Americas

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

Top UN human rights official calls for more safety after political opponent killing in Venezuela

27 November 2015
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, today called on Venezuelan authorities to ensure that political opponents, human rights defenders and others facing threats in relation to their work are adequately protected.
Epidemics like chikungunya, a virus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, was among the disasters which affected 13 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean region in 2015.
WHO/PAHO/Luz Sosa

UN says 13 million affected by disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean region in 2015

13 November 2015
A staggering 13.2 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean were affected by disasters between January and October 2015, a report from the United Nations relief wing revealed, warning the situation could be further exacerbated by the current powerful El Niño.
The indigenous Lenca people of southwestern Honduras weaving brightly coloured fabric.
UNDP Honduras

UN rights expert sounds alarm on ‘critical situation’ faced by indigenous peoples of Honduras

12 November 2015
Indigenous peoples in Honduras face a critical situation regarding their land and resource rights, access to social services and judiciary, as well as their vulnerability to violence and impunity, an independent United Nations human rights expert warned following a visit to the country.
President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, addresses the Human Right Council special meeting in Geneva.
UN Photo/Jess Hoffman

Venezuela must uphold rights of ‘even those who disagree with State policies’ – UN human rights chief

12 November 2015
At a special meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed the need to promote and protect human rights in Venezuela and to defend even those who disagree with the State’s policies, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros vowed to continue employing truth to defend his country against “audacious accusations” and “imperialist attacks.”
Three women plant seeds on a farm in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.
World Bank/Maria Fleischmann

El Niño: 2.3 million Central Americans will need food aid, UN warns in latest alert

12 November 2015
Some 2.3 million people in Central America will need food aid as the current El Niño weather pattern, one of the strongest on record, exacerbates a prolonged drought, the United Nations warned today in the latest alert on the impact of the phenomenon which causes floods in parts of the world and drought in others.
Internally displaced children, victims of conflict in Colombia.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN envoy welcomes commitment by rebel group in Colombia to end child recruitment

5 November 2015
The United Nations Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Leila Zerrougui today welcomed as “an important step” the commitment by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) to stop the recruitment and use of children.
UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark, addresses the Regional Conference on Social Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Lima, Peru.
UNDP Peru

In Peru, UN conference addresses poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean

3 November 2015
As policymakers start putting into practice the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders in September, United Nations officials and Government representatives are meeting to discuss how to continue reducing poverty and inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean, despite the region’s economic slowdown.