 28-29 October 2000, Autonomous University of Barcelone, Spain

New safety-related jobs, - In-depth studies on the topic of new community jobs and safety managers have been produced by the European Forum for the past four years in the framework of the SécuCités- Managers programme.

Available at: http://www.fesu.org/fesu/upload/pdf/Cities_manifesto_ANG.pdf

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DÉCLARATION FINALE DU SÉMINAIRE DU FORUM IVOIRIEN POUR LA SÉCURITÉ URBAINE

« DES STRATÉGIES DE PRÉVENTION POUR DES VILLES PLUS SÛRES » 15 décembre 2001, Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire

L’Appel de Yamoussoukro Nous, maires des villes et communes de Côte d’Ivoire, participant au séminaire du Forum Ivoirien sur

la Sécurité Urbaine, sur le thème : “des stratégies de prévention pour des villes plus sûres ″, tenu à Yamoussoukro, du 13 au 15 décembre 2001, lançons un vibrant appel - au Gouvernement de Côte d’Ivoire, - au système de justice criminelle (police, gendarmerie et justice), - aux organisations de la société civile, au secteur privé ainsi qu’aux leaders des organisations

religieuses, chefs traditionnels et aux représentants de différents groupes de jeunes et de femmes, - aux citoyens et habitants des villes et communes ivoiriennes, - aux partenaires bilatéraux et multilatéraux d’aide au développement pour concevoir et mettre en œuvre des stratégies communes face aux problèmes complexes de l’insécurité et de la délinquance, contribuant de ce fait au développement de villes plus sûres en Côte d’Ivoire.

Préambule Reconnaissant que la délinquance, la violence et l’insécurité sont des menaces croissantes pour le développement durable des villes ivoiriennes et qu’une attention particulière doit être portée à la violence, la délinquance et la criminalité dans toutes ses formes, Conscient que la violence urbaine détruit le tissu social des villes, menace les fondements de la démocratie, érode le capital social des plus pauvres et augmente leur vulnérabilité, Considérant que la sécurité est un élément fondamental de la bonne gouvernance, qui se définit comme un bien commun, s’élabore et se construit collectivement, contribuant ainsi au développement économique, à la qualité de vie et à la promotion de la citoyenneté dans les centres urbains, Adhérant aux principes, conventions internationales et Fora des maires engageant la responsabilité des autorités municipales dans la lutte contre l’insécurité et l’élaboration de politiques de prévention au niveau local, Conscient que les réponses à la criminalité doivent être globales, faisant appel à tous les acteurs à l’échelle locale, nationale et internationale et s’attaquant aux causes de la criminalité qu’elles soient d’ordre institutionnel, sociale et psychologique ou liées à l’environnement physique urbain,

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Reconnaissant en outre que la lutte contre la violence et l’insécurité est un élément fondamental dans le développement harmonieux de la Côte d’Ivoire et dans la construction d’une culture de paix nationale et sous-régionale, Reconnaissant enfin que les préoccupations et les objectifs du Forum Ivoirien pour la Sécurité Urbaine sont complémentaires et se renforcent mutuellement avec ceux du gouvernement ivoirien et du Forum pour la Réconciliation Nationale, dont le rapport a été soumis à l’appréciation du Président de la république.

Principes généraux Considérant que l’approche de prévention est une approche locale, communautaire où le rôle de coordination des autorités municipales est déterminant dans l’identification et la mobilisation des différents acteurs pour la résolution des problèmes, Souhaitant vivement l’implication des citoyens, des leaders d’opinion et de la population dans son ensemble dans l’élaboration des politiques locales de prévention, Reconnaissant l’importance du partenariat entre les institutions, la société civile, le secteur privé, les média et les populations afin de s’attaquer aux problèmes causés par la criminalité et l’insécurité dans les villes ivoiriennes, Conscient du rôle primordial de la formation et du renforcement des capacités des autorités locales, de la police, de la gendarmerie et des représentants de la société civile, Reconnaissant la nécessité de suivre une méthodologie et un processus rigoureux visant à renforcer la prévention de la criminalité à travers un diagnostic local des causes de la délinquance et de la criminalité, l’élaboration de solutions réalistes, la conception intégrée d’un plan de prévention de la délinquance et des mécanismes de suivi et d’évaluation, Reconnaissant l’importance d’échanges d’expériences qu’il s’agisse des stratégies visant les groupes vulnérables, les approches villes plus sûres au niveau régional et international et le contrôle du trafic de drogues et des armes légères, Prenant acte des résolutions prises par le Forum Ivoirien pour la Réconciliation Nationale et notamment de toute l’importance attachée à la sécurité dans ses dimensions de lutte contre l’exclusion sociale et d’une justice impartiale et plus proche des citoyens,

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Engagements des maires Les maires ivoiriens, membres du Forum Ivoirien pour la Sécurité Urbaine, S’engagent à renforcer le rôle et contribuer au développement des activités du Forum Ivoirien pour la Sécurité Urbaine, dénommé ci-après FISU, S’engagent à développer et soutenir des programmes villes plus sûres et à appuyer la constitution des comités communaux de sécurité intégrant l’ensemble des partenaires, S’engagent à entretenir des relations étroites avec la police et la gendarmerie et ce, à travers des réunions de concertation régulières, S’engagent à contribuer au développement d’observatoires locaux de la délinquance, S’engagent à contribuer à la révision du système de justice pénale ivoirien et à identifier et disséminer les meilleures pratiques de justice alternatives basées sur la médiation, la conciliation et la réparation, S’engagent à contribuer à l’organisation de réseaux d’information entre villes et associations de villes telles que l’Union des Villes et Communes de Côte d’Ivoire, le Forum Africain sur la Sécurité Urbaine, ainsi que les autres partenaires nationaux, régionaux et internationaux, S’engagent à documenter les outils et pratiques de sécurité urbaine, contribuer à leur dissémination, pour constituer un pôle d’expertise et de réflexion au niveau de la Côte d’Ivoire et de la sous-région De façon spécifique, les maires, S’engagent à créer des cadres de rencontre régulières, d’échanges, de sensibilisation pour une meilleure collaboration avec la police et la gendarmerie contribuant ainsi à l’amélioration de l’image et de la perception de ces différents corps vis à vis de la population, S’engagent à élaborer et développer des modules de formation, destinés aux maires et conseillers municipaux ainsi qu’à la police et la gendarmerie pour une meilleure compréhension de l’approche de prévention et du travail partenarial, S’engagent à produire et disséminer une brochure sur les compétences des maires en matière de sécurité urbaine, ainsi que les relations avec la police et la gendarmerie, S’engagent à abriter le prochain séminaire Collectivités locales et police : “Partenaires pour la prévention״ en Côte d’Ivoire en 2002, faisant suite aux séminaires de Ouagadougou (1997) et Bamako (2000) afin de capitaliser les pratiques et l’échange d’expériences au niveau de la sous-région.

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Recommandations à l’égard des différentes institutions et partenaires Les maires recommandent au gouvernement et en particulier au Ministère d’Etat, Ministère de l’Intérieur et de la Décentralisation, le renforcement du processus de décentralisation en Côte d’Ivoire en vue de l’amélioration de la gouvernance urbaine locale et du rôle des élus dans le domaine de la prévention, Recommandent au Ministère d’Etat, Ministère de l’Intérieur et de la Décentralisation, de renforcer son appui aux maires et au FISU pour les initiatives de sécurité urbaine au niveau des villes et des communes ivoiriennes, et de clarifier le statut et les compétences de la police municipale, Recommandent particulièrement l’extension du projet pilote de Sécurité Urbaine appuyé par le CNUEH (Habitat) et financé par le PNUD dans les communes d’Adjamé, Treichville et Yopougon à l’ensemble des communes d’Abidjan et à d’autres communes de Côte d’Ivoire confrontées à des problèmes d’insécurité, Recommandent à la police et à la gendarmerie de :

• développer des échanges réguliers et participer aux réunions de concertation dans le cadre des comités communaux de sécurité,

• informer régulièrement les maires sur la situation sécuritaire de leur commune et informer la

population sur le rôle et les compétences de la police en vue de pallier au déficit d’information dans un esprit de collaboration mutuelle,

• contribuer à la production de données et d’indicateurs de base en vue de l’élaboration d’une

cartographie de la délinquance en tant qu’outil d’aide à la décision,

• collaborer avec les municipalités à la définition de programmes de formation et de renforcement des capacités,

Demandent aux institutions internationales, bilatérales et multilatérales d’aide au développement, de poursuivre et renforcer leur appui technique et leur support financier aux communes et villes de Côte d’Ivoire s’engageant dans l’élaboration et la mise en oeuvre des projets de prévention, Remercient le bureau du FISU, le comité d’organisation, pour la qualité du travail réalisé et les partenaires au développement, particulièrement le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement et le Centre des Nations Unies pour les Etablissements Humains (Habitat) pour leur assistance technique et financière, Remercient le Ministre d’Etat, Ministre de l’Intérieur et de la Décentralisation, la Ville de Yamoussoukro et l’ensemble des maires pour leur contribution au succès du séminaire.

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MONTREAL DECLARATION ON WOMEN’S SAFETY Women in Cities

First International Seminar on Women’s Safety: Making the Links 11 May 2002, Montreal, Canada

WE are women and men, in all our diversity, meeting in Montreal on the occasion of the 1st International Seminar on women's Safety, May 9 to 11, 2002. WE ARE REPRESENTATIVES of women's groups, grassroots, community and non-governmental organizations, cities and municipalities, police forces, government agencies, the research community, international networks and United Nations agencies, from five continents, 27 countries, and 55 cities and municipalities. WE CALL for action building on the recommendations of the conferences in Beijing 1995 (the Fourth World Conference on Women), Istanbul 1996 (the Second City Summit), Johannesburg 1998 (Building Partnerships on Crime Prevention and Community Safety), and Naples 2000 (Forum on Safety and Democracy). GIVEN THAT: Well-founded fear of crime, and various forms of violence against women, represent, for all women, a major obstacle in the exercise of their freedom and the achievement of gender equality. The effects of violence against women constitute an obstacle to the development of communities and societies around the world. CONSIDERING THAT: The strategies put in place by public, private and community-based organizations must put women at the centre of the action, and aim to reinforce the capacity of women's individual and collective actions. Co-ordinated approaches to intervention, including partnerships, and the pooling of resources, are essential principles for effective action. Good urban governance is a prerequisite to women's empowerment. This must include, amongst others, the allocation of adequate resources to women's organizations. The success of initiatives to address women's safety and security depend on the full involvement of men as well as women. The solutions introduced by women to increase safety and security make cities and municipalities safer for all.

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WE APPEAL: TO WOMEN Mobilize and speak out on issues of violence and insecurity, inspired by actions achieved by women throughout the world. Support women and men in their efforts to attain gender equality in decision-making positions (municipal governance, police, etc.). Support women in positions of power to remain accountable and promote equality. TO MEN Listen, accompany, and support women in their drive for autonomy and empowerment, and work to reduce mens' violence. Mobilize men and boys to challenge traditional gender roles in order to prevent violence against women and girls. TO WOMEN'S GROUPS, GRASSROOTS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS Work in partnership with all the relevant organizations, especially municipalities, to ensure that women's specific needs are taken into account in local prevention strategies. Special efforts should be given to outreach isolated communities. Create local to local exchanges. TO CITIES AND MUNICIPALITIES Put in place local safety policy, planning, and practices which integrate a gender approach, and which support women's safety initiatives. Provide greater opportunities for women's involvement, for example safety audits, including formal mechanisms to ensure adequate resources to respond to recommendations and sustain initiatives. Create formal mechanisms to increase the participation of women in decision-making in local governance (elected officials, managers and citizens). Allocate municipal funds to gender equality, community development and poverty reduction programs. Ensure transparency and accountability in municipal administration. Develop international cooperation at the municipal level including the exchange of good practices and experiences. TO POLICE SERVICES Ensure that the police take a preventive rather than a repressive approach to violence and insecurity. Work towards changing the organizational culture of the police, including the provision of adequate training on the causes and impacts of violence and insecurity on women. women's organizations and experiences should form part of such training. Work in partnerships on the development of strategies to promote women's safety and empowerment. Increase the numbers of women in the police.

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TO THE EDUCATION SECTOR Integrate gender awareness, anti-violence, and human rights teaching into the curriculum, to enable youth to challenge stereotypes and attitudes on gender-based violence. Provide gender training for all school staff. Encourage the use of student-led safety audits in and around schools. Mobilize children and teenaged girls through empowerment strategies, including self-defence, aimed at ensuring a safer city for all. TO THE MEDIA Contribute to community mobilization, and facilitate access to services aimed at ensuring women's safety. Challenge gender stereotypes and inequalities through information and awareness campaigns, including studies on women's experiences. Highlight and disseminate best practices. Work to reduce sensationalised reporting. TO THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY Encourage research on women's safety and the integration of gender in crime prevention, including the development of appropriate survey methods, process and evaluation tools. Provide research assistance and support to community-based project implementation and evaluation. TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR Recognize the economic and social impacts of violence against women and that prevention is cost effective and beneficial. Audit the impacts of all decisions on the safety and security of women employees, clients, and consumers, by working with unions, women's groups and community organizations to include these issues in workplaces. Partner with local organizations and municipalities, and financially support initiatives promoting women's safety. TO GOVERNMENTS Develop policies and programs to ensure women's financial autonomy, including women's right to own property. Develop integrated, concrete and accountable gender approaches in national crime prevention programs, including the allocation of necessary resources for the development and sustainability of strategies and initiatives on women's safety and security.

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Incorporate a gender approach in the training of elected officials and managers. Politically and financially support local governments in their efforts to promote safety. TO INTERNATIONAL NETWORKS AND UN AGENCIES Sustain and contribute to the development, documentation, adaptation, dissemination, and replication of good practices and tools. Increase the availability of electronic exchange, and of technical assistance, especially between the South and the North. Sustainable development requires international, regional, national and local-to-local exchanges and cooperation. Support the evaluation of progress made by regular international or regional conferences on women's safety. Available at: http://www.femmesetvilles.org

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NELSON MANDELA METROPOLE DECLARATION ON

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AMONG YOUTH IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

19 June 2002, Port Elizabeth, South Africa We are meeting in Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa, on the occasion of the International Conference on “Developing citizenship amongst youth in conflict with the law on the African Continent”, June 17 to 19 2002. We are representatives of national governments, cities and municipalities, civil society organisations working with youth at risk, the research community and multi-national experts, the police, magistrates and youth leaders, international networks and United Nations agencies from five continents, twenty one countries and thirty five cities and municipalities. We adhere to the recommendations put forth in:

• the World Youth Forums of the UN system, Vienna 1994 and 1996, Braga 1998 and Dakar 2001 • the World Conference of Ministers in Charge of Youth, Lisbon 1998 • the World Programme of Action for Youth to the year 2000 and beyond (UN 1996) • the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) • the OAU Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child (2000) • Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh 1990) • Minimum Standard Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing, 1985) • UN Child Summit (New York 2002) • UN Guidelines on Crime Prevention (Vienna 2002).

We affirm the principles of the Habitat II Conference (1996) where national governments for the first time recognized local governments, civil society, business communities, youths, women, and other local stakeholders as equal partners in the decision making process that affects human settlements. The conference resulted in a global plan of action known as the Habitat Agenda, which stipulates that youth should play an active and creative role in building sustainable communities and be accepted as a key partner for the implementation process. GIVEN THAT: The continued deterioration of the status of youth worldwide and as it applies in Africa, facing growing levels of unemployment, poverty, armed conflict, epidemic diseases (and in particular HIV/AIDS), functional illiteracy and substance abuse – among other social and economic challenges - places youth at risk in society.8 Youth violence – in particular in urban areas – has increased and the age of entry into delinquency is decreasing. Since the 1980’s, countries in the South have witnessed the growing phenomena of child abuse, 8 From the Dakar Youth Empowerment Strategy, Dakar, August 2001.

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street children, youth gangs, school dropouts, widespread social exclusion and civil wars involving child soldiers aggravating the situation of youth crime. Violence has become a serious threat to the well being, personal development and health of young people. Youth crime and violence occurs in different contexts, has multiple causes and requires multiple responses. The various causes should be analysed locally, both in the urban and rural context and responses developed locally through the joint efforts of key civic and neighbourhood actors. Youth are a positive and undeniable force in society and have enormous potential for contributing to the development of societies. GUIDED BY THE PRINCIPLES OF:

• Sustainable and economic development, networking and cooperation across the continent of Africa. Policy and strategy regarding youth and in particular youth in conflict with the law should be aligned with and central to the policies and strategies of NEPAD.

• Inclusive partnerships at international, regional, national and local levels, between intra and inter-governmental, non-governmental and community based organisations as well as partnerships with individuals and civil society and in particular the youth.

• Targeted investment in youth must begin in the early childhood years.

• Social development and an end to exclusion through a comprehensive range of environmental,

educational, economic, judicial, social and infrastructural strategies to promote respect for the rule of law, commitment to strong social fabric and a healthy and peaceful lifestyle.

• Full and inclusive participation of youth in civic affairs; youth must be empowered to participate

effectively in decision-making processes. The civic capital of marginalized youth must be recognized and supported.

• Good governance including accountability, sustainability, monitoring, evaluation and feedback

regarding strategies, policies, programmes and interventions.

• Family as it is understood in the African context, to include extended family and community members as appropriate.

WE THEREFORE APPEAL: To National Governments:

• To implement legislation to protect human rights as they relate to youth.

• To adopt and implement social crime prevention policies and programmes, and allocate financial resources for the prevention, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration, as appropriate, for children and youth in disadvantaged social conditions and who are at risk.

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• Give high priority to marginalized, vulnerable and disadvantaged youth, especially those who are separated from their families, children living or working on the streets.

• To devolve and decentralize some responsibilities for criminal justice to the local authorities and

set up mechanisms for local authorities to be actively involved in preventing youth crime and reintegrating young offenders.

• To ensure that issues of youth in conflict with the law are central to national youth policies.

To Local Governments:

• To mobilize partners and recommend the formulation and review of integrated, gender sensitive and cross-sectoral youth policies at the local level addressing substance abuse, street children, youth gangs, young offenders and restorative justice, involving all stakeholders, especially youth. Youth issues should not be treated in isolation, but mainstreamed into all policy making.

• To allocate local funds, develop strategies and implement social integration programmes with

particular focus on youth at risk of marginalization, including among others: youth affected by violence (including violence against women), youth affected by drug and substance abuse and young offenders. Offering renewed and continuous learning and training opportunities for youth is paramount.

• To develop mechanisms promoting youth participatory decision-making, fostering responsible

citizenship and promoting technical, human and financial support focused on assisting marginalized and vulnerable youth to address their own needs and interests and make their particular contribution to social progress.

To the Criminal Justice System:

• To promote the establishment of prevention, support and caring services as well as justice systems specifically applicable to children and youth taking into account the principles of restorative justice; fully safeguarding children’s rights and promoting youth’s reintegration into society.

• To recognize and ensure that alternatives to institutionalization are the highest priority in

determining correctional measures. Efforts should be made to reunite youth with their families. Traditional peace and conflict resolution mechanisms should be amongst the tools used for dealing with juvenile justice, offender rehabilitation and reintegration.

• To put in place sensitization and integrated multi-sectoral training programmes on the special

needs of children and youth, ensuring that their rights accorded under international and national law are enforced by all service providers.

• To work towards the establishment of youth courts with multi-sectoral, dedicated service providers.

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• To take steps to provide youth with free legal and other assistance in court. Magistrates should

make special efforts to ensure that youth understand the nature of the proceedings, the status and disposition of their cases. Parents or family members should take part in the proceedings.

• To affirm the important role that families, peers, schools and communities play in youth

development. Family must be supported and strengthened so as to participate effectively in youth justice, offender reintegration and crime prevention.

• To explore alternative ways of diverting youth from criminal activities and substance abuse, gang-

related activities and crime through targeted mentoring, cultural, and educational programmes and also through sports and recreational activities.

To Youth in Society and Youth Organisations:

• To take the lead in peer-to-peer training to stimulate, support and facilitate the role of marginalized and vulnerable youth in the wider society, recognising that young people are the best agents for delivering positive change for other young people.

• To network and develop and institutionalise mechanisms for sustained youth empowerment and

participation in decision-making at all levels, with particular emphasis on local-to-local exchanges.

• To mobilize and promote awareness on the causes and costs of social exclusion and to promote programmes that foster social integration.

To Local Communities:

• To ensure that the family is supported as the cornerstone of the community.

• To facilitate the integration of youth into society through education, providing support, transmitting values and contributing to the development of young women and men into responsible adults.

• To act as an agent of socialization and provide local and accessible role models, building on

traditional forms of social control including conflict resolution and mediation, traditional laws, ethnic values and religion.

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In support of the above, to United Nations Agencies and the International Community:

• To build an effective culture of peace through education and training, aimed at social progress, fighting inequalities and recognising the importance of dialogue and co-operation.

• To provide technical and/or financial assistance in order to establish and promote programmes for

youth development and the rehabilitation and reintegration of youth in conflict with the law.

• Develop and promote networks and exchanges to enhance the capacity of youth. Promote and enable the exchange of experiences and information between youth, especially young people living in extreme poverty and those requiring protection from violence, in particular young women.

• To promote awareness-raising campaigns reinforcing positive behaviours and seek to transform

negative practices in a constructive and positive way in young people, including marginalized and excluded youth.

• To advocate and promote capacity building by contributing to the development, documentation,

adaptation, dissemination and replication of good practices and tools RESOLVE TO

• Establish a network of cities and youth at the local, national, sub-regional and regional level in Africa, with a functioning secretariat, with the objective of promoting community-wide participation and partnership approaches as crucial to the accurate assessment of the problem of youth in conflict with the law, the identification of viable solutions and the formulation and implementation of appropriate strategies, policies and programmes.

• Establish a (bi-annual) forum for regional exchanges of experiences on restorative justice

approaches and youth empowerment models in the framework of city-to-city cooperation.

• Present and further explore the conference outcomes at the Youth Employment Summit and the World Summit for Sustainable Development to be held this year in Alexandria and Johannesburg respectively, as well as the 5th World Youth Forum of the United Nations system.

• Call on all African governments to develop programmes to give African youth a meaningful voice

in governance. Available at: http://www.welfare.gov.za/Documents/2002/June/DECLARE.HTM

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KAMPALA DECLARATION PREVENT GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE IN AFRICA

6 September 2003, Kampala, Uganda We are representatives of NGOs, women’s groups, cities, municipalities and United Nations agencies from 10 countries in the Horn, Eastern and Southern Africa. We gathered in Kampala, Uganda from September 4th to 6th, 2003 to conduct a Regional Dialogue: Preventing Gender-based Violence: Sharing Experiences, Breaking New Ground, organized by Raising Voices and UN-HABITAT’s Safer Cities Programme. We call for action to prevent and eradicate gender-based violence in Africa. GIVEN THAT:

• Gender-based violence is a violation of basic human rights.

• Gender-based violence results from an imbalance of power between women and men and is deeply entrenched in some cultural practices and intimate relationships.

• Gender-based violence is not a private issue but one that involves society as a whole and therefore

calls for a holistic approach promoting preventive solutions. WE RECOGNISE THAT:

• Efforts must focus on preventing rather than merely responding to gender-based violence since prevention addresses the root causes of violence, has farther-reaching effects and is ultimately more cost effective.

• Prevention efforts must be holistic in conception and comprehensive in design. They need to engage

a broad cross section of the community through a range of methodologies.

• Programmatic tools need to be developed in order to implement effective programs, to document practical experiences, to monitor and evaluate progress, and support practitioners and local authorities.

• The civil society has a catalytic role to play in mobilizing communities, promoting women’s rights,

building the bridge between policy and practice and facilitating change at the grassroots.

• Local authorities have a crucial role to play in mainstreaming gender in safety policies, supporting and allocating appropriate resources to gender-based violence initiatives, and promoting women’s access to strategic positions within local government.

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WE RECOMMEND:

• Community Mobilization: Strive to engage the whole community from women, men, youth and children at the grassroots to community leaders and professionals within local institutions. Address gender-based violence as a community’s responsibility instead of making it a ‘women’s issue’ and use multiple strategies to reach out to all sectors in society.

• Awareness Raising: Harness community creativity, expertise and resources and tailor initiatives to

different cultural contexts in order to make them more successful in changing attitudes. Develop sustained follow-up activities to take advantage of momentum generated and link awareness with action.

• Media: Forge positive relationships with the media establishment. Proactively and constructively

involve them in the process of planning communication strategies. Pay close attention to the intended audience and use traditional, mainstream and new media to reach out to diverse groups.

• Working with Men: Work with rather than against men to develop more inclusive, relevant and

cost effective responses to violence prevention that will benefit entire communities. Use benefits-based approaches and identify male allies in communities, local government and non-government organizations to improve impact and institutionalization.

• Strengthening Existing Community Structures: Harness communities’ social capital by involving

all community stakeholders such as citizens, traditional and religious leaders, lawyers, police, and other professionals. Work with these structures to integrate the work of violence prevention in their policies and practice.

• Encourage Partnership between NGOs and local governments: Develop stronger relationships

with local governments who are well positioned to effect sustainable change by facilitating city-level action and mobilizing resources to this effect.

• Local government capacity building: Strengthen local governments’ role and ability in social

crime prevention, fighting violence against women, and increasing women’s involvement through training and sensitization activities.

WE THEREFORE CALL UPON:

• The United Nations, through its mechanisms and agencies, to promote such initiatives and to document the progress made in gender-based violence prevention.

• All members of the African Union to ratify and take concrete measures in their respective countries

to operationalize the Women's Rights Protocol, with specific attention to Article Four on the Rights to Life, Integrity and Security of the Person which calls for the prevention and elimination of gender-based violence.

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• Governments, at the central and local level, to commit to actualize policy and legal provisions on gender-based violence at the grassroots level.

• Funding agencies to support prevention efforts of NGOs recognizing that changing attitudes and

behavior is a long-term process.

• Practitioners and activists to continue building partnerships between stakeholders working on gender-based violence through dialogues, exchanges and networks.

Such efforts would allow us to monitor our progress, reaffirm our commitment and lead the way in preventing and eradicating gender-based violence throughout Africa. Available at: http://www.raisingvoices.org/declaration.shtml

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FINAL DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE SAFETY:

Municipalities at the Crossroads 28 November 2003, eThekwini Municipality (Durban), South Africa

BACKGROUND This declaration builds on the declaration and plan of action of the Johannesburg Conference of 1998 and acknowledges the extensive work accomplished in the subsequent five years. In accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, in the spirit of NEPAD and other regional development objectives, the Mayors and other stakeholders gathered at this conference in eThekwini Municipality from 25-28 November 2003, state as follows: WE RECOGNISE THE FOLLOWING ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENTS:

• Consensus on the way forward to make our cities safer: to achieve sustainable community safety through partnerships involving all stakeholders.

• Increasing recognition of the crucial role of cities in building sustainable safety through partnerships.

• Increasing commitment from Mayors and other stakeholders. • Growing inclusion of community safety in local, national and international agendas. • Good practices at the local level as well as a growing commitment to building capacities. • The implementation of the NePAD Initiative as well as the Millennium Development Goals

CONSTRAINTS In recognition of the following:

• The lack of conducive institutional and legal framework. • Negative impact of weak governance. • Difficulties in measuring and assessing results. • Difficulties in realising inclusive participation and sustainable effective partnerships.

CHALLENGES Therefore, there is an urgent need for:

• More commitment among all stakeholders. • Greater focus on implementation on the ground. • Agreed upon set of targets and indicators. • Monitoring and evaluation. • Development and adaptation of crime prevention tools. • Greater recognition from more national governments of the crucial role of cities in achieving these

goals. • Translation of political will into action. • Strengthened links between safety and good governance, integrated urban planning and design, and

responsive service delivery.

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• Active engagement of women and other vulnerable groups, such as the poor, street families, children, youth, and people with disabilities.

• Focus on action addressing the poor and other marginalised and vulnerable groups. • More priority for capacity building and skills transfer of local authorities and partner

institutions/stakeholders. • Fostering of city-to-city cooperation and exchange of expertise, regionally as well as inter-

regionally. • Recognition of community safety as an essential element of sustainable development and poverty

reduction. WAYS FORWARD Therefore, the conference has resolved the following commitments: Mayors undertake to:

• Provide leadership and commitment, and mobilise and engage stakeholders. • Provide sustainable continuity in enforcing the community safety agenda. • Advocate the process with local, national and international stakeholders, such as in AfriCities and

the World Urban Forum, and use such existing national and international associations, Mayors forums and networks to further the cause.

• Share experiences and resources through city-to-city cooperation. • Pilot and document interventions focused on marginalised children and youth, urban planning and

renewal. • Ensure institutional, technical and human resources to support the implementation of community

safety strategies. The conference urges: All spheres of governments and their respective departments (particularly Police, Justice and Social Development) to:

• Enable and facilitate transformation, adaptation and implementation of the necessary institutional frameworks.

• Develop safety and crime prevention policies and programmes in support of local initiatives and strategies, such as the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Initiative on youth restorative justice.

• Work in partnership and collaboration with provincial, regional and local authorities and with other stakeholders.

It further urges: Youth associations, community and women groups, media and civil society, as well as the private sector to:

• Develop proposals that enhance effective participation and inclusion in local safety strategies. • Be proactive in the development and implementation of such strategies.

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In support of this: UN HABITAT commits to facilitate development of indicators and benchmarks, document good practices and methodologies for crime prevention in collaboration with partner organisations, provide technical assistance and facilitate training, facilitate international/regional networks of resource institutions and partners, reconvene the Mayors meeting to assess progress in maximum three years time. UNODC commits, in partnership with UN-HABITAT and other organisations, to develop a crime prevention Manual/Toolkit, to organise a workshop on urban crime prevention within the framework of the UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (Bangkok, May 2005) as well as to provide technical assistance in this area. UN-HABITAT and UNODC commit to join forces in promoting and assisting the Safer Cities agenda. Finally, the conference urges: International agencies and donors to:

• Become active partners in support of these processes. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/

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MAYORS’ DECLARATION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE SAFETY:

Municipalities at the Crossroads 28 November 2003, eThekwini Municipality (Durban), South Africa

Timeframe 2003-2006: The plan of action of the Conference has to be measurable and will help participating local authorities to realise new concrete urban safety initiatives. In this regard, the partners and local authorities in particular need to come up with a clear monitoring and evaluation mechanisms that can define indicators on which these changes can be measured. Specific Outputs: Cities will concentrate their activities on youth, street children and families, and marginalised groups; urban planning and renewal, innovative institutional arrangements, and pilot initiatives; and realise concrete outputs in these areas. City-to-City Collaboration: Local authorities should establish city-to-city cooperation based on best practices on urban safety within this timeframe. Regional Bodies: Local Authorities should establish clear linkage with NEPAD on urban issues including urban safety within this timeframe. IULA, for example, must sit within NEPAD so that Local Authorities decisions, such as on infrastructure and environment design, are aligned with the resources within NEPAD. The Role of Mayors: Local Authorities resolve to specifically mention and establish a network-association of Mayors in Africa without contradicting or replicating the work of IULA and other regional local authorities institutions. A task team of Mayors be established by Mayors present to move the agenda forward from Yaoundé, Cameroon (AfriCities 2003) to other Mayors’ Forums. AfriCities: The AfriCities 2000 Mayors’ Declaration agreed to unify all sub-regional bodies of local authorities and come up with a unified structure in Yaoundé 2003. This is also the settled position of the Mayors of this conference. The Mayors have further appreciated and commended the proposal of Nairobi to host the next AfriCities Conference.

Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/

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URBAN SAFETY AND SECURITY RECOMMENDATIONS AFRICITIES SUMMIT 2003

6 December 2003, Yaoundé, Cameroon Urban and community safety as part of global safety: The participants agree that urban safety is an essential element for the sustainable development of cities (economic, social and cultural). It is a basic service which should be accessible to all citizens. Moreover, it is a concern for every citizen, and in particular for the poor, who are affected most by urban insecurity since insecurity plays a major role in hindering the possibility for the poor to break the cycle of poverty and fully participate in development efforts. This is particularly true for women affected by domestic violence as well as by other forms of crime. Developing community safety is part of a strategy to reduce and prevent crime in the short, medium and long term. It is not only managing insecurity and the crisis it generates. Urban safety needs to be looked at in particular from a perspective of development of citizenship values and rights, and in relation to participation and improved governance: urban safety can only be built through participation and engagement of all urban society and it demands transparency, commitment to delivery and the development of a culture of solidarity and of respect for the rule of law. The mayors in attendance have reiterated their support for this global approach regarding community safety and have expressed their will to implement integrated strategies at the local level to prevent delinquency, violence and insecurity in cities. They have adopted a declaration in this regard during AfriCities 2003. This declaration is attached and is part of this report. The Safer Cities approach has made considerable progresses over the past few years in Africa and other regions of the world. At city, national regional and international level tools and experiences have been developed in support of cities to address urban safety concerns. In addition understanding of the approach and commitment by Mayors and other stakeholders has increased tremendously in the past years. The local and international agendas recognize more and more the issues of urban safety as integral part of the urban development agenda. Ingredients of the more successful experiences have also been identified. They are: municipal democratic leadership, support from national government, involvement of civil society, exchange with sister cities and capacity to develop locally appropriate responses, building on local know-how and cultures as well as informed by international experiences. Constraints have also been identified that hinder the translation of political will into action and that limit progress on the ground:

• The lack of conductive institutional and legal frameworks

• Negative impact of weak governance and non respect of the rule of law by all

• Difficulties in measuring and assessing results

• Difficulties in realizing inclusive participation and sustainable effective partnerships

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• Persistent limited capacities at local level • Conflicts in the region, the circulation of light firearms and drug trafficking.

Notwithstanding, enormous opportunities exist for addressing these constraints. They are:

• The UN-HABITAT Global campaign on urban governance and the Safer Cities Programme

• The NEPAD initiative for Africa

• The decentralization policies that many countries are developing and implementing

• The international focus on the improvement of the life of slum dwellers expressed by the Millennium Development Goal (target 11)

• Interest by UNODC and other UN agencies to be involved more in operational and normative work

on urban safety and youth at risk

• The increasing number of promising projects initiated in Africa based on existing local models of intervention or on the experiences of other regions of the world.

Mayors and others stakeholders have committed themselves to action in support of the safer cities agenda during the Durban International Conference on Sustainable Safety (25-28 November 2003). They reiterate their commitment to: • Mobilize and engage all stakeholders (municipal departments, police, justice, social services, schools,

civil society, the private sector, etc.) and pilot this partnership • Provide sustainable continuity in enforcing the community safety agenda • Advocate the process with local, national and international stakeholders, such as in Africities, World

Urban Forum, and use existing (national and international) associations, Mayors forums and networks to further the cause

• Share experiences, good practices and resources through city-to-city cooperation • Pilot and document interventions focused on marginalized children and youth, urban planning and

renewal • Ensure institutional, technical and human resources to support the implementation of community safety

strategies. In support of this UN-HABITAT has committed to: • facilitate the development of indicators and benchmarks • document good practices and methodologies for crime prevention in collaboration with partner

organizations • provide technical assistance and facilitate training • facilitate international/regional networks of resource institutions and partners • convene the Mayors meeting to assess progress in maximum three years time.

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And UNODC commits, in partnership with UN-HABITAT and other organizations to: • develop a crime prevention Manual/Toolkit • organize a workshop on urban crime prevention within the framework of the UN Congress on Crime

Prevention and Criminal Justice (Bangkok, May 2005) as well as to • provide technical assistance in this area. Furthermore, UN-HABITAT and UNODC commit to join forces in promoting and assisting the safer cities agenda. In recognition of the above and in order to further the agenda of safety in cities in Africa, the participants have identified the following recommendations: To National Governments (All spheres of governments and their respective departments (particularly Police, Justice and Social Development) to: • Enable and facilitate transformation, adaptation, coordination and implementation of the necessary

institutional frameworks. • Develop national policies and programmes on local government, poverty reduction, children and youth,

women, police and justice in support to local strategies • Develop safety and crime prevention policies and programmes in support of local initiatives and

strategies, such as the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Initiative on youth restorative justice. • Work in partnership and collaboration with provincial, regional and local authorities and with other

stakeholders • Involve mayors in the fight against organized crime, the circulation of light firearms and drug

trafficking. To Local Authorities to: • Provide democratic municipal leadership and commitment, in order to fully use the potential role of

mayors and councilors as champions of safer cities • Consider safety as a cross-cutting priority in integrated urban planning and service delivery and

Strengthen links between safety and good governance, integrated urban planning and design, and responsive service delivery

• Further discussion on metropolitan or municipal policing • Promote consultation and public debate on issues of urban safety and to strongly engage with

stakeholders, particularly the more vulnerable, women and youth • Participate in city-to-city cooperation, networking, exchange of expertise and documentation of good

and innovative practices • Implement the Durban work programme.

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To Associations of Cities to: • Foster cooperation and exchange of expertise between cities at national and regional level • Promote the Safer Cities approach and foster networking among their constituents • Organize a working group on the issue. To International Agencies and Bilateral Development Cooperation to: • Become active partners in support of these processes • Provide Financial and technical support. To the Municipal Development Partnership (MDP) to: • Facilitate the participation of cities and development of capacities in collaboration with UN-HABITAT

and other expert organizations • Support as facilitator of the continental movement of municipalities the inclusion of urban safety in the

agenda To Civil Society, Youth Associations, the Media and Private Sector to: • Develop proposals that enhance effective participation and inclusion in local safety strategies • Be pro-active in the development and implementation of such strategies • Provide financial and managerial support wherever possible The participants propose that a Day of the African Municipality be instituted in order to sensitize the population and foster the debates on issues such as community safety. The participants also request that cities be officially invited to be part of the NEPAD Secretariat. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/

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MAYORS’ DECLARATION ON COMMUNITY SAFETY AFRICITIES SUMMIT 2003

6 December 2003, Yaoundé, Cameroon Context: Community safety is an essential component of the sustainable development of cities. A mobilization of all stakeholders is required to develop integrated strategies to reduce and prevent delinquency, violence and insecurity. Local authorities play a key role in this regard and in the coordination of action at the local level. They foster safety as a basic service which should accessible to all, in particular the poor and other vulnerable groups. Timeframe 2003-2006: The plan of action regarding community safety adopted at this conference has to be measurable and will help participating local authorities to realize new concrete urban safety initiatives. In this regard, the partners and local authorities in particular need to come up with a clear monitoring and evaluation mechanism that can define indicators on which these changes can be measured. Specific Outputs: Cities will concentrate their activities on youth, street children and families, marginalised groups, on urban planning and renewal and on innovative institutional arrangement; and pilot initiatives and realize concrete outputs in these areas. City-to-City Collaboration: Local authorities will establish city to city cooperation based on best practices on urban safety within this timeframe. Regional Bodies: Local Authorities should establish clear linkage with NEPAD on urban issues including urban safety within this timeframe. Mayors and cities for example must sit within NEPAD so that Local Authorities decision say on infrastructure and environment design are aligned with the resources within NEPAD. The Role of Mayors: Local Authorities resolve to specifically mention and come up with the establishment of network-association of Mayors in Africa without contradicting or replicating the work of IULA and other regional local authorities institutions. A task team of Mayors be established by Mayors present to move the agenda forward from Yaoundé (AfriCities 2003) to other Mayors’ Forums. AfriCities: The AfriCities 2000 Mayors’ Declaration agreed to unify all sub-regional bodies of local authorities and come up with a unified structure in Yaoundé 2003. The mayors present in this conference also support this initiative. The Mayors have further agreed and commended the proposal that Nairobi host the next AfriCities Conference. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/

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FINAL DECLARATION International Seminar for Safer Cities 10 December 2003, Guarulhos, Brazil

Meeting together for the International Seminar for Safer Cities, carried out in Guarulhos, Brazil, on the 9th and 10th of December 2003, the participants of this event, Mayors and their representatives, as well as members of parliament, of security bodies, of international and civil society organizations, invited personalities and other authorities, decided to approve the following Declaration, as described bellow. 1. Guarulhos Seminar conclusions are aligned and inspired on many international agreements which give a

framework for the United Nations Organization activities on the urban areas security matters, namely:

• The Resolutions 1995/9 and 1995/15 of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, respectively on “Guidelines for the prevention of urban criminality” and “ Technical cooperation and interregional advisory services for crime prevention and criminal justice”;

• The successive Mayors´ international conferences on urban violence and security issues, which took place in Barcelona (1987), Montreal (1989), Paris (1991), Vancouver (1996), Johannesburg (1998) and Naples (2000). These conferences have been organized initially by the International Centre of Criminality Prevention, based in Canada, together with the European Forum of Urban Safety and further on by Habitat;

• The set up of the Safer Cities Program in 1996 by the agency Habitat of the United Nations, which developed a proper approach on safer cities. This particular focus is based on the need of a decentralized policy, built on the commitment and leadership of Mayors and local councils, and having a common understanding that security is a citizen need as important as health, safe environment, transportation and employment, and therefore, that it couldn’t be only a central government incumbency.

2. Guarulhos Seminar has allowed for a broad thematic discussion on urban security, including four main areas:

• Municipalities´ roles and competences as regards to public security; • Building up of municipal policies for integrated public management of citizen security; • Preventing delinquency through integrated actions aimed at social inclusion and people’s participation as

well as urban improvements; • Communitarian police approaches and experiences as well as public space management. In the context of the discussion carried out, a set of guidelines and proposals came up, as follows: • The relationships among participants for exchange and cooperation must become stronger, being

supported by the set up or the development of international fora and networks, as well by the preparation of common projects. The relevance of setting up and efficient operation of national and regional security fora has been raised consequently.

• We should look for a better clarification of the roles the municipalities may have on urban security and for a clearer support on the constitutional and legal framework in order to achieve these roles, based on best practices and existing strategies on that matter. The participants expressed their conviction that the

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prevention as well as the integration between security issues and social improvement can only be achieved effectively through the active involvement of the municipalities.

• The municipalities’ expertise to formulate, implement and follow up citizen security policies should be reinforced through capacity building programs and regional and international exchange actions.

• The participants recommend that the coordination of all security functions carried out within municipal territories be performed under the leadership of their Mayors, supported by large representative local boards. As the available experiences demonstrate these local arrangements have allowed for a more rational and planned action, saving public resources and achieving better results.

• Municipal and regional security policies should evolve in the sense of a systemic and multi sector approach, covering all aspects and situations that give greater security to citizens. These policies should include, apart from the security forces operations, social inclusion as well and particularly the relationships of conflict within families, the struggle against gender or children violence, the actions involving young people as victims or actors of violence, the local insecurity problems that are not related to municipal competence (such as drug dealing), environmental risks and the more appropriate ways for people living together.

• Identically, we should try to involve civil society and private sector qualified representatives as well as other specialized institutions in the planning and monitoring process at municipal level, developing a co-production urban security approach.

• The set of security actions will gain effectiveness and measuring possibilities, if they are based on municipal strategic plans, prepared accordingly to a clear and broad methodology and including the participation of all stakeholders. Moreover it’s very recommended that these plans be prepared at regional level, involving the municipalities taking part on each region.

• The urban and socio-economic development projects and plans should be prepared and evaluated as well, taking into account the incidence on security issues of their different components, either from the point of view of public space adequacy to citizen’s life, or their capacity to focus on the groups that are more vulnerable to urban violence.

• Communitarian or proximity police should, especially thorough municipal guards, prioritise the protection of citizens and their rights, working in close coordination with other security forces operating on municipal territories.

3. The participants of the Guarulhos Seminar decide to build up an international committee that will be in

charge of proceeding on the subjects and conclusions achieved, which concept is developed in a separate proposal.

Guarulhos, 10th of December 2003

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DECLARACION DE MONTERREY Conferencia Internacional de Jóvenes en Riesgo en

América Latina y el Caribe 11 de Octubre del 2004

En la ciudad de Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, durante los días del 9 al 11 de octubre de 2004, representantes y delegados de organizaciones del Sistema de las Naciones Unidas, de más de 50 gobiernos nacionales y municipales de las Américas, África, Asia y Europa, de organizaciones no gubernamentales y académicos que trabajan con y por los jóvenes, participamos en la Conferencia Internacional Sobre Jóvenes en Situaciones de Riesgo, bajo el tema “Familias Fuertes, Ciudades Protectoras e Incluyentes: la experiencia de América Latina y el Caribe” en la cual escuchamos ponencias, puntos de vista y compartimos experiencias de proyectos en curso, escuchamos testimonios y visitamos iniciativas en la ciudad de Monterrey, de las cuales concluimos: Tomando en cuenta que América Latina y el Caribe es de las regiones en el mundo mas criminalizadas, con la mayoría de la delincuencia en las ciudades, los jóvenes, especialmente de los sectores mas vulnerables, resultan ser las principales victimas y victimarios de la violencia. Definimos como principios orientadores: • Reconocer la ciudadanía de jóvenes para garantizar el pleno ejercicio de sus derechos y obligaciones. • La juventud y la adolescencia en América Latina y el Caribe son miembros activos y necesarios para la

construcción participativa de ciudadanía. • La violencia es multicausal y debe ser reconocida en todas sus dimensiones, las respuestas deben ser

multifuncionales y multiactores. • Nunca es demasiado temprano o tarde para prevenir la violencia. • Priorizar la prevención de la violencia con contenido de género y con base en evidencias y no en

percepciones subjetivas. • Destacar la importancia del hábitat, la ciudad y el espacio público para el arraigo y la identidad de la

juventud. • Reconocer las diferentes manifestaciones culturales juveniles, tolerancia y respeto. • Apoyar a las y los jóvenes emprendedores con enfoque social y local. • La creación de oportunidades productivas dignas para que los jóvenes ganen un ingreso, esta en

concordancia con el espíritu de la declaración del milenio y objetivo 8 de las Metas del Milenio. Destacamos los siguientes avances: • Hay experiencias en varios países que demuestran progresos y mejor conciencia en la comprensión del

problema en nuestra región con un enfoque multisectorial y polifacético. • Hemos constatado la existencia de procesos y proyectos de prevención de violencia juvenil

prometedores, a los cuales invitamos a una evaluación rigorosa para compartir aprendizajes y buenas prácticas

• Hemos escuchado experiencias positivas de integración y reinserción de jóvenes así como experiencias de revalorización del hábitat desde la visión de niños y jóvenes para su empoderamiento y de la sociedad en su conjunto.

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A pesar de los avances, expresamos nuestra preocupación por la cobertura insuficiente de las políticas actuales y valoramos la necesidad de establecer iniciativas de escala universal con articulaciones en el ámbito local y de ciudad. Hacemos un llamado a las autoridades nacionales, locales y a la sociedad en general para comprometernos a: • Diseñar propuestas de investigación que contribuyan a entender la incidencia, factores de vulnerabilidad,

riesgo y protección; desarrollo y evaluación de intervenciones y diseminación e implementación de estrategias, políticas y programas de prevención efectivos.

• Compartir experiencias y buenas prácticas para su posible adaptación según las circunstancias y la

validez de las mismas. • Crear y fortalecer redes (al nivel local, nacional, regional y global), para fomentar el intercambio de

recursos, herramientas, estudios, conferencias, y otras actividades. • Generar políticas y procesos preventivos desde una perspectiva de participación de los y las jóvenes en

construcción de familias fuertes, ciudades equitativas y más seguras. • Promover una agenda regional que facilite estos procesos en nuestros países y ciudades. • Promover procesos y campañas que informen, movilicen y formen opinión pública que reconozcan a los

jóvenes de la región como valioso capital social en la construcción de familias, comunidades y ciudades más seguras.

• Abogar ante los gobiernos por el financiamiento, implementación y sostenibilidad de planes y proyectos

de prevención y a disponer de legislación y políticas públicas orientadas a la prevención. • Fomentar las expresiones propias de la cultura de los jóvenes de una manera positiva en el espacio

público. • Exhortar a los organismos internacionales de financiamiento y cooperación técnica a apoyar y facilitar

una mayor respuesta integral a la violencia juvenil y el acceso a los recursos para la implementación de los proyectos

• Desarrollar programas empresariales innovadores con gente joven a nivel municipal en las áreas de

VIH/SIDA, agua, saneamiento y energía renovable que generen oportunidades de vida sustentable y respondan a las necesidades de los jóvenes y sus comunidades.

Agradecemos al pueblo de Monterrey por su cálida hospitalidad y acogida cariñosa que ha tenido con todas y todos nosotros.

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FINAL DECLARATION Safe Cities for Women and Girls

25 November 2004, Bogota D.C., COLOMBIA

WE ARE representatives of local governments from the Americas, Africa and Europe, from the United Nations System, international and regional networks, NGOs, social organisations, grassroots women’s groups and academics, participating in the Second International Conference on Safe Cities for Women and Girls, organised in the city of Bogota, D.C. Colombia, from the 22nd to the 25th of November 2004. We are from Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic Ecuador, United States, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru, Russia, Scotland and South Africa. We acknowledge the recommendations from the following International Conferences, Cairo 1994 (Population and Development), Belém do Pará 1994 (Interamerican Convention to Prevent, Sanction and Eradicate Violence Against Women) Beijing 1995 (4th International Conference on Women, Istanbul 1996 (Habitat II, the City Summit), Johannesburg 1998 (Develop Networks in Crime Prevention and Community Safety), Naples 2000 (Forum on Safety and Democracy), Montreal, 2002 (1st International Conference on Women’s Safety), Durban, 2003 (Municipalities at the Crossroads), Monterrey 2004 (International Conference on Youth at Risk). CONSIDERING THAT: • Gender-based violence is deeply entrenched in the cultural and social relations between men and women and is the result of an imbalance of power between men and women • Gender-based violence must be considered within the general framework of human rights violations • Gender violence is aggravated when poverty and social-political violence ends in internal armed conflict, bringing even greater obstacles to the achievement of gender equality and the fulfilment of the rights of women and girls • Private is public as far as gender-based violence is concerned and it is an issue which must be addressed by society in general and demands partnerships between national and local governments and civil society organisations, especially women’s organisations and organisations working with children • The traditional focus given to urban violence and its costs does not incorporate a gender equality perspective, therefore, the risks and damages incurred by women and girls in the context of urbanviolence has not been adequately recognised or addressed We acknowledge the main United Nations Declarations and Recommendations, in particular the Beijing Platform of Action and the Habitat Agenda that states: “Governments commit themselves to: develop programmes and practices that promote the total and equal participation of women in the planning and in the decision-making process regarding human settlements and urban development”. We recognise the international, regional, national and local progress regarding: - Broader consensus on basic principles and norms of human solidarity and the necessary policies for their development - Better knowledge of necessary measures to ensure that cities safer for women and kgirls are safer for all - More violence prevention programmes with joint participation of the community, governments, private sector and other key actors - Formal recognition of the central role of municipalities and a more commitment of local authorities and other stakeholders

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- More recognition of this issue in local, national, regional and international agendas - Significant practices that can be scaled-up and replicated Challenges: - To ensure committed local governments, developing pro-active public policies, incorporating a gender approach - To create and/or reinforce integrated programmes with appropriate human and economical resources for their implementation - To develop adequate tools for the reinforcement of the citizenship of women (i.e. measurement and monitoring tools) - To develop and/or reinforce strategic alliances between women’s organisations, popular movements, the criminal justice system, private sector and other key actors - To reach agreements and highlight existing partnerships between women’s networks and organisations and local authorities - To encourage and guarantee institutional spaces for women’s issues with adequate resources to ensure a gender approach in the development of public policies - To reach and/or strengthen the links between decision makers and those responsible for gender policies within governments We therefore call upon: National Governments – To ensure appropriate policies, mechanisms and resources to address the causes of violence; as well as guaranteeing full safety for women participating in politics either as candidates or elected leaders. Local Authorities– To implement municipal safety policies with a gender perspective; to build the capacity of those who are responsible for the formulation and implementation of public policy, aiming at the protection of human rights and the reinforcement of civic responsibility, especially the police force, in terms of the prevention of violence against women and girls in the private as well as public space; to increase the number of women police officers, specifically attending cases of violence against women and girls; specific prevention programmes for adolescents and girls, shelters for battered women, adequate infrastructure, public transport, adequate lighting and the promotion of more women in local decision-making, encourage peace programmes and community solidarity and create special programmes for violent men. Private Sector – To exercise their social responsibility including violence prevention programmes, good practices awards, adequate resources for capacity building in responsible citizenship, security and peace through media, as well as establishing internal mechanisms for sanctioning sexual harassment in the workplace. Universities and Research Centres – To collaborate with local and national authorities ensuring adequate tools for measuring safety in our cities and our homes; to create urban observatories together with local authorities and popular movements in order to monitor urban safety; to create new measurement tools and to include this topic in curriculum and specific courses.

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Police Forces – To promote an attitude of service and civic responsibility that encourages practices of human solidarity and common agreement between authorities and citizens, as well as to reinforce the awareness and capacity of public officials in order to ensure a more adequate response to the needs of women and girls who are victims of violence. Mass Media – To work with communities and with local authorities in the dissemination of the norms and principles of mutual respect and solidarity, the use of symbols, images and language which promotes human solidarity and a more inclusive culture which respects gender, age, and diversity. UN and International Development Agencies– To support national and municipal governments, civil society organisations in the development of programmes aiming at the reduction of domestic and urban violence, promoting citizen responsibility and the social/economical/political integration of society; to facilitate South/South and South/North exchange, between the members of the Safer Cities for Women and Girls Network; and to give technical assistance to local, national and regional Networks. Community based organisations, women’s organisations, NGOs, Religious organisations and Human Rights organisations– To continue to be the monitors for urban safety, especially regarding the safety of women and girls; to serve as the “thermometers” of peace and citizens responsibility, awarding local authorities and communities that put in practice in a consistent and sustainable manner joint actions that promote safer cities for women and girls. OUR COMMITMENTS: UN SYSTEM (UN-HABITAT, UNIFEM-Andean Region and Office for Brazil and Southern Cone, UNICEF) commits itself to Continue supporting the policies and actions resulting from this Declaration. UN-HABITAT commits itself to Support the development of strengthening of the Safer Cities International Network; to partner with Bogota D.C. in the design of an adequate resource mobilisation strategy for the regional co-ordination of the Safer Cities for Women and Girls Network; to co-ordinate the Third International Conference Safer Cities for Women and Girls, together with the Huairou Commission and the Women and Cities International; and to assess the progress in this process during the Third World Urban Forum, Vancouver, 2006. Women and Cities International commits itself to Develop an international webpage which links the different regional networks; to co-ordinate the next Women’s Safety Awards in 2006 and to participate in the co-ordination of the Third International Conference Safer Cities for Women and Girls together with UN-HABITAT and the Huairou Commission.

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FEMUM-LAC commits itself to Elaborate and develop regional projects that institutionalise a gender perspective in municipal urban safety policies, ensuring women’s participation and monitoring; as well as promoting the South/South and South/North exchange of innovative municipal experiences in gender aware urban safety measures. The Huairou Commission commits itself to Facilitate communication and global links between the different organisations, including the members and partners of its Networks, UN-HABITAT, Women and Cities International, the Women and Shelter Network, the Union of Cities and Local Governments, grassroots women’s organisations and other counterparts such as: UNIFEM, FEMUM and the Municipality of Bogota; include a Five Year Work Plan as part of its Local Governance Campaign, conformed of grassroots women’s organisations, local authorities and NGOs. Bogota D.C. commits itself to Consolidate and continue to develop public policies with a gender perspective as well as the perspective of children, adolescence and youth in the plan, programmes and projects contained in the Development Plan 2004-2008 “Bogota Without Indifference, a Social Commitment against Poverty and Exclusion”. It also commits itself to coordinate the new Safer Cities for Women and Girls Network for Latin America and the Caribbean. Available at: http://www.unhabitat.org/programmes/safercities/documents/Declaration_of_Bogota.pdf