
¿Sabes qué pasó? June monthly newsletter
Publication of the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2024
On June 11, the 18th edition of the Global Peace Index (GPI) of the international think tank Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) was published, indicating that the world today has the highest number of countries in conflict since World War II, showing that without concerted efforts, there is a risk of serious conflict.
The index indicated that peace deteriorated in a total of 97 countries, the highest number since its inception in 2008, with the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine being the main drivers of the decline in global peace. It also revealed that militarization recorded its largest annual deterioration since the GEM’s inception, with 108 countries becoming more militarized. At the same time, there were 110 million refugees or internally displaced persons due to violent conflict, with 16 countries currently hosting more than half a million refugees.
Today there are 56 active conflicts, the most since World War II. The index also notes that these have become more international, with 92 countries involved in conflicts outside their borders, the most since the GEM began. It also indicates that the growing number of minor conflicts increases the likelihood of more major conflicts in the future, demonstrated, for example, by the fact that in 2019, Ethiopia, Ukraine and Gaza were identified as minor conflicts.
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Strong international concerns about the deterioration of human rights in Latin America
In the run-up to the 54th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), Amnesty International has warned the OAS in an open letter about the serious deterioration of human rights in the region. The organization indicated that the closure of public space in the countries has reached a tipping point that requires urgent action to reverse the situation and urged OAS member states to take action.
“The heads of state gathered at this Assembly must immediately adopt concrete and urgent measures to ensure that freedom of expression, the right to protest, and participation in public affairs, among others, become fully guaranteed rights and not mere empty promises,” said Amnesty International’s Americas Director Ana Piquer.
The concern was highlighted that these governments that “implement legal and institutional measures to repress civil society groups and thus silence critics” intensify the existing threat to the right to freedom of expression, using excessive force to repress those who demonstrate, including in some countries with lethal weapons. This has particularly affected human rights defenders, journalists and perceived political opponents.
In turn, the organization has indicated that the political, humanitarian and economic crises in many countries in the region make it impossible for people to turn to their domestic authorities to guarantee their rights and they are forced to seek international protection outside their countries of origin.
Therefore, taking into account that international protection is often “the only hope of justice for many victims of human rights violations,” the need to safeguard the Inter-American System for the Protection of Human Rights was emphasized, urging OAS Member States to give special consideration to the upcoming election process of judges of the Inter-American Court to integrate the new composition of the highest court.
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The United Nations published its “Fundamental Principles for Information Integrity” to combat online disinformation.
Last Monday, June 24, the UN presented its “Fundamental Principles for Information Integrity”, emphasizing the need to review especially the disinformation models of platforms and social networks, which represent an “existential risk” for humanity.
As indicated, these principles are developed through five approaches: trust and social resilience; independent, free and pluralistic media; transparency to research; public empowerment and positive incentives. And they are expected to be applied by platforms and media through the regulations of the different governments, as well as within the United Nations.
It emphasizes the need for hate speech and “fake news” to have no place in the automated mass broadcasts of large technology companies, and especially urges them to take measures to ensure the integrity of information during election campaigns, taking into account their influence in these processes.
“When the integrity of information is in the spotlight, so is democracy, which depends on a shared, fact-based perception of reality,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters at the launch of this code of conduct.
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The Swiss National Council rejected the condemnation of the country for climate inaction by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
On Wednesday, June 12, the lower house of the Swiss Parliament rejected the condemnation of the country for climate inaction by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland on the grounds that the court had exceeded its powers. The upper house of the legislature had ruled along the same lines a few days earlier, refusing to enforce the condemnatory judgment.
The ECtHR had ruled last April on three climate cases. One of them was in favor of the KlimaSeniorinnen Association, which represented a group of more than 2,500 Swiss women between the ages of 65 and 80, who alleged that the Swiss state failed to take measures to adequately mitigate global warming, leaving them to suffer the consequences, which violated their human rights to health and life, putting them at risk of death during heat waves.
In its critical statement on the ECtHR ruling, the Swiss Parliament clarifies that, while it recognizes the importance of the court’s judgments, the justification for rejecting the conviction is that the country has respected all of its international principles on climate change.
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