Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations

During an official visit, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday met in Beijing with Xi Jinping, President of China, where he congratulated the President on his recent re-election. 

Ahead of the International Day of Sport, world renowned Japanese athletes are joining a United Nations-backed campaign to promote global development goals through the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games their country will host in 2020.

A senior United Nations refugee agency official warned on Wednesday about the “shocking” effects of long-term detention on Australia-bound asylum seekers who are being held on remote Pacific islands.

The United Nations emergency food relief agency has airlifted over 80 metric tons of vital nutritional supplements to Papua New Guinea – enough to feed approximately 60,000 people in the earthquake-hit country.

With relief agencies in Bangladesh struggling to assist more than a million vulnerable Rohingya refugees crowded into makeshift camps along the country’s south-east coast, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday appealed for international support to help the cash strapped health sector scale up its response.   

Children are suffering significant trauma and stress one month after a series of major earthquakes hit Papua New Guinea, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday, warning about the possible long-term negative consequences.

A united Nations spokesman said Monday that Secretary-General António Guterres is shocked at reports of remarks attributed to Myanmar Senior General U Min Aung Hlaing.

One month after a powerful earthquake hit Papua New Guinea, the United Nations warns that “children’s lives are in danger” as access to the affected remote and isolated villages across vast and rugged terrain remains a huge challenge.

The United Nations strongly condemned the deadly attack earlier Wednesday in the Afghan capital, Kabul, near a major religious shrine where people had gathered to celebrate Nowruz – the traditional New Year and the arrival of spring.

As heavy rains and potential cyclones threaten more than one hundred thousand Rohingya refugees living in congested settlements in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar, United Nations refugee agency envoy Cate Blanchett is urging increased international support to protect them from the worst impacts of the upcoming monsoon season.

To meet the urgent needs of nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees and more than 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in the communities hosting them, United Nations agencies and their humanitarian partners appealed jointly on Friday for $951 million.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned yesterday’s attack at a police checkpoint near a mosque in the outskirts of Lahore.

International crimes were committed against the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and those who fled the country could face further persecution if they return now, a senior United Nations official said Tuesday.