Americas

Compared to the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was “undoubtedly worse” for the Americas, where infections and deaths tripled, the top UN health official there reported on Wednesday. Dr. Carissa Etienne, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), delivered her final briefing of the year, providing a regional update and reflections on the crisis. A heavy toll Since the start of the pandemic, more than 98 million people in the Americas have developed COVID-19 and more than 2.3 million have died from the disease. More than a third of all cases reported worldwide, and one in four deaths, have occurred in the region. “And when we compare 2020 to 2021, this year was undoubtedly worse. We saw triple the number of COVID infections and deaths in this second year of the pandemic than we did in 2020,” Dr. Etienne told journalists. She said hospitals were stretched thin, stocks of vital medicines and supplies ran low, and health systems “were put to the test like never before.” Regional overview PAHO is the regional office of the World Health Organization (WHO). Over the past week, more than 926,056 new COVID-19 infections were reported across the Americas, a nearly 19 per cent increase over previous weeks. North America is experiencing a resurgence in cases as Mexico witnesses a reduction in infections. Cases are down in Central America, except in Panama, where they have steadily increased over the last month. “We’re seeing a shifting picture in South America,” Dr. Etienne reported. “Cases have dropped in Bolivia for the first time since September, just as COVID infections increased in Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay, and cases remain steady in Brazil and Peru.” Although infections are down overall across the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago reached its highest weekly case count, while Saint Lucia also saw cases rise by 66 per cent over the last week. The Cayman Islands reported the highest weekly incidence of any country or territory in the Americas. Vaccine inequity persists While 2021 has been “a sobering year”, COVID-19 vaccines have protected millions against the worst of the coronavirus, said Dr. Etienne. More than 1.3 billion doses have been administered in the region to date. “Although rollout of vaccines has not been as rapid as we would have liked, or as evenly distributed, today 56 per cent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, thanks to the efforts of countries and the support of donors,” she said. Dr. Etienne warned that vaccine inequity continues to divide the region, saying “if we don’t address glaring gaps, we’ll fail to bring this virus under control.” PAHO Argentina Medical workers prepare to carry out COVID-19 tests in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Learn from the pandemic With no “magic bullet” against COVID-19, the health official underscored the need to both embrace new tools and use them wisely. Several promising new drugs are in late-stage development, and countries must be ready to leverage them once approved, she said. Dr. Etienne also urged countries to build on lessons learned over the pandemic. This includes heeding advice from WHO, experts, scientists, and regulators “whose jobs it is to carefully review the safety and efficacy of drugs and recommend when, where and how to deploy them.” Countries must also work together to ensure people everywhere can benefit from any new therapeutics, once available, through timely access and affordable prices. Solidarity and sharing Stressing that “we cannot and must not let history repeat itself”, Dr. Etienne called for nations to collaborate now to expand production capacity, including in the Americas region, “so countries don’t remain completely dependent on pharmaceutical imports.” She underlined the importance of solidarity, another major lesson from the pandemic, which is how vaccines were developed in record time, variants could be identified quickly, and countries could adjust their responses based on latest available evidence. “Each time we worked together, we had breakthroughs. But when countries worked in isolation, when innovations and resources were not shared, we created space for the pandemic to thrive. Sharing is central to defeating this pandemic,” she said.

Colombia must urgently reform how it polices protests in the wake of demonstrations earlier this year in which several people were killed or injured, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said in a report published on Wednesday. The report documents various instances of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by police officers during widespread demonstrations that began on 28 April and continued for several weeks. The protests were part of a national strike against the country’s long-standing economic and social equalities, many of which were worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. 46 deaths verified During the period from 28 April to 31 July, OHCHR’s office in Colombia received more than 60 allegations of deaths in the context of the protests. So far, it has verified the deaths of 46 people: 44 civilians and two police officers. Most of the documented deaths, 76 per cent, were from gunshot wounds. The Colombia office conducted more than 620 interviews with victims and witnesses, and examined 83 videos, including mobile phone footage of the protests and related incidents. Staff also held some 878 meetings with government officials, civil society representatives and protestors. Based on this analysis, there are reasonable grounds to believe police officers were responsible for at least 28 of the deaths, the report said, with members of the National Police’s Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD) involved in at least 10. Non-State actors are believed to have killed 10 people, while there is insufficient information to determine the likely perpetrators of eight further deaths. Some 60 reported cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by the police, are also included in the report. So far, 16 have been verified by OHCHR. Disproportionate use of force The report details instances of unnecessary or disproportionate use of force by police officers, especially ESMAD members, to disperse peaceful protests and blockades. Armed individuals also attacked and fired on demonstrators without the security forces intervening. OHCHR underlined the importance of law enforcement officers abiding by principles such as legality, precaution and necessity, when policing demonstrations, with firearms only used as a measure of last resort when there is an imminent threat to life or of serious injury.  All those reportedly involved in causing injury or death, including State officials, should face prompt, independent, impartial and transparent investigations, while victims should be ensured the right to full reparation. Steps taken so far towards investigation and prosecution have been welcomed, according to the report. Protect human rights The report also underscored the State’s responsibility to protect human rights without discrimination, and obligation to facilitate people’s right of peaceful assembly, concluding that Colombia failed to maintain a safe environment for protesters on several occasions. Another concern was the degree to which protestors were criminalized and stigmatized, including by the media linking them to vandalism or even alleging acts of terrorism, OHCHR said. Human rights defenders and journalists were also attacked during the protests. The report also documents violence and damage by some protesters and other individuals, which OHCHR has consistently condemned, though noting that the majority of the protests were peaceful. Lessons learned It further details areas where investigations into alleged human rights violations have made progress, and welcomes the Colombian Government’s stated zero tolerance of violations by security forces. Under lessons learned is a recommendation for the authorities to take action to ensure those in charge of managing protests, particularly the National Police, only resort to dispersal measures which are strictly in line with international human rights norms and standards. Noting Government reform proposals, the report calls for a broad national debate on police reform, including potentially transferring the force from the Ministry of Defence to civilian control, and improving internal oversight and accountability mechanisms.

Following a series of riots which have left more than 280 inmates dead and hundreds injured in Ecuadorian prisons this year, UN independent human rights experts on Monday called for urgent government action to address the issue. In a joint statement, the experts said they were “appalled and gravely concerned” by repeated riots that have resulted in the death of so many prisoners, and the “clear risk” of further incidents. The statement was signed by Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Ongoing insecurity During the most recent outbreak of violence, on 12 November, at least 62 inmates were killed and 44 were injured at the Centre of Deprivation of Liberty Guayas Nr. 1 (El Litoral Penitentiary) near the coastal city of Guayaquil. This was the fourth deadly riot at the prison this year. The experts received information about specific concerns, including severe overcrowding, by UN Photo A few days earlier, four inmates were shot and killed during clashes inside the prison block. In September, El Litoral Penitentiary saw the deadliest riot ever recorded in the country, with 118 inmates killed and more than 80 injured. In July, eight people had been killed during an uprising at the same prison and 13 in another facility. Nearly 80 other inmates were killed in incidents earlier in the year.  Investigations For the UN experts, “prompt, independent and impartial investigations must be carried out to establish the circumstances of all of these deaths and, in case of violations, prosecute those responsible.” They also asked for “urgent and effective measures” to stop “further carnage.” The experts received information about specific concerns, including severe overcrowding, largely as a result of a highly punitive “war on drugs” policy. They also got information about budget cuts and lack of staff, including professionals trained in fields necessary for social rehabilitation. Availability of weapons, violence between rival criminal gangs and inadequate separation of inmates in prisons, have further exacerbated problems at jails. In addition, the medical and legal investigations resulted in “confusing reports” about the number of dead, which were first reported by the authorities as totalling 68, but then later to 62 deceased. For them, this discrepancy is a source of additional suffering for the relatives of the deceased. Obligations In their statement, the experts remind the authorities that they have an obligation to protect the life and physical integrity of all individuals in detention. This includes the duty to investigate unlawful deaths using the highest standards, as it is determined by The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death. “The failure to do so amounts to the arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and other ill-treatment for which the authorities are responsible”, they said. They note that the Government has put the prison system under a state of emergency, but urge concrete steps to relieve overcrowding, prevent the inmates’ access to weapons, and to promote the use of alternative measures to incarceration. The Government should also ensure strict adherence to the 2015 UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Mandela Rules. According to the statement, the experts have written to the Government to express their concerns. Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary, and the experts are not paid for their work.

As of last Friday, more than 95,000 people have been officially registered as disappeared in Mexico. That includes a worrying increase in the number of women and children, a trend that has worsened during the pandemic, with migrants particularly at risk.  Those are some of the key findings shared by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, at the end of a visit between 15 and 26 November, noting that more than 100 disappearances allegedly took place just during the course of their fact-finding mission. In a statement, the Committee urged Mexican authorities to quickly locate those who have gone missing, identify the deceased and take prompt action to investigate all cases. Family members of the young disappeared in Ayotzinapa., by UNIC Mexico/Antonio Nieto Open access The delegation went to 13 Mexican states and held 48 meetings with more than 80 different authorities. Members also met hundreds of victims, and dozens of victims’ collectives and civil society organisations, from almost every part of the country. They witnessed exhumations and search expeditions in the states of Morelos, Coahuila and the state of Mexico, visited the Human Identification Centre in Coahuila, and went to several federal, state and migrant detention centres. This was their first visit to the country, granted under article 33 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearance. For the Committee, Mexico’s acceptance of the visit is a clear expression of the State’s openness to international scrutiny and support. “We acknowledge that some legal and institutional progress has been made in recent years, but enforced disappearances are still widespread and impunity is almost absolute”, the experts said in a statement. With more than 52,000 unidentified bodies of deceased people, the Committee argues that “the fight against impunity cannot wait.” Organised crime ‘collusion’ During the visit, they received “worrying information”, both from authorities and victims, about varying patterns in the way enforced disappearances are investigated in different regions. They also point to “scenarios of collusion between State agents and organised crime”, with some enforced disappearances “committed directly by State agents.” The Committee also notes with concern that several of the recommendations made in 2015 and 2018, are still pending implementation.  A protest rally in Mexico City on the case of Ayoitzinapa rural school attended by the 43 disappeared students.., by UNIC/Mexico “In this sense, we stress that disappearances are not only a phenomenon of the past, but still persist”, they say. Impunity and inaction During these two weeks, the Committee heard victims describe a society overwhelmed by the phenomenon of disappearances, as well as systemic impunity, and their powerlessness in the face of the inaction by some authorities. “They pointed out that day by day, in their search for answers and justice, they suffer [from] indifference and lack of progress. They have vehemently expressed to us their pain and that disappeared persons are not numbers, but human beings”, the Committee recalled. The experts believe that the root causes of the problem have not been addressed and that the adopted security approach is “not only insufficient, but also inadequate.” The Committee is made up of 10 independent experts, appointed by the States Parties to the Convention. Four members took part in the visit. A final report will be discussed and adopted by the plenary of the Committee during its 22nd session, which will take place in Geneva between 28 March and 8 April 2022.

The children of families who were affected by the massive earthquake which devastated large parts of south-west Haiti in August this year are receiving free hot meals at school as part of an initiative by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) to support the recovery of the country’s most vulnerable communities. It’s 11 o’clock in the morning at the Ecole Nationale des Filles de Dame Marie, a school in the small town of Dame Marie on the western peninsula of southern Haiti. Two volunteer cooks are running a bit late with the preparation of today’s meal for 307 schoolchildren. On the menu are black beans, which are taking a little longer to cook than normal. Wheat grain will be added as will vegetable oil, spring onions and spicy peppers to two steaming pots. The students here, both girls and boys despite the name of the school, are benefiting from the World Food Programme’s school feeding initiative which aims to provide the most vulnerable children with at least one cooked meal per day. The school principal Franesie Sylvestre says for many of these children, “this is the only meal they will eat today.” Dame Marie town was affected by the earthquake, but the school remained largely unscathed apart from a few cracks in the walls of buildings and a collapsed entrance gate. UN Haiti/Daniel Dickinson Banana leaves cover two pots of beans and wheat, school meals for over 300 children. Earthquake impact The most significant impact has been on the parents of these children, many of whom lost their farms or missed the planting season due to the earthquake. “They can no longer cultivate food,” says Principal Sylvestre, “so they cannot feed their children properly. That’s why this school feeding programme is so important. It will give the children energy to carry on studying and provide support to their parents. In the long run, that is good for our community.” This school feeding programme was in operation before the earthquake which struck south-west Haiti on 14 August, leading to the deaths of more than 2,200 people; an additional 12,700 were injured and key infrastructure, such as bridges, roads, hospitals and schools, was destroyed or damaged. This school is just one of more than 1,600 where WFP is providing meals to around 344,000 students. In most schools, the initiative is focused on more than just providing a meal to hungry children. Holistic approach Small handwashing stations fashioned from buckets stand on platforms outside each classroom. They’ve been installed by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, to ensure that the children learn good hygiene habits such as washing hands before meals. UN Haiti/Daniel Dickinson A child washes her hands before eating a school meal., by UN Haiti/Daniel Dickinson And UNICEF has provided books to study the French language, maths and other subjects as well as desks where students can comfortably study. “We have to take a holistic approach,” says WFP’s Maguelita Varin, “because if children don’t wash their hands and then eat, they can get sick. And if they don’t have any books, they’re not able to study even if they have eaten well.” WFP’s school feeding programme is planning to expand to provide meals cooked from locally grown produce for almost 40,000 children in 190 schools in the three departments that were affected by the earthquake. The UN’s International Labour Organization is looking to support the wider cultivation amongst farmers in the area of breadfruit, a nutritious and versatile food. It’s hoped breadfruit will become a staple ingredient in school meals, a development which would, in turn, support the local economy. “This approach helps to sustain the local economy and will encourage farmers to grow more crops,” says Maguelita. “Ultimately, it will help communities to recover better and build their resilience to future shocks.” At the Ecole Nationale des Filles de Dame Marie, the food is ready, and students are lining up patiently to wash their hands before joining the queue for their hot meal. For many this is their first food of the day and some look very hungry. UN Haiti/Daniel Dickinson Children line up for free school meals provided by WFP. Back at their desks, they tuck in enthusiastically to generous helping of beans and wheat. They are too focused on eating to spend time chatting, and teachers know they will be well fed and focused on the lessons that follow. WFP’s school feeding programme in Haiti, reaching 344,000 schoolchildren this year, is funded by Canada, Education Cannot Wait, France, Switzerland and the United States Department of Agriculture. (USDA) The programme in Ecole Nationale des Filles de Dame Marie is funded by USDA. Across Haiti, almost 100,000 schoolchildren are reached thanks to USDA funds.

Haitians who were affected by the devastating earthquake which struck the southwest of the country in August have demonstrated their “heartwarming resilience” according to a staff member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who has been supporting recovery efforts. Joseph Chlela, who is from Lebanon, is an emergency coordinator with IOM and has been working in the earthquake zone. “I arrived from Bangladesh just two weeks before the earthquake hit Haiti. I’m grateful for my experience working in crisis situations, which helped me set up the emergency response immediately after the earthquake struck. The most important first step is to contain the emergency. I put together a response team working closely with government bodies and local partners. These colleagues were then quickly deployed to the areas most affected to conduct a rapid assessment of the damage and needs and to start distributing non-food kits and shelter items such as tarps, tents, solar lanterns as well as hygiene kits and kitchen sets. A quick response is extremely important to limit the damage and casualties and to provide urgent assistance to those without a roof to sleep under. IOM/Monica Chiriac Joseph Chlela is an emergency response coordinator with IOM. Volatile Security The main challenges have been logistical and linked to the volatile security situation in Haiti, which has made it more difficult to reach those people in need. The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated the humanitarian response. Many communities live in hard-to-reach areas where access is typically limited and now nearly impossible due to the bridges and roads which were damaged by the earthquake. If people hadn’t received any support and items such as hygiene kits, the incidence of contagious and water-borne diseases would have drastically increased. Lack of shelter is also closely linked to an increased risk of gender-based violence. Other governmental and local authority partners as well as UN agencies, including UNICEF and WFP, have also contributed to the response. I have been impressed to see all the partners, local and international, coming together to help those affected despite the myriad of logistical challenges. And it’s heartwarming to witness the resilience of Haitians and their determination to stay put in their homes and build back better. IOM has assisted over 150,000 people with shelter and non-food items and I think the people we have helped, especially those living in very remote areas, were grateful for and maybe even surprised by IOM’s prompt response. What is important is that as a first responder, IOM has given people hope that they were not forgotten when they needed it the most”.

From bringing together fractured communities, to fighting child labour, and advancing climate action, the work of UN staff around the world is contributing to progress and development in many different ways. To mark UN Day this year, UN News is taking a snapshot of just one part of world – featuring the diverse contributions made by former staff members in Brazil. The UN Country Team in Brazil is celebrating the occasion by highlighting the contributions of four former staffers who’ve all played a role in the Organisation’s history: a veterinarian, an environmentalist, a sociologist, and a demographer. All of them have dedicated a large part of their lives to the UN, and believe that unity and dialogue are the best way to bring about a fairer and more sympathetic world. UN Brazil/Isadora Ferreira Milton Thiago de Mello at home in Brasilia. Milton Thiago de Mello, Veterinarian “The world after the pandemic will be different – the planet was forced to take a break, and a new world will come out of that”. This philosophical take on COVID-19 comes from a former UN staffer who has earned the right to provide a long-term view. After all, this is the second pandemic he has lived through: now 105-year-old, Milton Thiago de Mello was a small child when Spanish flu was spreading around the world, killing tens of millions of people. As well as surviving that global health crisis, Mr. Thiago de Mello lived through two world wars, and travelled to many cities and countries, working tirelessly in the service of scientific progress. His research on brucellosis, an infectious disease that affects livestock and human health, brought him to the attention of the Pan American Health Organization and the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), for whom began working in Argentina, during the year the health agency was created, in 1948. UN Brazil Cristina Montenegro worked at the UN, in Brazil and abroad, for thirty years. Cristina Montenegro, environmentalist “I paved the way for many women in the UN System” Cristina Montenegro’s international UN career spanned three decades, and by the time she retired she was the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Brazil, one of the first women in the Organisation to run an agency country office. After working at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (better known as the 1992 Earth Summit, in Rio), the environmentalist went on to serve in Mexico, before returning to Brazil to open the first UNEP country office. “We started in a period when little was said about the environment”, she reminisced. “Then we had a boost in 1992 with the Rio Conference, which strengthened the theme and institutions.” UN Brazil João Carlos Alexim at the ILO office in Brazil. João Carlos Alexim, sociologist João Carlos Alexim ran the Brazil country office for another UN agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO). During his career as a sociologist, he was involved in some pioneering projects, including initiatives that advanced the fight against child labour, and improving equal opportunities and salaries for Black and women workers. “For me, the United Nations remains the fundamental organisation centre for human thought and civilization”, he says, emphasizing the values that founded the UN, which remain relevant today. UN Brazil Mena and British actress Vanessa Redgrave, who was invited to Bósnia by UNESCO to work with local artists. Mena Mueller, demographer Mena Mueller’s full name is Maria Helena Fernandes da Trindade Henriques Mueller, but the preference for the shorter nickname came about whilst she was working for renowned UN official, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, during his time as the head of the emergency office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Bosnia, when he participated in negotiations to end the war in the country that killed more than 97,000 people. Ms. Mueller was tasked with the complex mission of uniting the three conflicting groups (Bosnians, Croats, Serbs), with a shared cultural identity. This involved mobilising artists, journalists, activists and educators, to prove to the people of the former Yugoslavia, and the outside world, that the countries and historic cultures needed to be supported. “When we arrived in the country it was difficult to convince people that they weren’t dead. Especially young people”, she says. “It was a huge job to encourage them to go on, and to find enough hope to build meaningful lives”.

Costa Rica is one of the winners of the inaugural UN-backed Earthshot Prize, in recognition of the Central American country’s efforts to reverse damage to its environment and develop in a sustainable manner. Red-eye tree frogs are native to the rain forests of Central America., by UNDP/Adriana Dinu The award also highlights just how far Costa Rica has come: in the 1990s, the country had the world’s highest global deforestation rates, and less than a quarter of its original forest cover remained, largely due to agricultural expansion and logging. Since then, policies that encourage sustainable land use practices have proved to be successful in reversing the decline, and today, Costa Rica is one of the only countries in the world to reverse its deforestation, stop biodiversity loss, and increase forest cover to over half its total territory, whilst increasing economic growth. You can ********* about Costa Rica and the Earthshot prize here.

The number of children and women abducted in Haiti until the end of August, has already surpassed last year’s total, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned this Thursday.  According to UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Jean Gough, “nowhere is safe for children in Haiti anymore.” “Whether on their way to school, at home or even at church, girls and boys are at risk of being kidnapped anywhere, at any time of the day or night. This is every parent’s worst nightmare”, she explained. UNICEF estimates, based on official sources, that 71 women and 30 children were abducted in the first eight months of this year, up from 59 women and 37 children last year. The number represents one third of the 455 kidnappings reported. Most of the kidnappings are taking place in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, and most abductees are Haitian. Upsurge in violence Since June, gang violence in the area has displaced at least 19,000 people and has affected 1.5 million. “Criminal gangs are using children as bargaining chips and making money off parents’ love for their children,” said Ms. Gough. “Amidst widespread poverty and rampant criminality, child abductions have become a lucrative business. This is abhorrent.” According to news reports, The Center for Analysis and Research in Human Rights, a Haiti-based NGO, has reported nearly 800 kidnappings in the country this year. In the first half of October alone, 119 people were abducted. Just last weekend, 17 missionaries from the United States and Canada were kidnapped. The missionaries were returning from a visit to an orphanage when their bus was reportedly seized by members of the 400 Mazowo gang. Specifically, for children and their mothers, these acts have a long-lasting impact. Captivity always causes trauma as they often witness or experience humiliation, threats and, in some cases, violence. To improve reporting of incidents and assistance, UNICEF has supported the national child protection agency (IBESR) in reactivating its free hotline to be used alongside a helpline run by the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM). Combination of crises Haiti is still reeling from a devastating earthquake that hit the southwestern part of the country in August, leaving 130,000 houses, over 1,000 schools and some 90 health centres damaged or destroyed. Additionally, the expulsion of over 7,600 Haitian migrants, more than half of whom are women and children, from the United States and other countries in the Americas, could place more vulnerable children and women at risk.  According to the acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Fernando Hiraldo, all these crises pose obstacles to humanitarian access. The situation is further complicated by very serious fuel shortages and the reduced supply of goods. According to Mr. Hiraldo, the security situation, which was already precarious, has deteriorated significantly since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July. Across the country, as of September 2021, 4.3 million people were experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, up from 4 million in August 2020. Currently, about 70 per cent of all schools in the southwestern part of the country are still damaged or destroyed, according to UNICEF. Earlier this month, when addressing the Security Council, Helen La Lime, Special Representative and head of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), said the country is undergoing “one of the most fraught periods of its recent history”.