Violence is a serious cause of poverty, the UN needs to address this - The Guardian

The Millennium Development Goals have become one of the most positive initiatives fostered by the United Nations during these first years of the 21st century. Humanity has made significant progress in advancing a world free of poverty and social exclusion, while showing that such a goal is not just desirable but also achievable. The progress made in a few years used to take decades to become a reality. Today, fewer children die of preventable diseases, more girls are educated and the fight against HIV-Aids has become a global public health priority.

Different voices have raised suggestions and concerns about how to move forward when we reach the deadline set for the MDGs in 2015. Happily, most voices agree that we have to follow a similar path, as was shown in the Rio+20 conference held in Brazil. There, the international community suggested that new global goals should be set for the future, after 2015, combining poverty reduction targets with sustainable development concerns. This means that the architecture of the new global goals should be built in two pillars: reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development.

My government supports this approach and we expect that the UN will embrace such a framework with enthusiasm and commitment.

None the less, I also believe that the new global goals will fall short of what is expected of them if the international community cannot also agree on specific targets aimed at ensuring universal access to justice and reduction of extreme violence for vulnerable groups.

My country, Guatemala, continues to suffer from multiple forms of violence and high levels of impunity. Based on our experience, I can affirm that extreme violence, insecurity and limited access to justice are factors that prevent development in general, and particularly ensure the continuation of poverty and social exclusion. Let me explain this.

First, violence suffered by women, children and other vulnerable groups translates into impunity because a large proportion of people have limited or no access to justice. Impunity derived from low coverage and poor quality of justice is one of the major drivers of poverty (and intergenerational reproduction of poverty), because long exposure to a violent environment prevents otherwise perfectly healthy women and children gaining access to economic and social opportunities that may help them escape from the poverty trap.

Second, violence reproduces violence itself. The vicious circle of violence and impunity transforms many vulnerable groups into agents that reproduce abuse and mistreatment from one generation to another.

But a life without extreme violence is not just desirable, it is also possible. Actually, in my home country, we have demonstrated in the last three years – and particularly in the last 10 months of my administration – that fighting impunity and reducing murder is possible. Our homicide rate has reduced in a sustained manner and I can proudly say that we are not far from the day when there will not be a single homicide in one week.

Allow me to be bold on this. Extreme violence and impunity are still too high in Guatemala by international standards. But if we can claim some progress even in these difficult circumstances, why can't the world set a goal that will allow thousands to live a life free of violence?

The progress made in Guatemala would not have been possible without the support of the international community. The UN and bilateral co-operation have played the right role of strengthening the justice system and they have helped us particularly in enhancing the state's capacity for crime prosecution and crime prevention. This support, combined with the right national policies and national leadership, shows that a world free of extreme violence and with universal access to justice is desirable and possible.

Women, children and other vulnerable groups deserve to live in a world without poverty, but they also deserve a world without extreme violence. Humanity can make a big jump towards living on a better planet if we set global development goals aimed at poverty reduction, protecting the environment, and reducing extreme violence.

We should pass our children and grandchildren a planet that is free from want, free from extreme abuse and environmentally friendly. A planet where all people are treated in a dignified manner, no matter their country of birth, the colour of their skin, their sex or sexual preference, their age or their private wealth. A world that is, finally, free from fear.