28 jun Armed violence in Sweden – the importance of building peaceful and inclusive societies
On May 31 2017, the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, in cooperation with its members from the Swedish Parliament, organised the seminar titled ’Armed violence in Sweden – the importance of building peaceful and inclusive societies’. The seminar gathered 41 participants including members of the Swedish parliament, local politicians, government agencies including representatives at local level, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and diplomatic community, National Coordinator Against Violent Extremism, Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society, the Swedish Police, research institutes and a broad range of civil society organisations working on peace and security and youth organisations.
Armed violence is a threat to human security and an obstacle to sustainable development throughout the world. Every year more than half a million people die of armed violence and of these deaths, almost half are caused by Small Arms and Light Weapons, SALW(Small Arms Survey, 2016). According to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, there has been an increase in violent deaths caused by firearms in Sweden in recent years. Agenda 2030 provides the framework to achieve long-term sustainable development where Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies is the guiding principle for addressing armed violence.
The objective of the seminar was to provide an overview of armed violence in Sweden, strengthening political will and responsibility; focusing on root causes, challenges and possible solutions; the role of parliamentarians in violence prevention; as well as young people’s active involvement in violence prevention and peace-building.