The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development is a high-level diplomatic initiative aimed at addressing the linkage between armed violence and development. It is designed to support states and civil society actors to achieve considerable reductions in armed violence by 2015 and beyond.

The conference, hosted by the Government of Switzerland and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), took place at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), and was attended by nearly 500 participants, including accredited national delegations from 96 countries, as well as international and civil society organizations.

The State Minister of Georgia for Reintegration addressed the conference audience underlining the impact of August 2008 war on the lives of civilians in Georgia. In her speech Ms. Tkeshelashvili stated: "the government of Georgia cannot betray the profound responsibilities it has for the well-being of all of its citizens, including those in the occupied territories. Blame-shifting would never be acceptable to us... Georgia is also doing a great deal more to advance development and human rights in the occupied territories, despite the fragile peace... We believe these programs and commitments will gradually contribute to the process of securing stability in Georgia and will use peaceful means to eventually reverse the status quo established by the use of force."