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Abstract: The Examples from the Ground are concrete illustrations of ways in which a gender perspective has been integrated in different security sector institutions around the world. They range from measures to counter human trafficking in Kosovo, to women’s organisations’ involvement with security institutions in Nepal, to female parliamentarians’ contribution to post-conflict reconstruction in Rwanda. These examples can help policymakers, trainers and educators better understand and demonstrate the linkages between gender and SSR.
The examples are organised around the following nine themes, for which a short introduction is provided:
• Police Reform and Gender
• Defence Reform and Gender
• Justice Reform and Gender
• Penal Reform and Gender
• Border Management and Gender
• Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• National Security Policy-Making and Gender
• Civil Society Oversight of the Security Sector and Gender
• SSR Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation and Gender
Individual examples can also be downloaded individually, in English or in French, at: http://gssrtraining.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view;=article&id;=4&Itemid;=131⟨=en
Abstract: On 23 May 2010, the Governor-General of Jamaica declared a State of Public Emergency in
the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew. Within two days, at least 74 people, including one
member of the security forces, had been killed in Tivoli Gardens in West Kingston, scene of
much of the violence. At least 54 others, more than half of them members of the security
forces, were injured during police operations.
More than 40 of those killed in Tivoli Gardens are alleged to have been the victims of
extrajudicial execution by the security forces. Unlawful killings were also reported in other
operations conducted during the state of emergency. More than 4,000 people were detained
under emergency powers, without charge or trial or access to an effective means of
challenging the lawfulness of their detention before a court. Two people reportedly taken into
custody remain unaccounted for and may have been victims of enforced disappearance.
The May 2010 violence has been described as “the worst in Jamaican post-independence
history”. Despite the scale of the loss of life and compelling testimonies of grave human rights
violations – including possible extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and
arbitrary arrests – investigations into the violence have yet to establish the facts and the
responsibilities conclusively. Independent organizations and institutions in Jamaica continue
to call for a full public inquiry into the security forces operation. One year on, the demand for
justice by many survivors and victims’ families has yet to be answered.
Abstract: Violence and everyday insecurity are amongst the root causes of poverty: a simple and true statement that has at last been
acknowledged in several international agreements, including the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence (2008) and Dili Declaration
(2010). Several new funding mechanisms have even been established to support efforts to reduce violence, including
those that address the special security needs of excluded groups, women, youth and children. What recent policies have failed
to adequately consider, however, is that poor and dispossessed people often perceive the state as a perpetrator or accomplice -
whether by active complicity or passive omission – in the violence visited upon them. For policymakers and practitioners eager
to move beyond top-down approaches to reducing insecurity and violence, this policy briefing offers insights into how local
residents can be directly involved in finding solutions for their security and livelihood needs. Research from a range of contexts
characterised by violence and everyday insecurity suggests that external actors can help to broaden spaces where citizens can
take action in non-violent, socially legitimate ways, but that success depends on gaining a locally nuanced understanding of the
complex relationship between violent and non-violent actors, and between forms of everyday violence and political violence.
Abstract: How does violence affect the everyday lives of citizens in countries, regions
and cities of the global South? This has been the central theme of five years’
work in the Violence, Participation and Citizenship (VPC) group of the
Development Research Centre (DRC) on Citizenship, Participation and
Accountability, an international research partnership coordinated by IDS from
2000–2010. While other DRC researchers studied new forms of citizenship that
could help make rights real, the VPC group undertook projects in four countries
to examine how violence affects the exercise of meaningful citizenship and how
efforts to open space for citizenship in such contexts affect the use of violence.
VPC set out to explore these dynamics in partnership with organisations and
community members in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro), Jamaica (Kingston), Mexico
(Chiapas and Guerrero States) and Nigeria (Kaduna, Kano and Plateau
States). Our investigative frame, developed as a group, was a set of questions
about the scope for participatory social action, the exercise of citizenship, and
processes of peaceful social transformation in contexts of violence.
Abstract: Jamaica’s murder rate—62 per 100,000 in 2009— is one of the highest in the world.
The small island grapples with violent crime within a context of gangs, guns, and allegations of political and police corruption.
This report presents an overview of the history, prevalence, and distribution of gangs, focusing in particular on their involvement in international drug and arms trafficking and the possible influence of deportees from the United States.
It finds that there is a dense social web connecting highly organized, transnational gangs to loosely organized gangs whose activities are often indistinguishable from broader community violence.
Persistent facilitation of gang activity by politicians continues to hinder targeted violence reduction efforts, despite the government’s public condemnation of crime and violence, and official support of violence reduction.
Abstract: The organization's assessment is part of its 32-page report, Public security reforms and human rights in Jamaica. Published on Tuesday, the report evaluates the Jamaican Government's plans to tackle deep rooted violence, serious human rights violations and impunity.
Jamaica has extremely high rates of violent crime. According to police statistics, in 2008 alone there were 1,611 murders in Jamaica – in a population of only 2.7 million. Most of the victims live in socially-excluded inner-city areas. In 2008 the proportion of child victims grew significantly.
During 2008, an additional 224 people were fatally shot by police officers. It is estimated that in the first five months of 2009 alone, police killings increased by 58 per cent, however, police officers are rarely punished for these crimes. There have been no convictions against a police officer since 2006 and only 4 convictions between 1999 and 2009 out of a total of more than 1,700 reports of fatal shootings.
"The outlook for Jamaica is still grim with alarming rates of killings and almost no convictions of state agents accused of serious human rights violations," said Kerrie Howard, Americas Deputy Director at Amnesty International. "What is different now is that we finally see initiatives that might lead to real change."
"Jamaicans cannot afford to wait any longer," said Kerrie Howard. "Initiatives have to be implemented and produce concrete results soon. The lives of thousands depend on that."
Amongst the government's proposals are projects to reform the Jamaican Constabulary Force, the modernization of the justice system and the elaboration of a community safety and security policy to tackle some of the issues behind the high levels of violence in the country. Bilateral and multilateral donors have committed to supporting many of the recommendations included in these plans.
Amnesty International's report reviews the proposal to reform the Jamaican Constabulary Force. In 2008 a strategic review of the force resulted in 124 recommendations that were accepted by the government. Some of the key objectives include the improvement of the forces' professionalism, responsiveness and accountability.
Abstract: Although all countries, in theory report their authorized transfers - and
such information may even be available in certain public databases - the
task of providing an overview of SALW transfers, their parts and
munitions, is an arduous one. Nonetheless, despite the difficulties, we
have some extremely positive initiatives on a global scale, such as for
example, the Small Arms Survey, recognized as an important source of
information, especially on SALW production and transfers, as well as the
Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) which has a
database containing transfer records going back to 1962.Despite these
important initiatives, themselves when researchers, activists and policy
makers try to understand a regional market, such as Latin America and
the Caribbean, they encounter a dearth of information. With the intent of addressing this shortcoming, En La Mira has, since 2007, dedicated an
issue to transfers of SALWs, parts and ammunition in this region. Further, according to statistics from the United Nations Commodity Trade
Statistics Database (UN-Comtrade or Comtrade), USD 6.7 billion were
exported between 2004 and 2006, while USD 6.5 billion were imported.
Despite the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean represent 6% and
3%, respectively, of total transfers worldwide during this period, 42% of
firearms related homicide is committed in the region. This discrepancy
between the international transfer volume share and the levels of armsrelated
violence in Latin America and the Caribbean calls attention to
itself, above all because of the tragic and startling number of homicides.
Obviously, far from wishing to increase arms transfers in order to be more
in sync with homicide rates, we decided, a year ago, to study this issue
and periodically monitor its development based on our interest in
understanding the primary legal entry and exit routes of firearms and
ammunition. The result is a report - based on customs information as
stated by Latin American and Caribbean countries and their respective
partners - whose objective is to describe the movement of the SALW
imports and exports, as well as ammunition and parts, during the present
decade. Based on this data, we answer the following questions: who
exported and who imported? From whom? What? And when?
It is worth restating that the intent of this report is not to explain the
cause of arms imports and exports by Latin American countries. Beyond
merely providing information, we do indeed wish to awaken, by means of
the information presented here, the curiosity of other researches, activists
and government staff members such that they may continue to perform research in their countries regarding the transparency of this information,
on who is using the transferred SALW, and how.
The data used for this report came from the NISAT database, which
contains more than 800,000 entries for SALW transfers worldwide since
1962. The NISAT database gets its information from different sources,
COMTRADE among them. In this study we decided to restrict ourselves
to data from this latter source because, in theory, all countries report
transfers to the UN. This data is declared in accordance with the
Harmonized System (SH) merchandise classification system. The HS has
existed since 1988and, in 2007, was revised for the fourth time; previous
revisions were in 1992, 1996 and in 2002. Regarding the period analyzed,
we are looking at data up until 2006, since at the time the study closed
this was the most recent year available on NISAT.
Abstract: Terrorism on the African continent is a complex and emotional topic. One of
the primary reasons for this is that a historical introspection for any country,
or its people, that has been confronted with a conflicting past can only
be described as ‘sensitive’. In addition to international developments and
challenges, domestic circumstances predominately fuel domestic terrorism.
It will therefore be a mistake to assess the threat of terrorism in any country
in historic isolation. This is particularly true when one tries to assess and
understand the ‘renewed’ threat of terrorism in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
This monograph will attempt to place the threat and implication of the name
change announcement of the Salafist Group for Combat and Preaching
(GSPC) to al-Qa’eda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQLIM) in
context, with the primary focus on events in 2007. The name change in
itself implied that the original domestic group had transnational ambitions,
but what influenced this development and what would the consequences
be? Although this development led to immediate and extensive international
interest in the Maghreb, it became clear that most assessments focused on
the now, without appreciating the historical complexities that ultimately led
to this development.
In conducting a historical assessment, one can appreciate that while all
three countries under review were confronted with similar challenges
after independence, each country reacted in a different manner, which
impacted on the manifestation and magnitude of the threat of terrorism and
the eventual impact of the transnationalisation of domestic terrorism on
transnational terrorism. Even the way independence was gained impacted on
the psychological acceptance of violence as an acceptable strategy.
Abstract: La prévalence du VIH atteint voire dépasse 1% aux Bahamas, à la Barbade, au Belize, au Guyana, en Haïti, en Jamaïque, au Suriname et à la Trinité-et-
Tobago (ONUSIDA, 2006). La plupart des pays de la région montrent une baisse ou une stabilisation de la prévalence du VIH, particulièrement dans les zones
urbaines, tandis que les changements intervenus dans les zones semi-urbaines et rurales ont été modérés.
L’inadéquation des systèmes de surveillance du VIH
dans plusieurs pays rend néanmoins difficile l’analyse
des tendances récentes de ces épidémies.
Abstract: This report by Amnesty International on the public security crisis in Jamaica forms part of a body of work by national and international organizations working on the crisis and its human rights implications. The research for this report was conducted by visiting Jamaica and its inner-city communities of Kingston, St Andrew and St Catherine during 2007 and speaking to a wide range of people from civil society and people holding positions of public office. During that research Amnesty International found: There is a public security crisis in Jamaica and the state is failing to effectively provide human security to its population, especially to those most vulnerable to crime and violence, namely people living in poverty in inner-city communities; An unspoken tolerance of policing based on strong prejudice and stigmatization,
excessive use of force, extrajudicial executions and corruption among certain members of the police force that reinforces a circle of violence for people living in poverty in socially excluded communities; A lack of scrutiny and accountability of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) against allegations of corruption and human rights violations. This report also identifies the stigmatization and excessive use of force by, and corruption within, the police forces, which effectively exacerbate the violence these communities
suffer and constitute a violation of the obligation to respect human rights.
Abstract: Another kind of war within the context of a “clash of civilizations†is being waged in various parts of the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere around the world today. Some of the main protagonists are those who have come to be designated as first-second-, and third-generation street gangs, as well as their various possible allies such as traditional Transnational Criminal Organizations. In this new type of war, national security and sovereignty of affected countries is being impinged every day, and gangs’ illicit commercial motives are, in fact, becoming an ominous political agenda.
Abstract: Governments facing high levels of crime and violence must act through their criminal justice systems to increase safety while delivering justice. To do this rigorously, governments need to improve their measurement tools. This paper examines the measurement tools employed today in two developing countries - Jamaica and the Dominican Republic - showing how existing data might be analyzed and presented more effectively. We describe the many tactics used by police, prosecutors, and other institutions within the criminal justice system as falling under two broad strategies: (1) removing criminals from society, and (2) reducing the proximate causes of crime. All countries depend on some combination of these two strategies, but while governments tend to favor the first, the second usually produces greater crime reduction. We show how improving five specific performance indicators can help governments reduce the proximate causes of crime, maximizing the contribution of criminal justice systems to public safety.
Abstract: Jamaica gained independence from Britain in
1962, and the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) and
the People's National Party (PNP) have since
shared power through free and fair elections.
Prime Minister Percival J. Patterson (PNP) has
been leading the country since 1992 but recently
announced he would step down. Party leadership
elections have been announced for February
2006. There are two serious candidates to replace
him as party leader and de facto Prime Minister:
Peter Philips and Portia Simpson-Miller. Phillips
is the Minister of National Security and has
greater support and backing within Parliament
and the PNP, while Simpson-Miller, the Minister of
Local Government, Community Development and
Sports, has greater grassroots support. National
elections must be held some time in 2007.
Jamaica is in a strenuous economic situation;
debt represents 135% of its annual GDP and in-
flation is hovering around the 15% mark, while
GDP growth has hovered around 1.5% over the
last five years.1 Sugar exports accounted for a
significant portion of Jamaica's total exports until
last year, when the European Union ended the
preferential pricing deal for Jamaican sugar.
Tourism and agriculture have also been important
sectors but have been decimated repeatedly by
hurricanes passing through the region. Reconstruction
following Hurricane Ivan in 2004 has yet
to be completed and is undermining agricultural
production, pushing prices upward.
The island of 2.7 million people possesses one of
the highest homicide rates in the world.2 Successive
governments have tried to crack down on
crime, helped by the United States and England,
but without major successes. Jamaica is a major
transit point for the drug flow from Colombia to
North America and Europe. Street gangs vie for
control of this drug trade and violence is rampant.
Arbitrary arrests, prolonged detention without trial,
poor treatment of prisoners, and summary executions
are common. These may be attributable to a
high crime rate, insufficient resources for the judicial
system and a lack of oversight over and
training of police and security forces.
Abstract: Jamaica is a constitutional parliamentary democracy. In the free and fair 2002 general elections, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson's People's National Party (PNP) won 34 of the 60 seats in the House of Representatives. The PNP also was allocated 13 seats in the 21-seat Senate. The judiciary is independent but lacked adequate resources.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) had primary responsibility for internal security and was assisted by the Island Special Constabulary Force. The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF--army, air wing, and coast guard) was charged with national defense, marine narcotics interdiction, and JCF support. The JDF had no mandate to maintain law and order and no powers of arrest (although the coast guard had powers of maritime arrest), unless so ordered by the Prime Minister. Two JDF battalions were detached as part of a joint internal security operation to assist the JCF in patrolling certain communities. The Prime Minister occasionally authorized the JDF to cordon and search. The Ministry of National Security oversaw the JCF and the JDF. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces; however, some members of the security forces committed serious human rights abuses.
Abstract: From the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the townships of Cape Town, from the inner-city communities of Kingston, to the rural provinces of the Philippines or the ghettoes of Chicago, children and youth are dying in increasing numbers due to gun violence. While some die in gang disputes, some in organised crime, and others in direct conflict with state security forces, increasing firearms-related mortality reflects the growing involvement of young people in organised armed groups that function outside of traditionally defined war zones. The shocking reality is presented in a new book released by Viva Rio, which challenges the traditional parameters of definitions such as armed conflict, crime and delinquency; a reality that for many young people who live it daily is Neither War nor Peace.
Abstract: Jamaica's growing HIV/AIDS epidemic is unfolding in the context of widespread violence and discrimination against people living with and at high risk of HIV/AIDS, especially men who have sex with men. Myths about HIV/AIDS persist. Many Jamaicans believe that HIV/AIDS is a disease of homosexuals and sex workers whose "moral impurity" makes them vulnerable to it, or that HIV is transmitted by casual contact.
Abstract: The population of Jamaica has grown used to a police force some of whose members fail to respect human rights. In September 2000, Amnesty International researchers investigated the public attitude towards the police in deprived, urban areas such as Grants Pen, where many human rights abuses occur. Many described the police not as protectors from crime but as a force to be feared, almost akin to an occupying force. In the communities visited by Amnesty International, almost everyone claimed to have had direct experience of police brutality. It was therefore not surprising that in the three schools Amnesty International visited, only one schoolchild said they would consider becoming a police officer.
Abstract: On 14 March 2001, just before dawn, police officers from the Crime Management Unit (CMU) and the St. Catherine South Division approached a small house at 1088 Fifth Seal Way, Braeton. A short time later, seven youths had been shot dead: Reagon Beckford, aged 15, Lancebert Clark, 19, Christopher Grant, 17, Curtis Smith, 20, Andre Virgo, 20, Dane Reynaldo Whyte, 19, and Tamayo Wilson, 20 - now commonly known as the "Braeton Seven".
Abstract: Between the 7th and the 10th July 2001 there were large scale disturbances throughout Jamaica, most significantly in the West Kingston area of the capital. The Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) initially claimed to have gone into the area to seize illegal weapons, which they understood were present, following intelligence received. This operation began in the early hours of the 5th July. The JCF together with the Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) state that they soon came under attack from armed men and used lethal force in order to respond. As a result, at least 27 people were killed and over 60 were reported seriously injured. Two of the dead were members of the security forces.
Abstract: Against the international trend away from the use of the death penalty, executions have increased in the English speaking Caribbean (ESC) in recent years. Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas and St. Kitts and St. Nevis and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all carried out executions in the last seven years. Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, St Lucia, Dominica, Belize and Barbados all currently have condemned prisoners and continue to impose sentences of death.
