Militarization of security continued in a number of countries, including El Salvador and Honduras, both of which had states of emergency in place. Ecuador and Mexico widened their legal frameworks to allow for the use of armed forces in public security tasks. Authorities must ensure law enforcement complies with international human rights law and standards, including on the use of force. They must ensure that those suspected of human rights violations are brought to justice. WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS Entrenched gender-based violence, including femicide, continued to be the norm across the region and authorities systematically failed to address impunity for these crimes. In Mexico, an average of nine women were murdered each day, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System and most cases were never effectively solved. In Canada, the UN reported an increase in the number of Indigenous women and girls who were missing or had been murdered, and high rates of sexual assault and exploitation among Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, questioning, intersex and asexual (2SLGBTQQIA+) people living near pipeline construction sites. Access to sexual and reproductive rights remained extremely challenging throughout the region, even in countries such as Argentina where abortion was legalized in 2020 and Colombia where it was decriminalized in 2022. In El Salvador, a total ban on abortion remained in place and at least 21 women were facing charges related to obstetric emergencies. Chile made no progress in adopting a legal framework to fully decriminalize abortion and ensure equal and barrier-free access to safe abortion services. In Brazil, abortion remained a criminal offence; at least 19 people had died due to unsafe abortion by July, according to the Ministry of Health. In September, a lawsuit seeking the decriminalization of abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy was put before the Federal Supreme Court, but voting was suspended. In some countries, the rollback on access to abortion expanded. Following the 2022 US Supreme Court decision that ended federal protections to the right to abortion, 15 states implemented total bans on abortion or bans with extremely limited exceptions. The measures continued to disproportionately impact Black and other racialized people. Nevertheless, some progress was made. In Honduras, abortion remained banned, but the government ended 14 years of prohibition on the use and sale of the emergency contraceptive pill. In Mexico, the Supreme Court declared the criminalization of abortion unconstitutional, as well as the suspension of medical personnel for performing or assisting with abortions. Authorities must end impunity for violent crimes against women and girls. They must also guarantee access to safe abortion and other sexual and reproductive rights, including comprehensive sex education. LGBTI PEOPLE’S RIGHTS LGBTI people continued to face widespread harassment, discrimination, threats, violent attacks and killings, as well as obstacles to legal recognition in countries including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico and the USA. Impunity was the norm in most cases. In Guatemala, where same-sex marriage remained illegal, at least 34 people were killed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the National LGBTIQ+ Human Rights Observatory. More transgender people were killed in Brazil than anywhere else in the world for the 14th consecutive year. In Peru, despite several reports of violence against and killings of LGBTI people, there was still no official registry of hate crimes. In 36 The State of the World’s Human Rights