UN: After nearly five decades of steady increase, all forms of violent conflict except terrorism have dropped rapidly since the end of the Cold War, according to a study by a Canadian think tank.
The report attributes the decline to the end of both colonialism and the Cold War, and an upsurge in international peace-building activities.
"The conventional wisdom is that conflict is increasing, but more wars have ended than started since 1992," said Andrew Mack, a former UN official who is director of the Human Security Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Human Security Report says that indirect effects of warfare, such as disease and displacement, can take a far greater toll than fighting.
The number of armed conflicts has fallen by more than 40 per cent since 1992, and conflicts with 1,000 or more battle deaths dropped by 80 per cent.
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 targeted bombing. The figures, however, do not include millions killed in genocides, Mr Mack said.
The nature of conflict also is changing. Wars between countries make up only 5 per cent of all armed conflicts now, while civil wars and low-intensity conflicts between governments and rebels make up the overwhelming majority. - (LA Times-Washington Post service)