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The Johannesburg International Conference on Crime Prevention
Partnerships to Build Community Safety - Urban Safety, Safety
for All - took place in October 1998 and brought together more
than 600 participants to discuss diverse issues related to the
prevention of delinquency, violence and insecurity. The Johannesburg
conference was organised in the same spirit as previous international
conferences on urban safety held in Montreal (1989), Paris (1991),
and Vancouver (1996), the most recent of which was attended
by the Mayor of Johannesburg. The conference was held at a time
where major efforts were being devoted to reducing crime and
the feeling of insecurity following the South African government's
publication of the White Paper on Safety and Security.
The Johannesburg Conference included a Forum of Mayors for
Safer Cities that was an opportunity to focus on the Safer Cities
concept that had recently been launched in Johannesburg and
Dar es Salaam and was starting in Abidjan. The Forum's main
objective was to mobilise local authorities in South Africa
and other African cities to develop similar municipal safety
strategies that depended on the participation of all local stakeholders
and the support of other levels of government and international
agencies. The Forum was supported by UN-Habitat and technical
assistance was provided by the International Centre for the
Prevention of Crime (ICPC). Representatives of 30 African cities
attended the Forum and adopted a declaration promoting the Safer
Cities approach.
Where are we five years later? What progress has been made
in providing safer urban environments for citizens? Have we
been successful in reducing and preventing violence and insecurity?
How can we do more in the future?
The International Conference Sustainable Safety: Municipalities
at the Crossroads will critically review, appraise, and document
Safer Cities and other partner crime prevention and municipal
safety activities in Africa. The conference will outline the
way forward for the crime prevention and municipal safety initiatives
by addressing crucial areas for discussion, making recommendations
for action, and promoting learning through sharing of examples
of good practice and obstacles encountered.
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