Human Wrongs Watch

Kabul– Afghan government should release the approximately 400 women and girls imprisoned for “moral crimes,” Human Rights Watch said in a new report released on 28 March. The United States and other donor countries should press Afghan government under President Hamid Karzai to end the wrongful imprisonment of women and girls who are crime victims rather than criminals.

The food and nutrition crisis facing countries in West Africa’s drought-prone Sahel region has continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate despite commendable early response efforts by governments and international aid agencies, a senior United Nations official said.

Yangon – As millions of Burmese go to the polls on 1 April, expectations are high for real change. Across this Southeast Asian nation and abroad there is an unprecedented sense of hope not seen in decades following a wave of political reforms now described by Myanmar’s own government as “irreversible”.

With 22,8 million inhabitants, at least one million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the findings of a government-led assessment mission jointly carried out with the United Nations and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Brussels – The United Nations agency assisting Palestinian refugees unveiled 10 commitments through which it will strengthen support to and better engage young refugees.

“Racism and racial discrimination have been used as weapons to engender fear and hatred. In extreme cases, ruthless leaders instigate prejudice to incite genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”. With these words, UN secretary general marked this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which focuses on the theme of racism and conflict.

Rome, 22 March – Urgent action is required to control a major outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and prevent its spread throughout North Africa and the Middle East, which could have serious implications for food security in the region, FAO warned today.

A massive vaccination campaign, launched by the UN, is under way in Yemen, where a new outbreak of measles has killed at least 126 children under the age of five.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that more than a million children below the age of five in the Sahel are facing a disaster amid the ongoing food crisis in the drought-prone region of Africa.

Bangkok – Japan is widely regarded as well-prepared for disasters, being used to frequent tsunamis, cyclones, earthquakes and volcanic activity, but a year after the calamitous events of 11 March 2011, the lessons from the multi-disaster still resonate.