Coordinator Verklaring van Geneve verongelukt in crash Franse Airbus

In de vorige week verongelukte Airbus van Air France zat de coordinator van de Verklaring van Geneve voor Gewapend Geweld en Ontwikkeling. Het gaat om de Zwitser Ronald Dreyer.

In Memoriam
The Geneva Declaration Secretariat announces with sadness the untimely death of the Geneva Declaration Coordinator in the Air France crash

Ronald Dreyer was aboard the ill-fated Air France flight AF 447 that disappeared over the South Atlantic in the early hours of Monday 1 June 2009. He was among the 228 passengers and crew travelling from Rio de Janeiro to Paris aboard the airbus A330-200, when it vanished from the radars at 04h15 central European time.

Ronald received his Ph.D. in International Relations from the Graduate Institute in 1985. Ronald started his career as a delegate with the ICRC, and then served with United Nations missions in El Salvador, Mozambique, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Angola and elsewhere. In 2006, Ronald joined the Geneva Declaration Secretariat as its coordinator, based in Geneva and working with the Swiss Permanent Mission to the UN and the Small Arms Survey.

Ronald will be remembered for his dedication and passion to promoting the issue of "armed violence and development". He was instrumental in mobilising the support of more than 100 countries to this cause. His legacy, but more importantly his warmth and good humour, will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

The Geneva Declaration Secretariat extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of our friend and collaborator. Our thoughts are with them all at this sad and difficult time.
http://www.genevadeclaration.org/index.html


Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development
The importance of reducing armed violence in order to promote development is not a new idea. When UN Member States adopted the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA) in July 2001, references were repeatedly made to the negative impact of small arms and light weapons on sustainable development
http://www.genevadeclaration.org/geneva-declaration.html

The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development highlights the role that states and civil society must play in preventing and reducing violence associated with war, crime, and social unrest.

The Declaration was adopted on 7 June 2006 and by 2008, was endorsed by more than 90 states. The declaration commits signatories to:

Support initiatives to measure the human, social and economic costs of armed violence;

Undertake assessments to understand and respond to risks and vulnerabilities;

Evaluate the effectiveness of armed violence prevention and reduction programmes around the world;

To disseminate lessons and best practices.