Rede

Monterrey/Mexico, 01.-05.10.2007 - International Conference on the State of Safety in World Cities 2007

Statement of Peter Götz, Member of the Bundestag, European President

 

Governor González Parás,
Dr Tibaijuka,
Mr Chairman,
Excellencies, partners,
Members of Parliament,

 

As a parliamentarian and as European President of Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, I would like to take this opportunity to thank UN-Habitat for the valuable work which you do for people in our towns and cities.

 

Urban areas play a pivotal role in a society which is becoming increasingly international and global. It is therefore right and proper for UN-Habitat to pay greater attention to the development of the towns and cities.

 

We as parliamentarians would like to encourage you to carry on with determination along the path on which you have embarked. We are grateful for the fact that UN-Habitat has opened its doors to involve local governments, parliamentarians and many other partners in this process. Only if we all pull together will we be successful. Our aim as parliamentarians is to make our contribution through well thought-out legislation.

 

I would like to thank the Federal Government of Mexico and the State Government of Nuevo León for the excellent idea of holding this international conference jointly with the Forum of Cultures.

 

In particular, I would like to thank the current President of Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, my friend Senator Eloy Cantú Segovia, for successfully attracting politicians from across the world to his beautiful home region, in order to discuss how we can improve framework conditions for people through good legislation.

 

I am very pleased that his two predecessors as President of the Global Parliamentarians on Habitat, Professor Oscar Velarde Vega and Ernesto Gil Elorduy, are also present, thus demonstrating their commitment to Habitat.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

increasing urbanisation must not be allowed to represent a ticking time bomb, accompanied by violence and poverty.

 

Poverty is very often the cause of crime. That is why poverty reduction and the fight against crime must be seen in the same overall context.

 

One of the primary roles of the state is to protect its citizens from violence and crime and preserve internal security.

 

Security problems do not only exist from the point at which somebody is murdered in full view. Security deficits develop in a creeping fashion, generally without people noticing.

 

Although the country in which I live, Germany, emerges as one of the safest countries in the world in global comparisons, we do have problems - and these should not be played down.

 

One recent study, for instance, examined the reasons for people moving from their previous place of residence to another town or another area. The results were surprising:

 

The number 1 motive, stated by 60% of those questioned, was fear of crime and the fact that the area was becoming increasingly run down due to vandalism.

 

This is something which is similar in other countries. That is why it is positive that we are debating at this forum what can be done to counter this:

 

1. Firstly, it is up to the state to ensure that its citizens are safe. It is essentially the police and the judiciary who are responsible for fighting crime. Yet this by itself is insufficient.
We must see security as a task for the whole of society.

In order to be successful we need a coordinated prevention strategy – an alliance of citizens with government agencies, churches, teachers, associations and the business community. This includes security partnerships between neighbours, local authorities and the police.

 

2. Increasingly, children and young people are the victims of crime. Prevention has to begin at pre-school and school. That is why an anti-violence strategy beginning at a young age is necessary.
And

 

3. We must consider how we can make people feel safer through urban planning, architectural and building measures.

 

Why not plan urban spaces in such a way as to minimise opportunities for criminals and completely avoid the existence of places where people feel unsafe?

 

All of us are familiar with the broken windows theory, whereby failure to act on petty crime leads to more serious crime.

 

Many towns and cities have seen what can be achieved by taking rigorous action against petty crime - such as fare dodging, graffiti vandalism and other damage to public or private property – which leads to long-term improvements in crime prevention.

 

Community policing and the broken windows theory are creative approaches to fighting crime. Decent residential environments, measures to prevent areas degenerating and deteriorating into slums, an intact infrastructure and the involvement of residents in making their towns and cities successful are decisive factors in sustainable and forward-looking development.

 

Creating safe and secure urban areas is the key to quality of life for inhabitants. This is the challenge we face. Our goal must be to ensure that everybody in the world has the ideal circumstances for a decent and peaceful future.

 

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