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UN Human Rights calls for the release of 37 Nicaraguans and the restitution of nationality of another 300
The United Nations Undersecretary General for Human Rights today asked Nicaragua to release 37 people imprisoned in the context of the sociopolitical crisis the country is experiencing, including the Bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, and to restore the nationality of more than 300 people recently stripped of that right.
During an oral update to Human Rights CouncilIlze Brands Kehris, also urged the Nicaraguan authorities to repeal all legislation that prevents the exercise of political participation, or that of freedoms such as expression, assembly, association, and nationality.
Brands Kehris said that the Office of the High Commissioner received testimonies about restrictions on the economic, social, and cultural rights of people who do not have a membership card of the party in power, and that it continues to receive complaints of violations of the rights of peoples. natives.
The erosion of human rights in the country was also evidenced by the increase in the number of people who left the country, more than 260,000 up to the middle of last year.
The oral update was preceded by a report from the Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua that this Thursday denounced “serious violations and abuses of human rights”, such as extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and torture, since the 2018 demonstrations that sought social reforms.
Food prices continued to fall in February for the eleventh consecutive month
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Food Price Index (FAO) fell for the eleventh consecutive month this February.
After a slight decrease of 0.6% compared to the month of January, the indicator stands 18.7% below its maximum reached in March 2022.
The decline in the index occurred after the falls in the prices of vegetable oils (3.2%), such as palm, soybean, rapeseed and sunflower, and in those of dairy products (2.7%), such as butter and skimmed milk powder, which more than offset the sharp rise in sugar prices (6.9%).
Wheat costs rose slightly on dry conditions in the United States and strong demand for supplies from Australia, which were largely offset by strong competition among exporters.
Arms and drug trafficking continues to grow in Haiti
The trade in increasingly sophisticated and large-caliber firearms and ammunition continues to rise in Haiti, according to a new assessment released today by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The agency’s analysis also details that the Caribbean nation continues to be a transit country for drugs, mainly cocaine and cannabis, which enter by ship or plane in public, private and informal ports, as well as clandestine routes.
According to Haitian customs officials, seizures of firearms and ammunition are most frequent on the west and northwest coasts of the country, including Port-au-Prince and Port-de-Paix., while those of drugs are more common on the north and south coasts, especially in Les Cayes, Jacmel and Jérémie.
Haiti’s borders have particularly permeable conditions since it has 1,771 kilometers of coastline and 392 kilometers of land border with the neighboring nation, the Dominican Republic.
This vast geographical area tests the effectiveness of the national police, customs, border patrols and coast guard, which are under-resourced and under-staffed, and at the same time targeted by gangs.
The sentence to ten years in prison of the Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski “is worrying”
Following the jail sentences handed down today against four Belarusian activists on charges of smuggling and extremism, the spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described those sentences as “worrying and indicative of the repression being exercised in that country.”
Ravina Shamdasani indicated that one of the four sentenced is the current Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski, president of the Viasna Human Rights Center, who received the highest sentence of ten years in prison.
Shamdasani stressed that “the lack of independence of the judiciary”, along with “other violations” of procedural guarantees, have caused “in Belarus defenders of fundamental guarantees to be prosecuted, convicted and sentenced for their legitimate work in favor of human rights”.
The 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries raises the curtain
This Sunday begins in Doha, the capital of Qatar, the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. For five days, the meeting will highlight the needs of the 46 countries classified in that category, most of them African.
The event represents a unique opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the nations most in need of international assistance, as well as to achieve investments in health, education and social protection.
The Conference will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Least Developed Countries Group and will also organize events focusing on the private sector, civil society, youth and South-South cooperation.
