International

Colombia’s new ombudsman will prioritize gender violence on her agenda

Colombia’s new ombudsman, Iris Marín, will prioritize gender violence and discrimination against women as one of the main axes of her agenda, which will develop over four years of management.

“I want to emphasize that, unfortunately, one of the human rights crises is the crisis of violence and discrimination against women,” said the defender, who took office on September 1 and is the first woman to occupy this position, at a press conference in Bogotá.

Marín assured in the framework of the celebration of the National Human Rights Day that sexist violence is not usually seen “as a human rights crisis” because when thinking about human rights in Colombia “they think of war, but they don’t even think about gender violence.”

Between May 2023 and May 2024, 630 femicides were recorded in Colombia and, so far this year, the National Institute of Health has registered more than 100,000 cases of gender violence, whether physical, sexual, neglect or psychological abandonment. In addition, in 2023 the Institute of Legal Medicine carried out more than 20,000 examinations for alleged sexual offense, of which 14,366 were for children under 18 years of age.

Therefore, since his administration in the Ombudsman’s Office, he wants to strengthen protection programs, access to justice, issue early warnings for gender violence and improve the technical defense of victims.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Other axes of its agenda will be to monitor human rights in the conflict, in climate change and will place special emphasis on the rights of minors.

Since 2017, the Ombudsman’s Office has issued 320 early alerts in territories due to the situation of violence, of which 143 are still active. This is a system that was implemented after the peace agreement to alert the institutions of a possible aggravation of the conflict and the danger of communities.

In addition, until the end of August, 166 social leaders were murdered in Colombia and the defender considered that “the situation of protection of leaders is not improving,” so she hopes that the Ombudsman’s Office will serve as prevention and that “it is a neutral actor to promote that humanitarian agreements can be adopted in a low-profile way.”

In this sense, Marín asked that the Ombudsman’s Office be taken into account in the peace processes with armed groups and was emphatic in pointing out that the people who signed the peace agreement and then deserted, the Government “must demand the consequences of having returned to arms.”

“There should be no incentives to enter infinite circles of negotiation and return to arms,” Marín said, without referring but alluding to the negotiations that the Government has just undertaken with the Second Marquetalia, a dissent commanded by ‘Iván Márquez’, who in turn was a peace negotiator of the FARC in the 2016 agreement.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

On the other hand, the defender assured about the crisis and climate disasters that it is important to address them, especially from an approach of adaptation of the communities, and that minors will also be a priority, because among other data, she highlighted that between 2019 and 2023 51,553 children and adolescents tried to commit suicide and 1,462 did.

For all this, Marín declared himself independent in the defense of human rights and promised to work hand in hand with the communities and defending the public service of the entity: “I do not want the Ombudsman’s Office to be used for the politicization and polarization of the country,” he said.

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

20260224_estafa_mh_728x90

International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.