Fórum on Public Safety discusses access to justice, guarantee of rights and improvement of public security in Brazil

August 9, 2011 - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the State Government of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian Forum of Public Security, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Ministry of Justice of Brazil held the fourth edition of the Forum on Public Safety: Brazil and its innovative expertise in violence prevention.

The meeting of two days (08 and 09 August) brings together about 200 national and international experts in Public Safety and aims to identify and improve successful practices in preventing violence, access to justice and strengthening of public safety.

On Tuesday 9, the UNODC representative for Brazil and Southern Cone, Bo Mathiasen, coordinated the table on Public Safety, Corruption, Trafficking of Arms and Drugs. Issues such as integration and planning of information, and access to justice, prison policies and educational measures were also discussed.

According to the IDB representative in Brazil, Fernando Carrillo-Flórez, the Bank's strategic priority in the Safety area is the reduction of crime and violence among youngsters of 17 to 25 years of age. "The Bank has been working on the issue of Safety in 12 countries in the region, with a portfolio of nearly US$ 600 million. The new approach that we propose is to work with integrated social network services, promoting the strengthening of community networks. Moreover, it is essential to offer dedicated support to public institutions at the municipal level", he said.

At the end of the first day, participants took a guided tour to a Police Pacified Unit (UPP) in Rio de Janeiro. On Wednesday, participants visited the Center for Special Operations of Rio de Janeiro.

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