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PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
COMMITTEE ON HEMISPHERIC SECURITY
Working Group to Coordinate All the Preparations for
the Fifth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for
Public Security in the Americas (MISPA-V)
VIRTUAL FORUM REPORT
CIVIL SOCIETY INPUTS
OEA/Ser.G
CSH/GT/MISPA V-17/15
28 September 2015
Original: Spanish/English
IN PREPARATION FOR THE FIFTH MEETING OF MINISTERS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLIC
SECURITY IN THE AMERICAS (MISPA-V)
19 and 20, 2015
Lima, Peru
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SECURITY
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
VIRTUAL FORUM REPORT
CIVIL SOCIETY INPUTS
September 3, 2015
Consultant Gastón Hernán Schulmeister
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Structure of the Virtual Forum
In preparation for the Fifth Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Public Security of the Americas
(MISPA-V), the Organization of American States (OAS) developed a Virtual Forum in order to
promote and facilitate the participation of civil society in the MISPA process.
For the development of the Forum, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) —registered in the roster of
the OAS— were invited to participate, and the activity was promoted through social networks.
The Forum, held from August 10 to 27, 2015, was organized by the Department of Public Security of
OAS, in collaboration with the Department of International Affairs, and the Summits of the
Americas Secretariat.
Taking into account the issues to be discussed at MISPA-V: "Prevention of crime, violence and
insecurity", the Forum was structured in 2 (two) main topics: 1) Coordination and cooperation to
prevent violence, crime and insecurity; and 2) Data and information for the design and
implementation of public policies for prevention crime, violence, and insecurity.
For the purposes of the Forum, participants were invited to reflect on these matters in particular, and
to share their experiences and ideas, whose findings were systematized by this report as diagnosis
and proposals to member states of the OAS.
The Forum was moderated in the 4 (four) official languages of the OAS, but the active participation
was concentrated mainly in the Spanish language version.
The number of countries represented at the Forum reached 11 (eleven), composed by: Argentina;
Brazil; Colombia; Costa Rica; Dominican Republic; Mexico; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Trinidad and
Tobago; and Venezuela.
Synthesis of Inputs in the Forum
Topic 1: Coordination and cooperation to prevent violence, crime and insecurity
Diagnosis
a. Coordination among at the local, state, national, and international authorities.
References have been made to institutional efforts to coordinate security and violence prevention.
Among them were included examples such as Panama, with the creation of new institutions for more
effective coordination; Peru, with a National Plan for Citizen Security (2013-2018); and Paraguay,
considering national coordination efforts among institutions responsible for public security.
However, the measures adopted seem to have not generated great results; and a general criticism
prevails about alleged resistance from the authorities to incorporate CSOs to work together.
b. Social Programs to Reduce Risk Factors and Strengthen Protection Factors. Among Risk
Factors identified are: poverty; inequality; lack of access to education; and particularly microtrafficking in drugs, given its impact on the generation of violence. In the case of Peru for example,
an anti-drug policy reflected in the National Plan for Citizen Security was highlighted, as well as the
existence of special social programs for addicts.
The importance of gender-based violence, and violence against children also emerged as issues on
which the social programs should focus. In the case of Paraguay, for example, the coordination
efforts among different branches of government were referenced; while from Mexico, the results of a
research project developed by an international humanitarian organization (World Vision Mexico)
about the strengthening of child protection systems at the national, state and local levels, were
shared.
c. The Crosscutting and Transnational Nature of Crime. Despite the existence of the agencies
responsible for Border Controls (Immigration, Customs, Police), limitations in infrastructure have
been identified as among the major weaknesses for border points.
Furthermore, although there is an evident acceptance of the idea that communities know the
vulnerabilities that exist in their localities; which are linked to law enforcement challenges; also
highlighted was the limited impact that border controls have on complex problems such as illegal
migrations and drug trafficking.
d. Inter-American Network for the Prevention of Violence and Crime. It was stressed that a
truly coordinated Network, with mutual cooperation, would constitute a guarantee for each of the
States, facing the latent commission of unlawful acts in neighboring states, because of the
vulnerability of borders. Nevertheless, the limitations of its scope seem to depend on the political
will to ensure cross-border collaboration.
A virtual platform to support the network could help the exchange of information among different
public and private institutions, and civil society. It would promote awareness of national realities;
identifying common phenomena; information exchange; access to the experiences of other countries;
etc.
Proposals
a. There is a need for better coordination among different levels of society, and especially with
CSOs. The educational system, CSOs, and the media should be involved in security and violence
prevention under a Social Pact, complementary to the State's commitment to support public-private
partnerships.
The education and training for public officials to strengthen cooperation mechanisms at various
levels is another aspect to consider. The International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO), together
with the European Forum for Urban Security, have offered an instrument of public security policy
that is designed to foster a comprehensive approach and interagency coordination. The instrument
was developed using the collaborative and participatory methodology of national public institutions,
and international organizations such as OAS.1
1The Regional Model for Integrated Policy for the Prevention of Violence and Crime, offered through the Virtual Forum, is
the document that embodies a fundamental part of the work done by Public Security Chapter of the EUROsociAL
Programme.
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b. To develop prevention factors, investment in the social sectors, i.e. education and sports programs
were proposed, in partnership with CSOs and citizen participation. Given that cultural factors can
influence the formation of values and violence, CSO’s called for the inclusion of an educational
component (formal and informal) into the prevention programs. They also proposed the creation of
public spaces for social and cultural exchange, in order to strengthen the family and interpersonal
relationships, respect and the promotion of human values.
Access to decent jobs is another Protection Factor considered a priority, in addition to prevention
and drug rehab programs specifically designed for at-risk youth.
With respect to violence against women, it is considered extremely important to establish specialized
institutions, staffed by full-time professionals, for the care of victims and the treatment of offenders.
Considering that violence against women is the result of a patriarchal model of education,which
establishes relationships of power over women, there was a recommendation to work on cultural and
social restructuring based on respect, equality and peace On this subject, the IJJO also contributed
comments on the forum regarding the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in policies and security
institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.2
c. With regard to border controls, communities could contribute to the prevention of violence and
crime in border areas by working in coordination with their authorities, and sharing their local
knowledge,
d. On the building of an Inter-American Network, a virtual platform generates interest from civil
society to develop the following actions: express opinions on public policies; interact with different
actors involved in efforts to prevent violence and crime; access to a library; and to learn about
upcoming events where they can exchange information and experiences. In sum, there was interest in
all the actions involved in forming a network to combat the problem of insecurity; to coordinate
actions; and to facilitate international collaboration in the Americas.
Topic 2: Data and Information for the design and implementation of public policies for
prevention of crime, violence, and insecurity
Diagnosis
a. Type of data and information. The experiences shared on type of data and information have
identified not only indicators of crime, such as the ones used by the Observatory of the Municipality
of Pasto in Colombia for example; but also the victimization surveys, conducted by the National
Institute of Statistics and Information in Peru.
Regarding the collection of data, participants informed that their sources are from academia; the
news media; and/or official documents. In addition, a participant from Brazil shared an analysis of
the variables to bear in mind when evaluating the performance of crime management..
2 The IJJO have referenced a Handbook of Gender and Reform Security Sector, prepared by the Training Center of UN
Women, DCAF and OSCE / ODIHR, which presents good practices and recommendations to strengthen the gender
perspective in the security sector.
b. Challenges, obstacles and problems. From among the biggest challenges for the collection,
access, processing and dissemination of data in a constant and systemized manner, the following
have been identified: the engagement of public institutions; maintaining information systems over
time; lack of access to official information on websites; the difficulties of security agencies
regarding responsiveness to requests for information; and infrastructure weaknesses.
c. Types and forms of collaboration with governments. The experiences shared have included
from no coordination in planning security policies among federal, state and municipal agencies; to
the inclusion of provisions in instruments establishing Crime Observatories stipulating the
involvement of certain institutions through the signing of cooperation agreements.
However, participants warned of asymmetries at the national level, pointing out that in districts
remote from the capital cities there is need to raise awareness regarding the existing agreements
between the entities responsible for preventing and addressing violence and crime.
d. Types and forms of collaboration with other civil society organizations. The realities are very
different. In the case of the Observatory of Crime in Pasto (Colombia) for example, they have a georeferenced information system, through which it is possible to access the information that is being
monitored, and monthly publications are available at the website of the Municipality. In other cases,
despite the level of organization of the civil society, there are many drawbacks and limitations
regarding access to reliable data and formal information.
e. Contributions from civil society. Regarding how civil society could support governments in
collecting data and information for the design and implementation of public policies on the
prevention of violence, crime and insecurity, it is considered important for all citizens, when faced
with any kind of victimization, be aware of the importance of reporting an official complaint with the
relevant authority, as the main method of reducing underreporting in the statistics.
Proposals
a. Observatories, research institutes and CSOs have devoted much effort to the classification of
criminal databases, but efforts should also focus on the management aspects that define and
condition the security policies.
b. Given the difficulties of implementing policies on a national level, when training information
operators and analysts, governments should ensure that their investment will provide national
coverage, not just to the capital cities.
c. The development of regional guidelines for transparency of the security agencies and the
dissemination of information, which could potentially be developed into national laws, is considered
important, as the transparency in management is a fundamental requirement of the democratic rule of
law, and for the discussion of the security agenda.
d. Civil society can effectively support the development of plans and the process of evaluating what
works and what does not work, as well as the development of national strategies, independent from
changes of government.
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e. Finally, participants insisted that CSOs, insofar as they are knowledgeable of their realities, have
information that should be the subject of analysis and joint work with authorities. In this sense, civil
society can contribute if given the opportunity, and indeed, the inclusion of prestigious CSOs could
help to develop confidence in the Security Sector.
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