UNDP presents the Report on Human Development in Central America
20 Oct 2009
Central America: Respect of rule of law is most effective remedy against violence
San Salvador — No strong-arm tactics, but no soft touch either. Remedies for the heightened levels of insecurity in the region involve the application of "smart authority" within the context of respect for democracy and adherence to the rule of law, according to the Report on Human Development in Central America 2009-2010, Opening spaces for citizen security and human development. The release of the report was presided over by Mauricio Funes, the president of El Salvador, together with Rebeca Grynspan, Director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean; Jessica Faieta, the United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP for El Salvador; Juan Daniel Alemán, the Secretary General of the Central American Integration System (CAIS); and Hernando Gómez Buendía, the general coordinator of the Report.
According to the Report, civil insecurity is a big challenge to human development in Central America, but this challenge comes with a solution. The document states that both the strong-arm and the soft touch approach have failed and must evolve toward a “smart” strategy of citizen security for human development. This new comprehensive strategy must include preventive and coercive actions, show congruence with the justice system and respect the establishment of the values of civility. Opening spaces for citizen security and human development asserts that the keys to success for this new security strategy include, among other measures, real political will, clear leadership, and continuity from one government to the next.
“This Report compels us to look more closely at how we formulate regional strategies,” said President Funes, who added that “success in the fight against crime will not be achieved without the full exercise of democracy.”
“If there is a willingness to solve one’s problems, first one has to know them, and in order to know them, one has to admit them, never deny them,” continued President Funes.
Central America has become the region with the highest levels of non-political crime worldwide. According to Report data, approximately 79,000 people have been murdered in the region over the past 6 years. Despite the significant differences among the region’s countries, the average murder rate reached 33 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2008, three times greater than the global average.
Despite these heightened levels of violence, solving the problem of insecurity that is afflicting the region is possible within the framework of democracy, according to the HDR for Central America.
Source: UNDP
