Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform (GFN-SSR)

Armed Violence Reduction: Enabling Development

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Integrated, comprehensive and inclusive armed violence reduction (AVR) programmes are an emerging and growing area of development practice. This paper, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, discusses the components of a multi-level AVR approach. Adopting integrated AVR programmes requires understanding of the multi-faceted, multi-level nature of armed violence, application of rigorous diagnostics of local situations and incorporation of local ownership at all levels of programme design and implementation.

Armed violence consists of the use of weapons to inflict injury, death or psychosocial harm which undermines development. It disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, destroys lives and livelihoods, disrupts access to education, health and social services, and carries high economic costs. Global factors influencing armed violence trends include weak institutional capacities, empowerment of non-state actors, rising youth crime, and unregulated urbanisation and growth of slums.

Development policy and programming gaps relative to AVR include ineffective post-conflict programmes, difficulties programming above and below the state level, inexperience in youth programming and insufficient investment in prevention. Strategically integrated AVR programming includes the following components:

• The armed violence “lens” applies a people-centred perspective to seek understanding of: the people affected, the perpetrators and their motivations, the availability of arms and the institutional/cultural environment on local, national, regional and global levels. Programmes consider demand factors in small arms and light weapons control, and develop comprehensive approaches to disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration.
• Donors work consistently at three levels: prevention, law enforcement and diplomacy.
• Programmes apply developmental and preventive approaches in dealing with crime and youth gangs. The AVR approach emphasises the potential of prevention in particular.
• Multi-sectoral and -level development programming efforts are led by community groups and governments. The bottom-up approach is much more effective than programmes determined solely by donor and practitioner perspectives.
• Assessment tools are adapted to make them more AVR-sensitive. The most effective assessments include national/local ownership and coordination and evidence-led approaches.
• All actors are involved in assessment, programme design and evaluation. For example, youth should play a role in designing AVR programmes, and women, as both perpetrators and victims, can offer an alternative perspective on risk factors associated with violence.

AVR programming creatively adapts conflict, crime and violence prevention approaches. Policy implications include the following:

• AVR stresses sub-national and local-level programming. The local level is where armed violence is experienced most directly and where some of the most promising initiatives are taking place.
• AVR targets the regional and global levels to tackle key risk factors, such as arms transfers and transnational organised crime.
• AVR promotes statebuilding, peacebuilding and development through explicit focus on strengthening the legitimacy and resilience of state-society relations.

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