According to the National Employment and Income Survey (ENEI), in Guatemala, 58.6 per cent of women live in poverty and 22.8 per cent in extreme poverty. Poverty is greater in the rural population, particularly in the Maya, Xinca and Garífuna peoples, communities that live under a constant condition of injustice and deprivation of their basic rights, affecting their women, girls and adolescents with greater ferocity.

The celebrations started in Ecuador, with the Regional Launch of the State of the World’s Volunteerism Report (SWVR) 2018, along with FLACSO and local Governmental and civil society organizations.

The Guatemala Peace Accords were signed in 1996, ending a 36-year-long civil war, but some challenges remain in the construction of a peaceful and inclusive society. During the last years, Guatemala has witnessed an increase in social conflicts related to land disputes, lack of access to public services and natural resource management, among others. It was in this context that I initiated my UN Volunteer assignment as a Conflict Resolution Officer with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Marco Nardo, an Italian UN Volunteer who has been serving with UNHCR in Colombia for eight months, had the chance to join the Commemoration of World Refugee Day in Mocoa, his duty station, located in the south of the country.  He serves as Associate Protection Officer, mainly in charge of persons in need of international protection.

The number of asylum applications in Trinidad and Tobago by citizens of Venezuela is on the increase. In 2017, nearly 40,000 people applied for asylum. In response, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is working to support countries throughout the Americas and the Caribbean, including Trinidad and Tobago, by engaging in registration and profiling of the population, reinforcing reception capacity of host communities, assisting with emergency preparedness and contingency planning, and providing basic humanitarian assistance.         

During the last eight months I have divided my time working at the United Nations Development Programme Multi-Country Office in Samoa and at the Tokelau Apia Liaison Office. I have also travelled to Tokelau to monitor projects and attend national events. Travel to these atolls, as I have come to understand, is no mean feat. Indeed, the 24-hour boat-journey across some of the remote parts of the Pacific is a prerequisite to understanding the isolation faced by the people of Tokelau and the unique model of resilience they have developed.

The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity entered into force in 2014. 

As a UN Volunteer, part of my assignment is supporting the implementation of the UN Free & Equal campaign in Brazil. Free & Equal is a global, unprecedented initiative by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), launched in 2013, to promote equal rights and fair treatment for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people (LGBTI). In Brazil, our national UN Free & Equal campaign was launched in 2014.

Women in Loja, mostly of indigenous descent, play a critical role in their economy, by managing small businesses and/or providing informal care for family members. They participate in crop production and livestock farming, and provide food and fuel for their families. However, indigenous women in Loja are disproportionally affected by poverty, gender inequalities and discrimination and do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men. For example, Ecuadorian’ women bear disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work.