Unemployment, trafficking in Colombia, migrants in Honduras… The news on Wednesday

Global unemployment will return this year to pre-pandemic levels

Global unemployment figures will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, according to the latest estimates from the International Labor Organization that warns that the disparity between rich and poor countries is getting worse.

Global unemployment will fall slightly to reach 191 million peoplewhich corresponds to a rate of 5.3%, one tenth less than in 2022.

The improvement is due “to a greater-than-expected resilience of the labor market in high-income countries in the face of the economic slowdown.” However, in developing countries, the response to multiple crises is constrained by inflation and high interest rates, coupled with increasing debt risk. As a result, unemployment in low-income countries in general and in Africa and the Arab States is not expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.

Other regions have managed to reduce their rates substantially, below pre-crisis levels: 6.7% in Latin America and the Caribbean (8% in 2019), 6.3% in Northern, Southern and Western Europe (7% in 2019).

The increase in the recruitment of children by armed groups in Colombia is “reason for grave concern,” says a UN expert* who calls on the government to take urgent action.

Trafficking in persons, especially children and adolescents, by non-state armed groups and criminal organizations continues to undermine the consolidation of peace in Colombia, warns Siobhán Mullally, special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, in a statement following a nine-day visit to Colombia.

“Children and adolescents are the most affected and the increase in the recruitment and use of children by armed groups in recent years is cause for serious concern,” he says. “The Government must urgently move forward in adopting measures to prevent the recruitment and use of all children under the age of 18, especially in conflict zones.”

Most of the victims of trafficking are Afro-Colombians from rural areas, indigenous people and Venezuelan migrants. Women and girls are exposed to trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

“It is imperative that human trafficking be part of the discussions of the Colombian Peace Policy,” says Mullaly, who also asks the government to address the delays in accessing documentation and obtaining protection status for Venezuelan migrants , and that finances the territorial authorities so that they can assist the victims.

The UN asks Honduras to extend the amnesty to immigrants

In Honduras, the UN asks Congress to extend the amnesty that exempts migrants who enter the country irregularly from paying an administrative fine of more than $200.

Nicola Graviano, head of mission of the International Organization for Migrationsaid in a message on your Twitter account that the amnesty has been “a great help” preventing migrants “from having to go through blind spots” and thus reducing “the vulnerabilities they face.” “The extension is vital for a safer and more dignified transit,” she maintained, recalling that the amnesty is a measure consistent with what is established in the Global Compact for Migration.

According to a statement from the Honduran Humanitarian Network, of which the United Nations agencies are part, in 2022 the Honduran authorities registered the irregular entry of 188,858 people, a record number.

This trend has continued to increase in 2023. During the first five months of this year, the irregular entry of more than 100,000 refugees and migrants, this is three times the number registered in the same period of the previous year.

The amnesty legislative decree was approved in August 2022 and at the end of November Parliament approved an extension until June 1, 2023.

Guterres “deeply concerned” by Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act

He General secretary is deeply concerned by the enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda. The law provides for the application of the death penalty and long prison terms for acts between consenting adults.

“This law increases the risk of worsening the violence and persecution already faced by lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda,” António Guterres said in a statement.

The Secretary General calls on Uganda and all Member States to fully respect their international human rights obligations and end the criminalization of consensual same-sex relationships.

* The special rapporteurs are part of what is known as Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. . Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and provide their services in an individual capacity.