News headlines in March 2024, page 4

THIMPHU, Bhutan, Mar 26 (IPS) - South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), a regional network of human rights defenders, has called on the Government of Bhutan to release the political prisoners it has detained for decades.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) issued a new report on Tuesday, revealing a surge in credible allegations of torture and executions of captured Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) at the hands of Russian forces.

The UN received 758 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse committed by staff last year, together with related personnel and partners, according to its latest report on the issue.

When a group linked to the ISIL terror organization claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall on 22 March, one of the pretexts reportedly given for the killings was Russia’s engagement in the Syrian civil war, which has turned into a proxy war involving several foreign powers.

An alarming surge in armed violence in areas of Haiti is heightening the risk of a malnutrition crisis in the country, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Tuesday issued a fervent plea for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and release of all hostages, amid “cataclysmic” suffering in the Gaza Strip and continuing violence in the occupied West Bank.

There are "reasonable grounds" to believe that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories said on Tuesday.

One in three migrant deaths happens while people flee conflict, the UN migration agency, IOM, said on Tuesday. More than two in three migrants whose deaths have been documented remain unidentified.

Intense hostilities in Gaza continued on Tuesday between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces with a “double-digit number of children killed overnight” and ongoing aid delivery obstacles that are responsible for near-famine conditions, UN humanitarians said.

SRI JAYAWARDENEPURA KOTTE & ATHENS, Mar 25 (IPS) - Sri Lankan lawmaker Hector Appuhamy, in conversation with IPS ahead of a two-day conference aimed at educating  and involving university students in mental health issues, said parliamentarians were concerned about gaps in the programmes and financing for youth mental health. They were looking beyond the country's health budget for support in ensuring that youth were able to access mental health facilities in a supportive environment.