Ninety per cent of violent deaths are unrelated to wars

An estimated 526 000 people die violently every year and only about 10% of those die as a result of armed conflicts, says a report from the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.

Some 55 000 people are killed in conflicts worldwide, another 396 000 people are murdered for criminal or political reasons, and 54 000 are killed unintentionally, the report says. Although much effort is invested in efforts to end armed conflict, the effects of so called interpersonal violence (criminal and political) on societies and on national development have largely been overlooked, it adds.

The Geneva Declaration is a high level diplomatic initiative, backed by more than 100 countries, …