World news summary: Children in eastern DRC, Iran sentences death penalty, supports Haiti
At the end of a 5-day visit to the area, UNICEF Deputy Director Ted Chaiban noted that fighting has reached new heights and created the worst humanitarian crisis since 2003.
He highlighted growing concerns about protecting children’s rights and protecting civilians as the situation worsens.
Serious violation of mount
“Children are being killed, maimed, kidnapped and recruited by armed groups with verified serious violations at an all-time high; Their right to education and safe childhood has been shattered,” he speak.
UNICEF warns that the all-time high of 7.2 million internally displaced people in eastern DRC could rise further as armed groups take control of more and more territory and as fighting spreads .
These developments occurred at the same time as the United Nations peacekeeping mission began to leave the country.
“We are seeing an increasing number of children killed and injured due to the recent trend towards the use of heavier and more sophisticated weapons,” Mr. Chaiban said.
While in the region, he met with Congolese authorities and visited sites hosting thousands of displaced families.
“The only way to alleviate this pain is to strengthen the efforts of regional actors and the international community to negotiate a political solution to the conflict, including the Luanda process, to deal with the conflict,” he said. Nairobi Dialogue and other diplomatic efforts”.
Human rights experts called on Iran to abolish the death penalty against the activist
United Nations-appointed human rights experts on Monday called on Iran to rescind the death penalty against an anti-corruption activist.
Mahmoud Mehrabi was convicted on charges of “corruption on earth,” a term they said “refers to a range of offenses, including blasphemy and moral ‘crimes’ Islamic.”
He was arrested again on March 16, 2023 in connection with online activism on justice and corruption.
He later faced additional charges, including anti-state propaganda, inciting police and military forces to disobedience, inciting war, crimes against national security and insulting founder and Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“What is alarming is that Iran’s punishments for freedom of expression include the death penalty or long prison sentences,” experts said. speak, noted that local rapper Tomaj Salehi also received the death penalty two weeks ago.
They noted that at least five people were sentenced to death in connection with nationwide protests in 2022 over the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. At least 15 others are at imminent risk.
“We call on the Iranian authorities to amend the Constitution and penal code to ban executions and commute all death sentences,” they said.
Statement issued by Javaid Rehman, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Experts receive assignments from the United Nations Eastern Human Rights Association. They are not UN employees and do not receive compensation for their work.
A woman displaced by gang violence is now living in a former theater in downtown Port-au-Prince.
Humanitarian organizations continue to support Haitians affected by gang violence
Aid organizations continue to provide emergency assistance to thousands of people across Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, amid ongoing gang activity, the United Nations office for humanitarian affairs said. Quoc, OCHA, reported in Monday.
OCHA warns that some residents are extremely vulnerable as armed groups continue to carry out coordinated attacks.
On Friday, the commune of Gressier, south of Port-au-Prince, was attacked and several houses burned, forcing countless people to flee.
Humanitarian partners are conducting assessments in Gressier and surrounding areas where people fled.
Currently, approximately 362,000 people are displaced in Haiti, half of whom are children, of whom 160,000 are in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
According to the United Nations migration agency, between March 8 and April 9, about 95,000 people left the capital, 60% of them to the southern regions. IOM.
Humanitarians remain steadfast in their commitment to supporting the people of Haiti. Since March, the World Food Program has helped more than 800,000 people nationwide through school feeding, emergency and recovery programs.
WFP also distributed more than 825,000 meals to more than 95,000 displaced people in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
