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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Five years after an historic Peace Agreement was reached in Colombia, the process continues to show the benefits of ending the conflict through negotiation and keeping victims at the heart of the discussion moving forward. That was the main message from the Special Representative and head of the UN Verification Mission in Colombia, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, delivered to ambassadors at the Security Council on Thursday. For him, the first former conflict zone fully cleared of landmines, and...