World News in Brief: Syria transition update, healthcare as a human right, more than 2,000 killed and injured in Haiti this year

This article is published in association with United Nations.

UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, issued a statement on Monday following his latest “extensive discussions” with leader of the caretaker administration in Damascus, Ahmed al-Sharaa. 

The envoy expressed his appreciation noting they had talked through “all aspects” of the ongoing political process, following the overthrow of the Assad regime in December last year.

Mr. Pedersen stressed the need to ease sanctions on Syria, emphasising the importance of a stable economy.

They also discussed the importance of a “transparent framework for the process of selecting and electing an interim people’s assembly” and next steps towards a democratic and inclusive future.

The top UN envoy highlighted the need to prevent any renewed cycle of violence, in the light of the mass killings of Alawite community members last month in several coastal towns.

He also reiterated his “condemnation of Israel’s repeated attacks and interventions” inside Syria.

End ‘indefinite detention’ of detainees

In a joint statement on Monday a group of independent UN human rights experts said the transition period provides a “valuable opportunity” to end the arbitrary, inhumane and indefinite detention of around 52,000 detainees who have been held for years in the northeast, in relation to alleged ties with the ISIL terrorist group.

They noted the agreement of 10 March between the interim administration and the largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces who guard the detainees, paving the way for the armed group to integrate with new national institutions.

Around 9,000 male ISIL suspects are detained without due process, including 5,400 Syrians, 1,600 Iraqis, and some 1,500 from 50 other countries. The vast majority of these detainees continue to be held incommunicado without information on their fate or whereabouts, the experts said.

In addition, some 42,500 individuals are arbitrarily held in camps, including family members and ISIL associates. Many have been held without legal process for at least six years.

“Tens of thousands of innocent children have suffered physical violence and psychological harm, when they should be assisted as victims of terrorism and serious human rights violations,” the experts added.

Special Rapporteurs and other UN Human Rights Council-appointed experts are not UN staff, receive no salary for their work and are independent of any organisation or government.

‘Let us be bold’: Global leaders reaffirm health as a human right

Progress towards the universal healthcare goal has been undeniable: barriers to health services, education and family planning have been almost completely removed, The UN says.

But on Monday, health ministers, ambassadors and civil society experts gathered at UN Headquarters in New York amid concerns that gains are being reversed, issuing a resounding call to place human health and dignity at the heart of sustainable development.

Convening the 58th session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD58) they stressed the urgency of providing universal access to quality health care – reaffirming commitments to the Programme of Action established at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).

‘Health is not a privilege’

Katja Lasseur, Chair of the 58th session, welcomed over 120 Member States, observers and nearly 50 NGOs, highlighting the momentum behind the week’s discussions. “Health is not a privilege,” she declared. “It is a human right and a prerequisite for sustainable development.”

Real progress has been achieved since 2000. Life expectancy has increased by 10 years in Africa and nine years in South Asia. At the same time, child mortality has dropped by more than half and cases of HIV have dropped by 50 per cent.

“These gains demonstrate what is possible with sustained political will and investment,” emphasised Guy Ryder, Under-Secretary-General for Policy, Warning that progress has been “uneven.”

“Health related targets, including universal health coverage, remain within reach,” he said, but they require urgent and equitable investment, particularly in primary health care and health coverage.

Over 1,500 people killed in Haiti since start of 2025: UN mission

Between 1 January and 27 March in Haiti, at least 1,518 people were killed and 572 injured in attacks by armed gangs, security operations and other acts of violence perpetrated by self-defence groups.

That’s according to a new report from the UN Mission in Haiti (BINUH) which details the “grim” impact of violence since the beginning of the year, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric briefing journalists in New York.

The report reveals repeated attacks in the rural areas of Kenscoff and some neighbourhoods of Carrefour – two communes in the metropolitan area of the capital, Port-au-Prince – resulting in serious human rights abuses.

According to UN partners, gang members displayed extreme brutality, with the aim of instilling fear on the population. They executed men, women and children inside their homes and shot people on roads and paths as they tried to flee the violence, including an infant.

“At the same time, sexual violence was committed against at least seven women and young girls during the planning and execution of those attacks by gang members,” reported Mr. Dujarric.

The gangs ransacked several homes and set fire to more than 190 of them, which coupled with the violence has now forced more than 3,000 people to flee their localities.

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