International
More than 20 % have suffered violence, harassment at work: UN
| By AFP | Christophe Vogt |
More than one in five people in employment worldwide have experienced some form of workplace harassment or violence, according to a survey released by the United Nations on Monday.
“Violence and harassment at work is a widespread phenomenon around the world,” the UN’s International Labour Organization said following a joint study by the ILO, Lloyd’s Register Foundation and pollsters Gallup.
The survey was a first attempt to produce a global overview of the magnitude and frequency of the problem, and the barriers that prevent people from talking about it.
It found that 22.8 percent — which would amount to 743 million people in employment — have experienced “at least one form of violence and harassment at work during their working life”, according to data collected last year.
Nearly a third of victims (31.8 percent) said they had been subjected to more than one form of violence and harassment, and 6.3 percent had experienced it in all three forms — physical, psychological and sexual — during their working life.
The survey was mainly conducted by telephone and the questions were formulated so they could be understood by as many people as possible.
The study found that the perception of what constitutes violence or harassment is not the same around the world: in some places, pushing someone could be seen as rude behaviour, but nothing further than that.
Psychological violence and harassment at work was found to be the most common, with 17.9 percent, or 583 million people experiencing it in their working life.
The survey found that 8.5 percent (which would amount to 277 million people) had experienced physical violence and harassment.
While women are more likely to have suffered psychological violence, men are more often the victims of physical violence, the study found.
Sexual violence
Violence and harassment of a sexual nature has affected 6.3 percent — approximately one person in every 15 in employment — with women “particularly exposed”, the ILO said.
Of the three forms of violence and harassment, it has the biggest gender gap: more than eight percent of women are victims, compared to five percent among men.
“Young women were twice as likely as young men to have experienced sexual violence and harassment,” the ILO added.
The study found that people who have experienced discrimination on the basis of gender, disability status, nationality, ethnicity, skin colour or religion in their lives were also more likely to have experienced violence and harassment at work.
Youth, migrant, and wage and salaried workers were more likely to face violence and harassment at work, particularly women, the study found.
The survey found that violence and harassment at work could be recurrent and persistent: more than three in five victims said it had happened to them multiple times.
It also found there were several barriers preventing people from disclosing incidents, with “waste of time” and “fear for their reputation” being the most common.
International
Petro accuses top guerrilla leader of bribing officers to evade military strikes
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, said Saturday that the country’s most wanted guerrilla leader is bribing members of the security forces to obtain advance information and evade military operations.
According to the government, Iván Mordisco, a dissident leader of the now-defunct FARC, is currently on the run in the जंगल following an الجيش bombardment last week that killed six of his closest collaborators in the department of Vaupés.
Authorities believe the guerrilla commander had been at the site shortly before the operation. “He buys off the commanders who are supposed to capture him; that’s how he escapes the bombings, but leaves his own people to die. He is warned before every strike,” Petro wrote on social media platform X.
The six individuals killed in the strike were part of Mordisco’s security ring, according to Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.
Local media reported that one of those killed was a woman known as “alias Lorena,” who was allegedly Mordisco’s partner and the mother of his child.
After failed attempts to negotiate peace, Petro’s administration has shifted to a more aggressive military strategy against the guerrilla leader. In recent months, three of Mordisco’s brothers have been captured and now face charges including homicide, kidnapping, and arms trafficking.
Central America
Costa Rica urges China to halt actions against Panama-flagged vessels
The government of Costa Rica on Saturday called on China to halt retaliatory actions against vessels flying the Panamaflag, amid escalating tensions over control of two strategic ports linked to the Panama Canal.
In a statement shared on social media, Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry warned that the situation “puts global trade at risk” and expressed its “deep concern and strongest condemnation” over what it described as “arbitrary and unjustified delays and inspections in Chinese ports.”
The Costa Rican government urged “full respect for international law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” while reaffirming its “unconditional support and solidarity” with Panama.
San José’s position aligns with growing international criticism from countries including Honduras, Peru, Paraguay, Israeland Ukraine.
Paraguayan authorities described the detentions as “unacceptable” and pointed to what they called “undue pressure” on the Panamanian government.
International
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
Mexico accounts for the highest number of urgent actions related to enforced disappearances worldwide, according to the latest report by the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.
The report, released by I(dh)eas, indicates that Mexico has accumulated 819 cases between 2012 and February 2026, representing 38% of the global total.
In the past five months alone, 40 new urgent requests have been recorded — more than one-third of all such actions worldwide during that period.
The report warns that this trend reflects a structural problem, as the urgent action mechanism — originally intended as an exceptional measure — has become routine in Mexico.
Although the Mexican state formally complies with response deadlines, the Committee identified significant shortcomings in the implementation of these measures. These include the lack of comprehensive search plans, delays in key investigative procedures such as video surveillance and phone data analysis, and insufficient inquiries into possible links involving state agents.
The report also highlights inadequate protection for relatives and individuals involved in search efforts, including cases of reprisals.
Among the most serious incidents documented is the disappearance of a father who had denounced alleged involvement of authorities in his son’s case in the state of Guanajuato.
The accumulation of cases could lead to the application of Article 34 of the Convention, which would allow for the launch of an international investigation into systematic enforced disappearances.
Geographically, the state of Chiapas accounts for 30% of the new urgent actions, many of them linked to collective disappearances of migrants.
Petro accuses top guerrilla leader of bribing officers to evade military strikes
Costa Rica urges China to halt actions against Panama-flagged vessels
Mexico leads global cases of enforced disappearances, UN report finds
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