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The Greater
Caribbean This Week: Peace for the
Region |
Posted September
20, 2007
By: Dr. Rubén Silié Valdez Secretary General of the
Association of Caribbean States.
The ANALITICA INTERNACIONAL report of the Grupo Coppan SC,
for the month of May, published the article “Conflict and
Peace in the World”, with special assistance from Alejandro
Becerra Gelover. In this publication, the author comments on
the results of the third report on Conflict and Peace in the
World, prepared by the Center for International Development
and Conflict Management of the University of Maryland.
One of the conclusions of the study is that in spite of
progress made in the area of preserving peace and preventing
conflict, the world today is more unsafe than before. |
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Nevertheless,
after analyzing those factors which – in accordance with the
experts – allow for a peaceful climate to exist, this
document informs us that the Latin American and Caribbean
region is the least exposed to conflicts and, as a result,
enjoys the greatest peace in the world. According to the
study, only one country in the region appears among those
classified as high-risk, that is, Haiti. (Though, as we
know, a special situation existed in that country. It cannot
be asserted at this time that the situation is the same as a
year ago). The region therefore remains excluded from those
with greater risk of genocides or “politicides”.
However, paradoxically, on the other hand, the International
Labour Organization revealed that “in Latin America youth
unemployment has reached 17% of the labour force, which is
equivalent to 22 million who either do not study or work,
and more than 30 million working in the informal economy
under precarious conditions”. This means that those 30
million do not have a decent job, understanding this to
mean, according to the same agency, “that productive
occupation which is remunerated fairly and which is
exercised in conditions of freedom, equity, safety and
respect for human dignity”. [1]
These two reports, released to the public one month apart,
take away from the satisfaction we felt in August, as they
cancel each other out; so that while not being on the
high-risk list was cause for joy, youth unemployment is
terrifying news because of what that situation can mean for
the region. While indicators used by the American university
[2] to rate the risk of conflict do not affect the region
with the same force as in other parts of the world, it is
just as certain that internally we have other social
indicators linked to poverty and human safety that are cause
for alarm.
The social fracture in the region tends to be deepening,
with an increase in the number of persons living in poverty.
Thus, they lose access to education and health, their levels
of nutrition are lowered, along with other factors that
increase their social exclusion and consequently lead to
emigration.
While the traditional forms of war and conflict are
disappearing, every day new forms of social confrontation
arise that create uneasiness and insecurity among people.
That is because the use of force is increasingly in private
hands. And in this way the aforementioned figures for youth
unemployment become a risk factor, since that age span of
the Latin American and Caribbean population is usually the
most sought-after resource to execute those new forms of
violence.
Thus, the University of Maryland studies predict relative
peace for the region, which makes sense only if it is
compared with the situation in other regions in the world.
However, viewed from within Latin America and the Caribbean,
those levels of peace are unsure, since poverty levels
threaten any climate of lasting peace.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] Listín Diario newspaper, Santo Domingo, Dominican
Republic, 5th September 2007
[2] 1. Capacity of states to create peaceful conditions and
avoid the emergence of armed conflict, whether in their
territory or with neighbouring states. 2. Capacity of states
to provide their people with reasonable levels of safety. 3.
Absence of discriminatory policies towards so-called
minority groups. 4. Proper management of social liberation
movements. 5. Stability in democratic institutions. 6. Care
of human resources and basic materials. 7. Potential to
avoid armed conflict with neighbouring countries. |
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