Human rights

The UN Human Rights Office has urged the Sri Lankan government to take immediate and concrete steps to address past abuses.

The displacement has sparked humanitarian worries, with aid groups warning of food insecurity and health risks in winter.

These developments occur against a backdrop of worsening human rights under Taliban rule, including severe restrictions on women and girls, arbitrary detentions, and impunity for abuses.

If these working group meetings proceed as planned, they will be the first major technical talks under the Doha framework to take place on Afghan soil.

Violence against children emerged as another pressing issue. The committee raised alarms over sexual violence, particularly against boys, gender-based violence, corporal punishment, and online abuse.

The EPA, which enforces federal environmental laws, said it would stop estimating the economic value of health benefits from reducing ozone and fine particulate matter, even though it acknowledges that they contribute to pulmonary disease, heart attacks, and premature deaths. 

The NCCEBL survey found that over 80 per cent of rescued workers did not have a First Information Report (FIR) registered, a prerequisite to hold exploiters legally accountable. Moreover, 63 per cent did not receive interim financial assistance.

The UN report, issued on January 13, finds that sexual violence was “part of a deliberate, widespread, and systemic pattern of violations” by state security forces, and “may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”