Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Unity on the Security Council in the face of missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is essential to ease tensions across the whole Korean Peninsula, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for political and peacebuilding affairs for the region said on Thursday.
- UN-appointed independent human rights experts on Tuesday called for the Government of Bangladesh to end all harassment against representatives of the human rights organisation, Odhikar, and to ensure respect for due process in legal proceedings.
- A young woman in the north of Thailand has been describing how she turned her life around after turning to drugs and dropping out of school at age 15, thanks to a programme supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
- Young adolescents in the north of Thailand have been learning about the value of family planning and other sexual and reproductive health issues, thanks to the work of a non-governmental organization (NGO) supported by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
- The Myanmar regime’s brutal violence against civilians and its denial of life-saving humanitarian aid reflect “utter contempt for humanity”, UN rights chief Volker Türk told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.
- Divisions are growing and geopolitical tensions rising, as humanity faces three major challenges where the world has the power to “seek and unite for solutions” said the UN chief on Tuesday.
- When the Taliban surged back into power in August 2021, Afghanistan was virtually cut off from the rest of the world, and decisions by the de facto authorities to further restrict human rights have only deepened the country’s isolation.
- A police trainer in Thailand has told UN News about her “inspiration, passion, and strength” for teaching police cadets how to tackle the illicit trafficking of drugs and other contraband through her country and onwards through Southeast Asia.
- The Deputy Secretary-General addressed students at China’s Peking University on Friday, describing their diligence and energy as critical to helping tackle the world’s challenges through multilateral action.
- A cross-border collaboration between law enforcement agencies in countries in Southeast Asia supported by the UN in Thailand is helping to tackle organized crime along one of the world’s “biggest drug trafficking corridors”.
- There are many dangers lurking in the shadows just off the bustling streets of the Afghan capital Kabul, but none is more threatening than the drug abuse crisis that is ravaging the city, and the entire country.
- People who use drugs in Thailand are receiving more help to reduce the harm caused by their habit thanks to a change in formerly punitive drug laws and support from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
- The latest UN report on the human rights situation in Iran paints a grim picture of a record number of executions in 2022, arrests of thousands of children and numerous allegations of torture and ill-treatment by security forces.