Death toll rises to 147
Update 1 June, 07:40 The death toll has risen to nearly 150 and thousands have been left homeless, say authorities in Central American countries hit by by tropical storm Agatha. Guatamala, Honduras and El Salvador each declared a state of emergency after being battered by the storm’s heavy rains, which caused mudslides. The storm is the latest weather disaster to hit the region hard, just days after volcanoes erupted in Guatamala and Ecuador. “Ash from the volcano that covered city streets and other areas mixed with the heavy rain, forming a goo that caused many drainage systems to clog,” reports CNN.
Links to other sites: CNN, Houston Chronicle/AP, New York Times, Yahoo/Reuters
The Oslo Conference on Armed Violence poster depicts conflict and hope
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Each year almost half a million people die as a result of armed violence not related to war, while an additional 250,000 die in armed conflicts. Add to these figures the fact that 60% of homicides in the world involve small arms and light weapons and you can see why armed violence is being called an epidemic of global proportions.
Armed violence, according to Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jonas Gahr Store, is a barrier to development, causes human rights violations, fosters impunity and undermines trust in public institutions.
The Minister made the remarks in the framework of the Oslo Conference on Armed Violence. Due to a Europe-wide air travel ban last month, an abbreviated Conference was held in Geneva instead of Norway.
Store joined the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), UN high level representatives, and representatives of 60 countries and civil society, to promote adoption of the “Oslo Commitments,” a set of five actions geared to stop violence and foster progress towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Armed violence globally poses a significant challenge to achieving the goals outlined by the international community in 2000.
The actions to be adopted by states include a better measurement and monitoring of armed violence, appropriate recognition of victims’ rights, improving international cooperation and assistance, and adopting a comprehensive approach to violence prevention.
El Salvador, a country that has struggled against armed violence during the past three decades is one of many to embrace these actions.
Henry Campos speaking in Geneva about the situation in El Salvador
“We have been affected by civil war, by the repatriation of hundreds of street gang members coming from the US who introduced criminal violence to our streets, and by the spilling over our borders of drug trafficking violence that originates in neighboring countries,” said Henry Campos El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Justice and Security.
This Central American nation has taken steps to, according to Campos, “keep moving this agenda forward regardless of who’s in power.”
Like El Salvador, many nations consumed by daily armed violence do not have the sole means to effectively fight its impact, thus the importance of international assistance.
The history of the Mara Salvatruchas, a transnational street gang responsible for spreading violent crime in El Salvador, is a prime example of how armed violence may impede national development. Firearm violence costs the Salvadorian state 11% of the annual GDP, more than twice the budget for education and health.
Massive flooding in five regions in El Salvador has taken the lives of 124 people, with reports of deaths still coming in as the country struggles to cope. Some 7,000 homes have been damaged. The hardest hit areas appear to be San Salvador, the capital, and San Vicente province in the centre of the country. The floods, bringing mudslides, came after days of heavy rains. The Independent reported in 2005, after heavy flooding that year, that deforestation has left the country vulnerable to major flood damage.
Links to other sites: Associated Press, BBC
