REGIONAL WORKSHOP: GOVERNANCE FOR CITIZEN SECURITY IN LATIN AMERICA DEVELOPING SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION TO MANAGE KNOWLEDGE AND PROMOTE GOVERNANCE
APPROACHES TO CITIZEN SECURITY
BRASILIA, 8-9 OCTOBER 2012
Introduction
In spite of remarkable achievements in economic development as well as democracy, peace and stability in traditional terms in the last decades in the region, most Latin American countries face important challenges related to extreme socio-economic inequalities and increasing levels of internal threats to the security of their citizens. With the highest rate of homicides in the world as a region, citizen security is still currently a major issue in Latin America. Yet, this is also the region which has created the most innovative approaches to understand, monitor, and tackle security matters with a holistic vision, realizing the general failure of restrictive “mano dura” policies to develop more inclusive, participatory and governance-oriented solutions. Certain countries of the region have become leading pioneers in implementing governance approaches to citizen security, which could greatly benefit other countries of the region as well as beyond. To make the most of these rich experiences and strengthen mechanisms for knowledge sharing and South-South support in the field of citizen security, UNDP-Brazil, UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (RBLAC), the Panama Regional Centre and the Oslo Governance Centre (OGC) propose this event. It aims to provide a space for exchange of information, experiences and lessons learned, as well as joint work towards a better understanding of existing capacities and resources in the region and a sustainable SouthSouth cooperation system to optimize progress in the area.
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