Sustainable SafetyInternational Conference: Sustainable Safety: Municipalities at the Crossroads, eThekwini/Durban, South Africa, 25-28th November 2003.
This major International Conference was a follow up to the 1998 Johannesburg International Conference on Urban Safety, Safety for All. It was organized by the municipality of eThekwini / Durban and UN HABITAT in partnership with UNODC, to review progress since 1998 in reducing and preventing crime and insecurity. Its main purpose was to:
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Strengthen the vision and understanding of the Safer Cities approach in the context of good governance, poverty reduction, community mobilization and outreach, and information and development programmes.
The Conference was attended by over 300 participants from South Africa, other Africa countries and other regions of the world. There were 137 international participants from 38 countries and 45 cities in the four regions (including a number of ICPC members). Participants included Mayors, local authorities, police, business leaders, senior representatives of national government ministries, UN and other international agencies, local Safer Cities Programme Coordinators, NGO’s (particularly for women and youth), community leaders, academics and crime prevention experts. Copies of the Conference Background Paper and the shorter Discussion Paper are attached.
Presentations by international experts and recommendations made in working groups during the conference helped shape the Final Conference Declaration and Action Plan to guide work over the next three years. An overall summary of the conference's key discussions, lessons and recommendations is also attached.
The Mayors in attendance also formulated their own Declaration and resolved to reconvene their meeting within the next three years. The Mayor's Declaration acknowledges that local authorities are best situated to take the lead in developing community safety and crime prevention strategies and initiatives and to influence the changes necessary for such an approach to truly become institutionalized. Mayors also recognized the need to work on urban issues in clear linkage to NEPAD and other local authority associations in Africa.
A meeting for youth delegates took place before the Durban conference began. This event allowed youth to familiarize themselves with causes of crime and insecurity, the Safer Cities approach, UN-Habitat's work in general, NEPAD and other key issues that would be addressed in the main conference. Their Final Declaration was presented at a separate "youth-only" session with Mayors, preceding the main conference. Final Conference Declaration and Action Plan The Mayor's Declaration
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