Community security and armed violence reduction

For many countries in the region, community insecurity and armed violence are a legacy of recent conflicts that have resulted in the large-scale accumulation and availability of weapons, as well as explosive remnants of war. They threaten the safe and peaceful coexistence of communities, and undermine the protection of human rights.

UNDP sees community security as more than merely a reduction of violence and delinquency rates. It involves the participatory process of establishing, strengthening and protecting democratic civic order, eliminating threats of violence in a population, and allowing for safe and peaceful coexistence. This addresses insecurity from a broader development perspective, by also tackling issues such as lack of social cohesion, impunity, the proliferation of illegal firearms, and poor service delivery.

UNDP has improved community security in the region by:

• helping develop and implement community safety plans in Kosovo* with the participation of communities, local authorities, police and community-based organizations, resulting in reduced armed violence and gender-based violence;
• establishing early warning systems and safety networks of citizens living in conflict-affected areas close to the front lines in Ukraine; and
• ensuring that Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan effectively manage their borders with Afghanistan.

*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

SEESAC

Illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons (SALW), improper storage conditions for SALW and their ammunition, and gender imbalanced policies that fail to address safety and security needs for everyone pose an impediment to the social and economic development of the region. This insecurity has exacerbated conflict in South Eastern and Eastern Europe, and threatens security to Europe as a whole.

SEESAC, a joint initiative of UNDP and the Regional Cooperation Council, started in 2002 to control and reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms and light weapons. Its assistance to national governments includes everything from ‘hands-on’ interventions such as weapons destruction; security upgrades of storages; and marking, tracing and record-keeping of weapons to ‘soft power’ interventions such as awareness-raising campaigns, support for the integration of gender perspective in SALW control, and support for policy development.

SEESAC has expanded its scope in addressing security challenges, reforming gender in the security sector, both police and military, and creating platforms for regional security sector reform and armed violence monitoring.

Working with governments, international organizations and citizens, SEESAC is:

• piloting a signature solution to arms control based on over a decade of leading arms control actions in South East Europe with the European Union;
  
• reversing trends on gender equality in the security sector by collecting data with governments and building a culture of evidence-based policies;
  
• enabling women to thrive in SALW control policy-making by making the environment more accessible to them and increasing their presence and confidence; and
  
• leading, in partnership with governments in South East Europe, and supported by Germany, the region's most complex SALW control exercise - a roadmap aimed at combating illicit possession and misuse of firearms.