UNRWA collects complaints of torture of Palestinian detainees
The commissioner of UNRWA He confirmed that his agency has recorded “hundreds” of cases of Palestinians alleging that they were subjected to abuse by Israeli forces while in detention. The agency also alleges that detained members of its staff were tortured to obtain false confessions.
Philippe Lazzarini said at a press conference in New York that UNRWA has spoken to hundreds of people who, after being detained in Gaza and transferred to Israel, were released again in Kerem Shalom in Gaza. There UNRWA gives them food, clothing and hygiene kits. The commissioner confirmed that the complaints have been collected in an internal document that was not public but was leaked by an American newspaper.
“The majority of them arrived completely traumatized by the torture,” he explained.
Asked about the abuses, he pointed out that it was “a wide repertoire of systematic humiliations”. Some prisoners, he said, were photographed naked, while others suffered verbal or psychological abuse, threats of electrocution, sleep deprivation, the use of dogs in an intimidating manner or being forced to wear diapers for days.
Regarding Israel’s latest allegations of collusion between Hamas and UNRWA, Lazzarini said he has not received any direct communication from Israel.
“As commissioner general I have never been informed. As you know, we provide a complete list of our personnel to the Israeli and Palestinian authorities each year. I have never, ever received the slightest concern from the staff we employ,” he explained.
Allegations against 12 employees that they participated in the October 7 attacks were only verbally communicated to him by Israeli authorities. They were immediately fired, although Israel provided no visible evidence of that accusation. Lazzarini encouraged Israeli authorities to share evidence with the ongoing investigation.
UNRWA employees detained and released have reported that during Israeli interrogations they were forced to confess under torture and mistreatment. These false confessions were in response to questions about relations between UNRWA and Hamas. and participation in the October 7 attack on Israel.
Drug trafficking deforests the Amazon
17th Jungle Infantry Brigade
Drug trafficking organizations continue to expand their operations in the Amazon basin, causing an increase not only in violence, but in deforestation and other environmental problems, according to a report. report of the International Narcotics Control Board.
“These activities entail potentially fatal risks for indigenous populations and have been linked to cases of bribery, extortion, fraud and money laundering, as well as homicides, violent assaults, sexual violence and forced labor in the Amazon region,” the document states. .
Throughout the Amazon Basin, violent disputes between local communities and drug traffickers, often as a result of complaints about land speculation and illegal land occupation. In the triple border area between Brazil, Colombia and Peru, intense illicit deforestation activity is concentrated, which is driven by the illegal timber trade as well as drug trafficking.
In Colombia and Peru, unprecedented levels of illicit coca bush cultivation have been recorded. In Colombia, the cultivated area increased by 13% to reach 230,000 hectares, which constitutes, for the second consecutive time, a historical maximum.
In the Andean region, illicit coca cultivation has expanded, which has caused notable deforestation, soil degradation and loss of flora and fauna diversity.
In Mexico, the illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy converges with illegal logging, a phenomenon that especially affects the Sierra Madre Occidental region.
El Niño will continue to cause heat in the coming months
Screenshot from a WMO video.
The 2023-24 El Niño weather phenomenon is one of the five strongest on record. It peaked in December and is now gradually weakening, but will continue to affect the global climate in the coming months,
The World Meteorological Organization predicts above-normal temperatures in nearly all areas between March and May.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern associated with warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, but it occurs in the context of a climate that is being modified by human activities.
“Every month since June 2023 has set a monthly temperature record, and 2023 was by far the warmest year on record. El Niño has contributed to these record temperatures, but greenhouse gases, which trap heat, are unequivocally the main culprits,” said Organization spokesperson Clare Nullis.
The proportion of women parliamentarians grows to almost 27%
The global proportion of female MPs increased slightly in 2023 to reach 26.9%, according to a recent report.
This represents an increase of 0.4 percentage points, a growth rate similar to that of 2022.
The report highlights that, in the Americaswomen represented 42.5% of all elected or appointed deputies in the chambers that were renewed in 2023, the highest regional percentage. The region thus maintains its long-standing position as the region with the highest representation of women in the world, at 35.1%.