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OAS Calls for "a Rethinking of the Ways to Look at and Address Public Safety” following the Experience of El Salvador

The Secretary for Multidimensional Security of the Organization of American States (OAS), Adam Blackwell, praised the dialogue initiative with the “maras” (juvenile gangs) undertaken by El Salvador, as part of the comprehensive approach that the multilateral institution advocates to fight crime and promote public safety, during the inauguration of the "Meeting of Best Practices on Peace, Community Building, Intervention and Reintegration Processes" held today in San Salvador.

“Like any complex phenomenon, the process of social pacification currently under way in El Salvador presents ups and downs and is not without risks. However, it represents a chance and, for us a hope for peace, something we do not want to turn our backs on,“ said Ambassador Blackwell. He also added that it “represents an opening toward a rethinking of the ways to look at and address the issue of public safety.”

In this regard, Secretary Blackwell called on governments of the member countries to “think and believe that the time has come to talk of comprehensive policies that include all issues involved in the issue security, and particularly those that define its social and cultural environment."

The OAS representative explained the reasoning that led the OAS and its Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, to participate in the process initiated by the Salvadoran civil society. “We were encouraged by an objective that is a priority for us: helping reduce criminal violence affecting many countries of our hemisphere, “which “in some Central American countries was and is unacceptable.” In that context, he said, "the OAS and its General Secretariat, whose main concerns are the citizenry and the democratic institutions that shelter them, could not ignore this pressing problem. It was our duty to support the governments and societies that decided to face it and that asked for our help."

He explained that this support was possible because all of El Salvadoran society chose to “emphasize the dialogue in a process of reducing violence and laying the foundations for a shared responsibility and common commitment." “One option, in short, before which an organization such as the OAS General Secretariat can act as a facilitator, observer and even guarantor of the commitments that the parties might agree upon,” said Ambassador Blackwell.

The result, said Blackwell, was a joint effort between the national and local governments, the business sector and in general the whole society that has offered results “with ups and downs," but at the same time tangible, because "the murder rate in this country has been virtually cut in half. “ “And most importantly, in our opinion, the climate of open dialogue between those who commit crimes and the rest of society has led to the experience of eleven municipalities -which we hope will soon be extended to others-, who have taken it a step further and have reached agreements that may mean an important reduction in the general crime rate," said the senior OAS official.

Also speaking at the event’s opening ceremony were the Deputy Minister of Justice and Public Security of El Salvador, Juan Javier Martinez, and Gracia Rossi, General Manager of Microsoft in the Central American country, representing the Salvadoran private sector.

The "Meeting of Best Practices on Peace, Community Building, Intervention and Reintegration Processes" brings together experts from El Salvador, the United States, Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica and Guatemala to exchange experiences and views on the most effective solutions against violence and crime, in order to draw conclusions about different peace, facilitation, intervention and reintegration processes in the Americas.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-352/13