Latin American GDP, war crimes in Ukraine, Ebola… Tuesday’s news

The GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow by 2.7% in 2022, compared to 6.5% last year

The GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean returns to a low growth path, with an increase of 2.7% in 2022, compared to 6.5% registered last year, according to the latest report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbeanwhich warns that the region is facing “a very complex economic and social panorama.”

“The economic slowdown has been deepened by the effects of the war between the Russian Federation and Ukrainewhich is added to the growing limitations that domestic macroeconomic policy faces in order to boost growth”, he points out. The report.

Although some countries in the region —mainly the net exporters of energy— have benefited from the high price of these products in international markets, most of the countries are experiencing declines in the terms of trade, along with a slowdown in exports.

Alsoinflation has increasedstanding at a regional average of 8.4% in June 2022, due to higher food and energy prices.

Russia will commit a war crime if it tries Ukrainian prisoners in Mariupol

Russia would be committing a war crime if it puts the Ukrainian prisoners captured in Mariupol on trial.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern at reports that the Russian Federation and affiliated armed groups in Donetsk are planning to try Ukrainian prisoners of war in what is called an “international court” in Mariupol.

Although few details are available, photos and videos published in the media and on social networks seem to show the construction of metal cages in the Mariupol philharmonic hall.

“We remember that international humanitarian law prohibits the establishment of tribunals exclusively to try prisoners of war and that deliberately depriving a prisoner of war of the rights to a fair and regular trial constitutes a war crime,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.

The Office recalls that, in accordance with international law, prisoners of war enjoy combatant immunity and cannot be prosecuted for having participated in hostilities, nor for lawful acts of war committed in the course of the armed conflict and, if they are accused of crimes, have the right to due process and a fair trial.

Millions of children at risk of death due to drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel

© UNICEF/Lamek Urine

A woman tries to get water with her two-year-old son in Garissa, Kenya.

Millions of children are at risk of dying from drought in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, says UNICEF that warns of “devastating” mortality levels.

Adding to the high levels of severe acute malnutrition are deadly outbreaks of diseases such as cholera or diarrhoea, which can increase infant mortality “spectacularly and tragically”.

“When water is unavailable or unsafe, the risks to children multiply exponentially,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “In the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, millions of children are just one disease away from catastrophe.”

“Maybe you eat one day and then have nothing for the next. This is our life, we are resilient,” Abenyo Natiir, a mother from Kenya, tells UNICEF.

The number of drought-affected people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia without safe access to safe drinking water rose from 9.5 million in February to 16.2 million in July, increasing the risk of disease for children and their families. .

In Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, there are 40 million children without safe access to water.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo declares an outbreak of Ebola

WHO

Vaccination has started in Guinea to control the Ebola outbreak

The health authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo have declared an outbreak of Ebola, after the confirmation of a case in the eastern province of the country, North Kivu.

ORa 46-year-old woman died on August 15, 2022 in Beni after presenting symptoms compatible with the disease.

The country’s National Institute for Biomedical Research confirmed the Ebola virus in samples taken from the patient.

The World Health Organization He assures that it is “worrying” that Ebola outbreaks are occurring more frequently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the health authorities of North Kivu have managed to stop several outbreaks of Ebola, and the organization is confident that taking advantage of this experience “it will be possible to control this quickly”.

UN agency staff and health authorities have identified 160 contacts who will be vaccinated to slow the spread.

The latest outbreak in Beni was brought under control in about two months, ending on December 16, 2021. There were 11 cases (eight confirmed, three probable), including six deaths.