Victim Empowerment Summit: Message of Support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

Victim Empowerment Summit: Message of Support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime

VICTIM EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (VEP) STAKEHOLDERS CONSULTATIVE SUMMIT, BIRCHWOOD HOTEL, BOKSBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 19 June 2008

MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM JONATHAN LUCAS, REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE, UNITED NATIONS OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIME

Programme Director,

Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Honourable Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I am delighted to join you today and participate in the Victim Empowerment Programme Stakeholders Summit. I would like to extend the gratitude of the Executive Director of UNODC Mr. Antonio Maria Costa, who came to South Africa to launch the project on 4 March, for the invitation extended to UNODC to deliver a message of support at this important event.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is privileged to be working in partnership with the Department of Social Development and the European Union in an important project in support of Victim Empowerment which has highlighted as one of the priorities of the Government of South Africa in the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

Gender-based violence mainly directed at women and children continues to be a burden.  Many cases of domestic violence and rape of even small children are reported everyday.  During His State of the Nation address in 2007, President Thabo Mbeki highlighted the abuse of women and children as having escalated to an unacceptable level.  Over 50 000 rape cases are reported to the police every year. 

It is crucial to create a supportive environment for the victims of sexual abuse and/or domestic violence including rape and to provide education and empowerment as well as to generate a security hub for victims of such violence.  The message we are sending is clear on the fact that perpetrators of such crimes will no longer be tolerated in the community.  In this regard the role of CSOs is vital, in providing support to victims of crime

May I take this opportunity to applaud the Government of South Africa for the steps taken towards victim support through the Service Charter for Victims of Crime in South Africa and the Minimum Standards on Services for Victims of Crime which have already been published.  The Bill of Rights, as contained in chapter 2 of the Constitution, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996) entrenches the right of every person to equality and to freedom and security.

Furthermore, the Victims Charter elaborates and consolidates rights and obligations relating to services to victims and survivors of crime and violence.  It is a right for each individual to know their RIGHTS as victims.  Unfortunately, too few victims are familiar with what their rights entails. The activist mandate of civil society, in particular, will contribute to ensuring that capacities are built in the area of victim empowerment from the national level to the grassroots.

Victim Empowerment Programmes cannot be undertaken single handedly or in isolation.  The partnership approach must be adopted between national, provincial and local government departments and civil society organizations, volunteers, business, religious sector, institutions of higher learning and research institutions in order for any successes to be achieved.  These stakeholders need to be empowered in order to provide the necessary support.  UNODC is committed to providing empowerment through capacity development and training, as well as through resources and resource mobilization.

Support is about empowerment as we move from policy to practice.  For this purpose, the project launched in March aims to improve the implementation of victim empowerment policies in South Africa by building capacity, improving coordination and strengthening relations between the government and civil society organizations and thereby improving services to victims especially women and children.  A key focus of the project is support to civil society organizations, building their capacity to deliver through a grant scheme.  NGOs play an important role and contribute to building of safe and peaceful communities. Violence against women and children is an obstacle to the achievement of the objectives of equality, development and peace as enshrined in the Bill of Rights and stipulated in the Constitution.  It violates the enjoyment by women and children of their basic human rights and freedoms.

Victim empowerment is central to the UNODC strategic theme.  UNODC assists Governments, countries emerging from conflict, and countries with economies in transition in building the capacity of their justice systems to operate more effectively within the framework of the rule of law and with particular attention to vulnerable groups, such as women and children. (General Assembly Resolution, 59/159 of 3 February 2005).

UNODC oversees related project development and provides substantive support for project implementation in the general area of justice reform, including:

• juvenile justice;
• penal reform;
• restorative justice;
• alternatives to imprisonment;
• victim support; and
• monitoring and civilian oversight of criminal justice performance.

Project activities include a wide number of interventions such as

• training and skill transfer;
• the provision of advice;
• law reform;
• the provision of grants to NGOs; and
• the development of normative guides, manuals and reports on best practice and training.

Furthermore, empowering non-state actors that work in the victim empowerment sector is in line with the UNODC strategy for 2008-2011, assistance to victims through strategies, including:

1. Wider application of international standards and norms on the treatment of victims of crime.
2. Strengthened capacity of member states to implement victims assistance programme for the most vulnerable segments of society, including women and children.
3. Strengthened partnerships between UNODC and relevant civil society entities that advance Member states’ capacity to raise awareness of existing standards and norms and their application in the area of victim support.

In support of Victims of crime UNODC published the training manual for Effective Police Responses to Violence against Women, which aims to support the law enforcement officials with information that will enable them to recognize and identify key elements in defining violence against women, essential both in prevention of violence and in their role in cases of violence reported by women.

UNODC with the Department of Social Development, in support of the Victim Empowerment Programmes through the establishment of one-stop-centres on violence against women.  This programme was geared towards the provision of services for victims as well as to reduce re-victimization.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the commitment to support NGOs, which work to support victims of violence.  Our great appreciation is also directed to the European Union for providing the necessary resources towards supporting you in your noble initiatives.

Support for victims of crime and violence is at the core of our mission, and we are pleased to join you today in your deliberations.

We look forward to building partnership with you and as the Acting Deputy Director General Ms. Conny Nxumalo said previously – this is a beginning.

I thank you.