Davos Forum, Israel-Palestine, disappearances in Mexico, public service in Latin America… The news on Wednesday

Guterres: The world is facing "a category five hurricane"

Despite the fact that the multiple crises that are plaguing the world call for the establishment of models of cooperation, the planet is facing a state of fragmentation, said the General secretary of the UN at the Davos Forum.

During a special speech on "The State of the World", António Guterres warned that his presence at the World Economic Forum did not serve to "sweeten the magnitude of this challenge, nor the lamentable state of our world."

“We cannot face problems unless we look them square in the eye. And we are looking into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane. Our world is in the grip of a perfect storm on multiple fronts,” she stated.

The head of the UN included in a "set of interconnected challenges that accumulate like a chain of cars", the recession that devastates various parts of the world, the persistent effects of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19, to the climatic abyss and conflicts, especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He added that we are facing “the most serious levels of geopolitical division and mistrust in generations”, and gave as an example the east-west divide in which there is a risk of “the separation of the two largest economies in the world”.

In order to overcome all these divisions, he proposed to reform or implement "equity in the world financial system" and to restore climate actions, among other actions. 

The “cycle of violence” between Israel and Palestine persists

Children stand by a demolished house in Beit Sira, a Palestinian town in the central West Bank.

The Special Coordinator for the Peace Process in the Middle East indicated today before the Security Council that "a dangerous cycle of violence persists on the ground" between Israel and Palestine, all this "amid heightened political tension and a stalled peace process."

Tor Wennesland indicated that between the first days of December and mid-January, 14 Palestinians were killed, including five children, and 117 were injured by Israeli security forces.

Citing Israeli sources, he explained that five Israeli civilians, including three women, were killed in the same period and four members of the Israeli security forces were injured.

Likewise, he expressed his concern about the financial impact that the recent measures adopted by the Israeli security cabinet may cause, among them the withholding of 39 million dollars of taxes that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, to transfer them to the families of Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks.

The Israeli authorities took this action in response to the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly of the UN that included a request to the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion in relation to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory

UN Human Rights Mexico condemns the disappearance of two activists

Mexico was the second largest recipient of foreign direct investment in Latin America in 2018.

UNDP Mexico/Andrea Egan

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico on Tuesday condemned the disappearance of activists Ricardo Lagunes and Antonio Díaz in the town of Cerro de Ortega, in the state of Colima.

The last communication of both human rights defenders with their families was last Sunday. Subsequently, the truck in which they were traveling was located near Cerro de Ortega. The vehicle was abandoned and with gunshot wounds. Both activists are unaccounted for.

The representative in Mexico of the Office of the High Commissioner, Guillermo Fernández-Maldonado, described the disappearance as "terrible and alarming" and recalled that the defense of human rights in the country "is an absolutely essential task that must be protected."

Fernández-Maldonado added that "at least one of the defenders had State protection measures, which failed to prevent his disappearance," he added.

UN Human Rights called on the authorities "to urgently adopt all necessary measures to fulfill their duty to search for the activists alive, to ensure efficient coordination between federal and local institutions and to recognize the right of their relatives to participate in the search".

Similarly, it is essential to carry out a prompt, exhaustive and effective investigation to clarify the facts and punish all those responsible.

Latin America needs a “new public service” focused on people

Exterior of the headquarters building of the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL) in Santiago de Chile, Chile. .

Faced with the current set of crises that the region is facing, slow economic growth and the setback of various social indicators, it is necessary to reinforce “the institutional framework of the States and direct it towards a “new public service”.

This was stated by the authorities meeting in the Seventeenth Conference of Ministers and Heads of Planning of Latin America and the Caribbean, which was inaugurated this Tuesday at the headquarters of the Commission Economic for Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago de Chile.

Among the objectives of the "new public service" is to focus action on people, build citizenship in the territories, seek public interest as an objective and rethink its relationship with development actors.

The Conference has four panels where the authorities discuss the construction of innovative and participatory public policies, the open State and citizen participation at the center of the "new public service", the role of innovation in public institutions to accelerate full implementation of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the challenges of a "new public service" in the territory.

Source

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *