The ongoing insurgency, terrorist attacks and revenge killings by armed groups in Iraq as well as military operations by Iraqi and multinational forces have severely affected the enjoyment of human rights in the country, the United Nations said in a report released on Tuesday.

The Iraqi ministries, the judiciary, donor countries and the UN system have strongly supported rule-of-law efforts to set up an independent national human rights commission, but delays in forming a government have impeded urgent action, the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) said in a report made known to the public in New York.

The report, which covers the period from March through April, said that after the Feb. 22 bombing against the Al Askari shrine in Samarra, sectarian killings, intimidations and threats have become one of the most significant forms of human rights violation in Iraq.

"As a result, the number of internally displaced persons has increased considerably, affecting many communities and creating further tensions and socio-economic problems," it said.

It also noted that ongoing military operations, especially in western and central Iraq, "have also severely affected the enjoyment of human rights and have resulted, at times, in the loss of life of civilians."

The Medico-Legal Institute in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, issued 1,294 death certificates in March and 1,155 in April, the report said, adding that most of those deaths died as a result of gunshot wounds.

Targeted assassinations continued against politicians, members of the public administration, including police, army and judges, other professionals and people perceived to be associated with the multinational forces, according to the report, with a resulting impact on the functioning of key institutions, such as the judiciary.

Citing figures from the Iraqi Ministry of Human Rights, the report said that the number of detainees has declined below the January-February figures, but is still high and a source of discontent in the country.

The ministry reported that as of April 30, there were a total of 28,700 detainees in Iraq -- more than 15,300 in the custody of the multinational forces and over 12,800 held by the ministries of justice and interior.

(Xinhua News Agency May 24, 2006)