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UNDP / HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT LATIN AMERICA
STORY: UNDP / HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT LATIN AMERICA
TRT: 3.36
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE (EMBARGOED UNTIL 12 NOVEMBER 2013)
LANGUAGE: SPANISH/ NATS
DATELINE: RECENT, SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR/ SANTIAGO, CHILE/ NEW YORK, USA
RECENT, SANTIAGO, CHILE
1. Wide shot, Santiago skyline
2. Med shot, Chilean flag
3. Close up, a kid smoking
4. Med shot, a woman walking in rubble
RECENT, NEW YORK, USA
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Heraldo Munoz, UNDP Director of Latin America and the Caribbean:
“Despite the economic growth in Latin America, despite the elimination of poverty, including inequality, the problem is that Latin America remains the world's most unsafe region."
RECENT, SANTIAGO, CHILE
7. Various shots, police action
8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Lieutenant Pablo Obreque Valverde, Santiago Police:
“We are preventive police force. We do act when a crime is committed in the street but our main purpose is to avoid this happening. And the way to do this is to be present in the high crime areas, talking to people so that it is two way communication.”
9. Close up, Pablo walking on the street
10. Med shot, Pablo and another policeman talking to a citizen
RECENT, SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR
11. Various shots, Giovani on the street
12. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Giovani, Former Gang Member:
“I was just hanging out here in the neighborhood, you know, and now there's the project, so I'm busy, see, most of the day. And above all, I'm learning new things I didn't know before.”
13. Close up, Giovani’s hand, writing
14. Med shot, Giovani and three more in class
15. Wide shot, vocational training site
16. Various shots, Cyber Café started with funds from vocational training project
17. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Brian Alexander Rodriguez:
“Now I’m able to help my family. Not a large amount, but at least I’m able to help a little. I’m not like the others who are at home doing nothing. This also helped to keep me to focus on something.”
18. Various shots, Brian drumming with friends
Insecurity is a shared challenge that obstructs social and economic development in every country in Latin America, says a new UN Development Programme (UNDP) report launched on Tuesday November 12th.
But crime control measures alone are insufficient; the most effective way to reduce citizen insecurity is by improving people’s lives, boosting inclusive economic growth and enhancing security and justice institutions, according to the Regional Human Development Report (HDR) 2013-2014.
Latin America recorded over 100,000 murders per year, totaling more than a million from 2000-2010. In 11 of the 18 assessed countries the rate is higher than 10 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, reaching epidemic levels. Moreover, the perception of security has worsened, with robberies hiking threefold in the last 25 years, says the regional HDR.
It is not possible to have human development without public safety said Heraldo Munoz, UNDP Director of Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Despite the economic growth in Latin America, despite the elimination of poverty, including inequality, the problem is that Latin America remains the world's most unsafe region.” Munoz added.
Reforming basic justice and security institutions—police, judges, public prosecutors and prisons—is essential to respond to citizen insecurity, says the HDR, which emphasizes the need to restructure the hiring, management and professionalization of staff. The report analyzed the proportion of police and judges in different countries and conducted surveys that revealed very low levels of public confidence in the criminal justice systems. Except Nicaragua and Panama, more than half of Latin Americans expressed little or no confidence in their courts’ response in case they were victims of theft or assault.
Chile has the highest Human Development Index number but is also still plagued by crime and citizen perceptions that the country is not safe.
Lieutenant Pablo Obreque Valverde of the Santiago police says that the police in Santagio act as a preventive police force. He says that that they are on the streets and are engaged with the local populations.
“And so we act when a crime is committed in the street and our main purpose is to avoid this happening.” Added Valverde
Young Latin-Americans, especially males, are the most affected by crime and violence and yet are the most common perpetrators, according to the report. El Salvador (92.3) , Colombia (73.4) , Venezuela (64.2) , Guatemala (55.4) and Brazil (51.6) have the five highest youth homicide rates in the world (per 100,000 inhabitants), according to 2011 World Health Organization data.
Giovani is a former gang member in San Salvador the capitol of El Salvador. He says that gangs are like peoples families that support each other and that is why he was drawn to the gangs.
Now Giovani is learning new skills in a vocational training project that is part of the possible solutions to the issues.
“I was just hanging out here in the neighborhood, you know, and now there's the project, so I'm busy, see, most of the day. And above all, I'm learning new things I didn't know before.” Giovani said.
Brian Alexander Rodriguez works in a Cyber Café in San Salvador, El Salvador. He was able to start his small business with funds from a project that engages with youth and hopes to give them skills in low-income areas.
He says that he is happy he has something interesting to do and earn some money at the same time.
“Now I’m able to help my family. Not a large amount, but at least I’m able to help a little. I’m not like the others who are at home doing nothing. This also helped to keep me focused on something. Rodriguez adds.
The report highlights the importance of "non-state actors’ " response, including civil society organizations and international cooperation. However, it emphasizes that due to the growing sense of insecurity, the expansion of the middle classes and the "thinning" of the state, private security guards are increasingly being hired in Latin America at an average annual growth rate of 10 percent. The region now has almost 50 percent more private security guards (3,811,302) than police officers (2,616,753) and Latin American private security agents are the most armed in the world, with rates of gun possession per employee ten times larger than Europe. This phenomenon further increases inequality, as social groups have different capacities to deal with crime, says the HDR.
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