International
UNICEF reports 70% increase in child recruitment by gangs in Haiti
Haitian gangs are recruiting children at unprecedented levels, with a 70% increase in the number of targeted minors in the past year, according to a report published on Monday by UNICEF.
Currently, between 30% and 50% of all gang members in the violence-torn country are children, according to the United Nations.
“This is a very concerning trend,” said Geeta Narayan, UNICEF Representative in Haiti.
The rise comes as poverty deepens and violence escalates amid political instability, with gangs controlling 85% of Port-au-Prince and attacking communities that were once peaceful in an effort to take full control of the capital.
Young children are often used as informants “because they are invisible and not seen as a threat,” Narayan said in a phone interview from Haiti. Some are given weapons and forced to participate in attacks.
Girls, on the other hand, are forced to cook, clean, and are even used as so-called “wives” of gang members.
“They don’t do it willingly,” Narayan pointed out. “Even when armed, the child here is the victim.”
Easy Targets
In a country where more than 60% of the population lives on less than $4 a day, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians are hungry or close to starvation, recruiting children is often easy.
A minor who was in a gang said he was paid $33 every Saturday, while another said he was paid thousands of dollars in his first month participating in gang operations, according to a UN Security Council report.
“Children and families are becoming increasingly desperate in some cases due to extreme poverty,” said Narayan.
If children refuse to join a gang, armed men often threaten them or their families, or simply kidnap them.
Gangs also exploit children who are separated from their families after being deported from the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.
“These children are increasingly becoming the target,” Narayan said.
International
UN Report: 51,100 women and girls killed worldwide in 2023 in femicides
Approximately 51,100 women and girls were killed by their intimate partners or family members in 2023, which equates to an average of 140 femicides per day, according to the UN Women annual report on this phenomenon published on Monday.
The report indicates that women and girls who were victims of femicide—or gender-based murder—accounted for 60% of the 85,000 intentional killings globally in 2023.
The findings reveal that while femicide affects women and girls across all regions, Africa has the highest absolute number, with 21,700 killed in 2023, and also records the highest level of violence relative to its female population.
In relative terms, Africa suffers 2.9 femicides per 100,000 women, followed by the Americas (1.6), Oceania (1.5), Asia (0.8), and Europe (0.6).
International
Petro says Orsi’s victory reflects Latin America’s desire for change and unity
On Sunday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated that the victory of Yamandú Orsi, the candidate from the Frente Amplio, in the Uruguayan presidential elections reflects the desire for change in Latin America.
“A big hug to Yamandú, the new president of Uruguay. This victory reflects the will for unity and change of the Latin American people,” Petro expressed in a message posted on the social media platform X.
With 98.65% of the votes counted, the Frente Amplio coalition, consisting of Orsi and Carolina Cosse, obtained 1,179,454 votes, while Álvaro Delgado, the candidate of the officialist Partido Nacional, secured 1,086,758 votes.
These numbers show that Frente Amplio holds a 92,696-vote lead, gaining 107,628 votes more than it did in the first round of the presidential and parliamentary elections on October 27.
With a campaign focused on social justice, sustainable development, and national unity, Orsi won the overwhelming support of the citizens, surpassing the official candidate Delgado.
International
Guatemalan President Arévalo sends best wishes to Uruguay’s new president Orsi
On Sunday, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León extended his “best wishes” to Yamandú Orsi after he was elected as the new president of Uruguay for the next five years.
“President Orsi, I want to express my best wishes. May the success of your government translate into improvements in the material and spiritual conditions of the beloved Uruguayan people,” Arévalo de León stated through his social media.
The Guatemalan leader was born in 1958 in Montevideo, Uruguay, and spent the first two years of his life in the South American country due to the exile of his father, former president Juan José Arévalo Bermejo (1944-1951).
“I hope that our nations continue to strengthen their friendship through our governments,” added Arévalo de León.
Orsi became Uruguay’s president-elect on Sunday, after defeating Álvaro Delgado by just over 90,000 votes, according to official data provided by the Electoral Court.
With 98.65% of the votes counted, the opposition Frente Amplio coalition, formed by Orsi and Carolina Cosse, secured 1,179,454 votes, while the officialist Partido Nacional obtained 1,086,758 votes.
With a campaign focused on social justice, sustainable development, and national unity, Orsi won the overwhelming support of the citizens, surpassing the official candidate Álvaro Delgado.
UN Report: 51,100 women and girls killed worldwide in 2023 in femicides
Petro says Orsi’s victory reflects Latin America’s desire for change and unity
Guatemalan President Arévalo sends best wishes to Uruguay’s new president Orsi
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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