News headlines in 2023, page 221

NAIROBI, Mar 31 (IPS) - As conflict and crises escalate to create human emergencies that have displaced over 100 million people worldwide, civil society’s vital role of advocating for victims and monitoring human rights cannot be over-emphasised.

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Mar 31 (IPS) - The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), an organisation whose motto is ‘For democracy. For everyone’, just held its global assembly in a country with a mock parliament and not the slightest semblance of democracy.

KATHMANDU, Nepal, Mar 31 (IPS) - The ongoing discussions on an internationally treaty, described as a “legally binding instrument” on business and human rights, remains one of the most neglected issues that should instead command the attention of the public.

The landscape and emotions of the Ukrainian people may be scarred and raw, but they are not giving up according to the Regional Director of the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A razor, nail polish, and beads are part of the new Unbox Me campaign, launched by UNAIDS to raise awareness among parents, teachers, and the wider community about gender identity during childhood, as the world marked International Transgender Day of Visibility on Friday.

Urgent efforts must be made to de-escalate the situation following Russia’s announcement last weekend that it plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, the UN disarmament chief warned the Security Council on Friday.

Almost two months after deadly earthquakes struck Türkiye and northern Syria, a large-scale humanitarian operation is underway for which funding is still desperately needed, the UN Humanitarian Affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.

Independent UN-appointed human rights experts on Friday called for the urgent repatriation of children from northeast Syria, as they enter their fifth year of detention.

CARACAS, Mar 30 (IPS) - The vulnerability and struggles of the LGBTIQ+ community in Venezuela were once again highlighted when the Supreme Court finally annulled the military code statute that punished, with one to three years in prison, members of the military who committed " acts against nature.”

ADDIS ABABA, Mar 30 (IPS) - There are about 5 billion people globally who cannot access surgery. In Ethiopia, for every 5,000 needed surgeries per 100,000 people, the country’s health system can only provide 192. Yet, this is Africa’s second largest population, with over 120 million people.