Violence at home, at school, in the workplace, on the street and in many other settings remains unfortunately all too common in most societies. The immediate victims of such violence are countless but what is less obvious is that violence also tends to undermine democratic values and subdue aspirations for development.
That is why the IPU has turned its attention to the issue of violence and produced two new handbooks for parliamentarians: one to curb the use of the most lethal instruments of violence: small guns and light weapons; and the other to combat violence against the most vulnerable of all, children. Both handbooks were launched at the 116th Assembly that took place in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, from 29 April to 4 May.
Missing Pieces: A guide for reducing gun violence through parliamentary action was published jointly by the IPU and the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre). On presenting the handbook, IPU Secretary General, Anders B. Johnsson, and HD Centre Director, Martin Griffiths, stressed the need for action, saying: "The statistics are damning. There are currently an estimated 640 million small arms and light weapons in circulation – from handguns and assault rifles to shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. Most of this arsenal, or about 60%, is in the hands of civilians. Recent dramatic events have proved the urgent need for action".
A further seven to eight million new weapons are added to the global stockpile every year, as well as at least 10 billion units of ammunition. Guns are light, cheap, durable, easy to conceal and easy to operate, and therefore pose a pernicious threat to human security in countries at war and at peace alike. Small arms and light weapons take between 200,000 and 270,000 lives in countries "at peace" alone, through homicide and suicide. Up to five times more people, depending on estimates, die directly from gunfire in situations of war.
The second handbook, Eliminating Violence against Children, comes in the wake of an important report released by the former United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on the same subject, and is the fruit of cooperation between the IPU and UNICEF.
Violence against children is widespread, under-acknowledged and extremely damaging. The physical, emotional and psychological scars of violence can have serious implications for a child's development, health and ability to learn. "The best way to deal with violence against children is to stop it before it happens," said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Toshi Niwa, at the handbook’s launch. "Working through coordinated national strategies to prevent and respond to violence against children, governments and parliaments must build a protective environment that allows children to live without the threat of abuse and exploitation."
Both handbooks will soon be available online from the IPU website. Hard copies can be ordered by writing directly to the IPU Headquarters in Geneva.
