After nearly five decades of steady increase, all forms of violent conflict except for terrorism have dropped rapidly since the end of the Cold War, according to a study released by a Canadian think tank. “The conventional wisdom is that conflict is increasing, but more wars have ended than started since 1992,” said Andrew Mack, director of the Human Security Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. “We pay attention to the wars that are starting, but not the wars that quietly end.”The Human Security Report, funded by Canada, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Britain, shows dramatic changes in patterns of political violence. Armed conflicts have dropped by over 40 per cent since 1992, the report says. In 1950, the average number of people killed in conflict per year was 38,000; in 2002, it was 600. That is partly because of the move from large-scale battles to targetted bombing, Mack said, adding, however, that the figures do not include millions killed in genocides. The nature of conflict also is changing. Wars between countries make up only 5 per cent of armed conflicts now, while civil wars and low-intensity conflicts between governments and rebels make up the overwhelming majority. The report attributes the decline to the end of both colonialism and the Cold War, and an upsurge in peace-building activities. —LAT-WP
