Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults: Advocating for Their Protection

                             This post is a summary of the article with the title above published in September 2023 at https://caringforcare.co.uk/safeguarding-vulnerable-adults/#What-challenges-do-vulnerable-people-face?

                           One in every five adults experience abuse, neglect and harm in their lifetime. Ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable persons is a cornerstone of a compassionate and ethical society. However, abuse, exploitation and neglect of at-risk groups still persists. Effective safeguarding is essential to protect the human rights of those unable to advocate for themselves. Safeguarding vulnerable people must be a shared priority. In this article, we'll explore the critical importance of safeguarding vulnerable people with care and support. We'll examine why robust procedures and practices are needed, highlight key legislation, and outline how to properly report any concerns. The goal is raising awareness so that all of us can contribute to a culture of vigilance of violations and ensure every person can live with dignity. Safeguarding vulnerable adults refers to a set of measures and actions that aims to protect adults at risk from harm, abuse, neglect or exploitation. These measures and actions taken protect them due to their age, physical or mental disabilities or other factors that make them vulnerable. Vulnerable adults encompass a diverse group of individuals who, due to various factors, are at increased risk of harm or exploitation. In identifying vulnerable adults, it involves recognizing signs of vulnerability such as physical or cognitive impairments, limited social support networks, dependence on caregivers, or experiences of abuses and neglect. It is crucial to adopt a compassionate and inclusive approach, acknowledging that vulnerability. Safeguarding requires a shared vigilance so that the most vulnerable members of society are not left isolated and exposed to preventable harm.  9 key reasons why safeguarding vulnerable adults is critically important: 1) Protect their human rights - Every person deserves to live free from abuse, harm or neglect regardless of disability or capacity. 2) Prevents suffering - Safeguarding stops vulnerable people enduring physical, emotional or financial distress from maltreatment. 3) Saves lives - in some cases, ending abuse can be life-saving. 4) Promotes well-being - Feeling safe and supported enables greater well-being. 5) Allows informed choices - With the right support, vulnerable persons can maintain independence and manage risks themselves. 6) Provides recourse - Safeguarding procedures ensure concerns are properly investigated and victims given support. 7) Deters perpetrators - Stringent safeguarding discourage would-be abusers fearful of consequences. 8) reassures families - Safeguarding comforts relatives who can not be constant protectors. 9) Fulfills duty of care - Service providers, caregivers and society have an obligation to ensure safety. Vulnerable people face a multitude of challenges that can impact their well-being and safety. These challenges may include limited access to resources and support, social isolation, discrimination, abuse, and neglect. In addition, addressing these challenges is crucial to ensure the protection and empowerment of vulnerable individuals in our society. The vulnerability they experience in these situations has a profound impact on their well-being and overall quality of life. The stress and trauma resulting from their vulnerability can contribute to the deterioration of their mental and physical health, exacerbating existing conditions and hindering recovery. Moreover, the societal exclusion faced by vulnerable people perpetuate cycles of disadvantage and prevent them from accessing resources and opportunities they need to thrive. What is the role of advocacy in protecting vulnerable people? Advocacy refers to the active support and representation of the rights, needs, and well-being of vulnerable people. It involves speaking up on their behalf, raising awareness about their challenges, and working towards changes that promote their safety, autonomy and inclusion. Advocacy plays a critical role in safeguarding their rights. It amplifies the voices of those who are often marginalised and unheard. Protecting vulnerable people isn't always simple, in part because of the diverse challenges and risks they face in every aspect of their lives. Let's explore some of the difficulties that society must overcome to safeguard our most vulnerable people. 1) Exploitation and abuse - Vulnerable people may be targeted by fraudsters, scammers, or even close acquaintances who take advantage of their vulnerability. 2) Neglect and inadequate care - Due to various factors such as resource constraints, caregiver burnout, or lack of training, some individuals may experienced neglect or receive substandard care. This lead to emotional distress worsening health conditions. 3) Social isolation and loneliness - Vulnerable people often face social isolation, which can have detrimental effects on their mental and physical health. Limited mobility and societal stigma contribute to their isolation. Addressing the challenges in protecting vulnerable people requires a multi-faceted approach that combine various strategies. Additionally, strengthening legislation is crucial to specifically address the exploitation and neglect of vulnerable people in order to ensure their protection. Empowering vulnerable people to assert their rights and make informed decisions is essential. Providing accessible information, training in self-advocacy, and establishing support networks empower individuals. We all must adopt a vigilant and compassionate mindset. Look out for warnings signs of abuse, exploitation and neglect. Promoting dignity and respect in how we treat the most vulnerable individuals uplifts us all. 

World Press Freedom Day 2024 - Part II

                    A little more than two weeks ago, precisely on 3rd May the world celebrated one of the most important human rights, the freedom of the press and expression. We all must help to defend this important human right to democracy, justice, development, etc. This important right must include too the right to earn money with the monetization of the work of many activists or also called citizen journalists around the world nowadays, who are divulging their works on YouTube channels, blogs, Facebook, X, Tik Tok, Instagram or any other social media. They all deserve the right to become professionals and to improve their works, of course, they all mustn't spread fake news, hate speech, discrimination etc. For some unknown reason the counter of this blog never worked, but I know that there are millions of readers, Now the same have been  happening with my YouTube Channel since I created it in 2020, here is the link,  https://www.youtube.co/@lucianofietto4773   I really don't know why I've been being so harmed in so many ways and for decades, but now all the world is demanding that these violations I've been being victim stop.     This post is a summary of two articles. The first was published at https://cpj.org/reports/2023/10/haiti-joins-list-of-countries-where-killers-of-journalists-most-likely-to-go-unpunished/. The second was published at https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/03/americas/world-press-freedom-day-latin-america-latam-intl/index.html

                      The persistent lack of justice for murdered reporters is a major threat to press freedom. Ten years after the U.N. declared an international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists and more than 30 years after Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began documenting these killings, almost 80% of their killings remain unsolved. Crisis-hit Haiti has emerged as one of the countries where murderers of journalists are most likely to go free, CPJ'23 Global Impunity Index has found. A devastating combination of gang violence, chronic poverty, political instability and a dysfunctional judiciary are behind the Caribbean country's first inclusion on CPJ's annual list of nations where killers get away with murder. Haiti now ranks as the world's third-worst impunity offender, behind Syria and Somalia respectively. Somalia, Iraq, Mexico, Philippines, Pakistan, India, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Brazil have been there for years, a sobering reminder of the persistent and pernicious nature of impunity. The reasons for these countries' failure to prosecute journalists' killers range from conflict to corruption, insurgency to inadequate law enforcement, and lack of political interest in punishing those willing to kill independent journalists. A 78% impunity rate is a slight improvement on the 90% rate CPJ recorded a decade ago. The pernicious effects of impunity extend beyond the countries that have become fixtures on CPj's annual index. Unpunished murders have an intimidating effect on local journalists everywhere, corroding press freedom and shrinking public-interest reporting. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Palestinian journalists interviewed by CPJ said their coverage had been undermined by escalating fears for their safety after the Israel Defense Forces fatally shot Al-Jazeera correspondent Shireen Abu Aklen in May 2022. In several countries in the European Union, typically considered the safest places for journalists, press freedom has come under increasing pressure, with journalist murders remaining unsolved in Malta, Slovakia, Greece and the Netherlands. Brazil did not record any new journalist muders in 2023, but the killers, mostly believed to be criminal groups, of 11 journalists murdered in  Brazil during the Index period remain  at large. The 2022 murders of British journalist Dom Philips and indigenous issues expert Bruno Pereira in the Amazon underscore the dangers faced by reporters in the region.                                                                                                                                                                                    In a report published in March, Amnesty International and CPJ defined Mexico as "the most dangerous country for the press in the Western hemisphere". According to the CPJ report, Mexico has "the highest number of missing journalists in the world" with at least 15 professionals in 2023. According to the Rights group Article 19, in 2023 a total of 561 aggressions against the press have been registered in the country and the murders of 5 journalists. An emblematic case was that of journalist Lourdes Maldonado Lopez, killed in the border city of Tijuana. In 2019, Maldonado, who worked for several media outlets, including Televisa, told that she feared for her life and asked  for protection. Three people were arrested in connection with that homicide. "In Cuba, they have killed journalism," journalist Abraham Jimenez told CNN. Jimenez left the island in 2021 after a period of threats, arbitrary interrogations and house arrests. The harassment was fueled by his reporting on Cuba's street protests of 2021. As he recounted, Jimenez was portrayed in state media as a CIA agent, causing his friends to stay away out of fear and causing his famiy to lose their jobs. "They didn't need to shoot me, they had killed me civically," he said. "Doing journalism in Venezuela implies a daily effort to overcome the cemsorship mechanisms that have consolidated in the country," Edgar Lopez told CNN. "In Venezuela, secrecy is a state policy. The state expect the media and journalists to limit themselves to disseminating official narratives without any questioning," he said. "The govenment perceives the independent press as an internal enemy. This has resulted in the consolidation of aggression patterns that range from stigmatizing discouse to physical aggressions," he said. The National College of Journalists estimated that close to 4,000 journalists emigrated from the country due to threats in the last 20 years. In January 2024, 33 Venezuelans faced arrest warrants or have been detained by authorities for political reasons, among them several journalists. With political polarization across Latin America, countries across the region can shift from left to right or right to left depending on the president in power. But across the spectrum, many of the region's current leaders seem to show a hostility toward journalism, particularly on social media. Both the far-right Milei in Argentina and Leftist Colombian president Gustavo Petro have used their social networks to attack journalists and independent media, for example. All part of a dangerous erosion of one of the fundamental pillars of democracy, the same democracy that brought these leaders, at least temporarily, to the most powerful seats in their countries.

World Press Freedom Day - 2024

                   Nine days ago, precisely on 3rd May the world celebrated one of the most important human rights, the freedom of the press and expression. We all must help to defend this important human right to democracy, justice, development, etc. This important right must include too the right to earn money with the monetization of the work of many activists or also called citizen journalists around the world nowadays, who are divulging their works on YouTube channels, blogs, Facebook, X, Tik Tok, Instagram or any other social media. They all deserve the right to become professionals and to improve their works, of course, they all mustn't spread fake news, hate speech, discrimination etc. For some unknown reason the counter of this blog never worked, but I know that there are millions of readers, Now the same have been  happening with my YouTube Channel since I created it in 2020   https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. I really don't know why I've been being so harmed in so many ways and for decades, but now all the world is demanding that these violations I've been being victim stop. This post is a summary of three articles. The first was published at https://www.un.org/en/observances/press-freedom-day. The second was published at https://youth.europa.eu/news/world-press-freedom-day-3-may-2024-celebrating-journalists_en. The third was published at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/03/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-the-occasion-of-world-press-freedom-day-2024/

                      In 2024, World Press Freedom Day is dedicated to the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis. Awareness of all aspects of the global environmental crisis and its consequences is essential to build democratic societies. Journalistic work is indispensable for this purpose. Journalists encounter significant challenges in seeking and disseminating information on contemporary issues, such as supply-chains problems, climate migration, extractive industries, illegal mining, pollution, poaching, animal trafficking, deforestation, or climate change. Ensuring the visibility of these issues is crucial for promoting peace and democratic values worldwide. Attacks on the validity of science pose a serious threat to pluralistic and informed public debate. Indeed, misleading and false information about climate change can, in some cases, undermine international efforts to address them. To achieve sustainable development, it is necessary for journalists to report accurately, timely, and comprehensively on environmental issues and their consequences, as well as on possible solutions. This require strategies that includes:  1) preventing and protecting against crimes committed against journalists.  2) Ensuring the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of scientific research, and access to key sources of information, in addition to combating disinformation.  3) Promoting the plurality, diversity, and viability of media, especially regional, local, indigenous, and/or community-based media.  4) Ensuring that the governance of digital platforms foster the transparency of tech companies, their accountability, due diligence, user empowerment, and curation based on international human rights. 5) Promoting media and information literacy to empower users with skills to engage and think critically in the digital environment.                                                                                                                                                       World Press Freedom Day, celebrated annually on 3 May, serves as a global acknowledgement of the indispensable role journalists play in safeguarding democracy and championing freedom of expression. Established by the U.N. in 1993, this day commemorates the "Windhoek Declaration of 1991," which advocates for a free and independent press. At its core, the day champions the freedom of the press and expression, recognising them as fundamental pillars of democracy and peacebuilding. Despite progress, many countries continue to censor, penalise, and endanger journalists, underscoring the ongoing need to defend press freedom globally. Journalists serve as society's watchdogs, disseminating important information, uncovering truths, and holding power to account. Yet, their pursuit of truth often makes them targets of violence and repression, with some paying the ultimate price in defence of free speech and transparency. Populists in Western nations generally some individuals with views that undervalue press freedom. Nordic countries lead in press freedom rankings, underscoring the importance of media independence. Journalists are facing escalating persecution and arbitrary arrests worldwide, particularly in countries like Turkey, China and Egypt. The 31st edition of World Press Freedom Day in 2024 was hosted in Santiago, Chile, in collaboration with UNESCO and Chilean government. Participating engaged with leading investigate journalists, press freedom advocates, and legal experts. These events shed light on the growing threats faced by reporters uncovering environmental crimes and emphasise the importance of environmental journalists in driving positive change. This year's theme underscores the vital role of journalism, access to information, and freedom of expression in tackling the global environmental crisis. By amplifying diverse voices, the conference aimed to pave the way for a sustainable future that respect individual rights and fosters inclusive dialogue.                                                                                                                                       The free press is an essential pillar of democracy, and the persons worldwide who uphold it do vital work. Journalists go to great lengths to expose corruption, document wars and other world events, bring to light threats to public safety, and bring citizens the information they need to participate fully in their societies. Some journalists have given their lives to this work. Others have suffered injuries or lost their freedom. Journalism should not be a crime anywhere on Earth. On World Press Freedom Day, we honor the bravery and sacrifice of journalists and media workers around the world risking everything in pursuit of truth. On this day, the U.S. government calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all journalists who have been put behind bars for simply doing their jobs. And we call for the protection of journalists everywhere, including during military operations. My administration will continue to support free and independent media worldwide. We have brought together a coalition of countries to counter the proliferation and misuse of spyware which is used to monitor journalists. In the coming weeks, I'll be taking executive action in response to the global crackdown on press freedom, as exemplified by the wrongful detention of journalists around the world. I'll declare this crackdown on press freedom a grave threat to national security and will authorize measures, including cautions and visa bans, against those who take abusive actions to silence the press. Media workers are an essential part of any democracy, because well-informed dissent is critical to building stronger and more successful societies. Every day, we recognize their courage, support their right to do their job, and stand with them for press freedom.

Economic Outlook - Steady but Slow: Resilience amid Divergence

                        Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to all readers of this blog. I know that there are millions of you, but for some unknown reason the counter of this blog never worked. Now the same is happening with my channel on YouTube, here is the link, ✊✊✊✊✊          https://www.youtube.com/@lucianofietto4773/videos. I've been harmed in so many ways and for so long. But now all the world is demanding justice together.  This post is a summary of the book with the incomplete title above published in April of 2024 at https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2024/04/16/world-economic-outlook-april-2024

                            The global economy remains remarkably resilient with growth holding steady as inflation returns to target. Yet, despite many gloomy predictions, the world avoided a recession, the banking system proved largely resilient, and major emerging market economies did not suffer sudden stops. Moreover, the inflation surge did not trigger uncontrolled wage-price spirals. Instead, almost as quickly as global inflation went up, it has been coming down. Resilient growth and faster disinflation point towards favorable supply developments, including the fading of earlier energy prices shocks, the striking rebound in labour supply supported by strong immigration flows in many advanced economies. Decisive monetary policy actions, as well as improved monetary frameworks, especially in emerging markets, have helped anchor inflation expectations. Despite these welcome developments, numerous challenges remain, and decisive actions are needed. First, while inflation trends are encouraging, we are not there yet. Most of the progress on inflation came from the decline in energy prices and goods inflation below its historical average. The latter has been helped by easing supply-chain frictions, as well as by the decline in Chinese export prices. Bringing inflation down to target remains priority. Second, the global view can mark stark divergence across countries. The exceptional recent performance of the U.S. is certainly impressive and a major driver of global growth, but it reflects strong demand factors as well, including a fiscal stance that is out of line with long-term fiscal sustainability. This raise short-term risks to the disinflation process, as well as long-term fiscal and financial stability risks for the global economy. In the Euro area, growth will pick up this year, but from very low levels, as the trailing effects of high monetary policy and past energy costs, as well as planned fiscal consolidation, weigh on activity. China's economy is affected by the downturn in its property sector. Credit booms and busts never resolve themselves quickly, and this one is no exception. Domestic demand will remain lackluster for some time unless strong measures and reforms address the root cause. Huge global investments are needed for a green and climate-resilient future. Cutting emissions is compatible with growth, as is seen in recent decades during which growth has become much less emission intensive. Neverthless, emissions are still rising. A lot more needs to be done. Cutting fossil fuel subsidies can help create the necessary fiscal room for further green investments.  Below the GDP growth in 2023, from the highest growth to the smallest growth.  The first column is for countries in the American continent, and the other is for some countries in the rest of the world. As previously forecasted, Guyana had the highest GDP growth of the world last year. The same had happened in 2021 and 2022. Congratulations to our neighboring country.

GDP 2023 in PanAmerican countries                                 Rest of the World

Guyana        33.0%                                                                       India     7.8%          

Panama        7.3%                                                                     Phillippines      5.6%

Costa Rica         5.1%                                                                 China        5.2%

Nicaragua         4.7%                                                                Vietnam      5.0%                                  

Paraguay         4.5%                                                                     Indonesia       5.0%

Venezuela          4.0%                                                                    Tanzania        5.0%

Guatemala         3.5%                                                                 Turkiye      4.5%                                      

El Salvador      3.5%                                                                     Spain        2.5%

Honduras          3.5%                                                                 Portugal        2.3%

Mexico           3.2%                                                                       Australia     2.1%

Brazil           2.9%                                                                         Japan       1.9%

U.S.A.           2.5%                                                                       South Korea     1.4%

Bolivia            2.5%                                                                     Italy         0.9%

Ecuador           2.3%                                                                     France       0.9% 

Canada           1.1%                                                                    New Zealand      0.6%

Colombia           0.6%                                                              South Africa      0.6%

Uruguay           0.4%                                                                Norway       0.5%

Chile            0.2%                                                                       U.K.    0.1%

Peru            -0.6%                                                                     Germany      -0.3%

Argentina          -1.6%                                                             Ireland       -3.2%