Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- The “senseless” fighting in Sudan must stop now, and the warring generals have to insist on zero tolerance for sexual violence among their troops, the UN rights chief said on Wednesday.
- As a clearer picture emerges of the trail of destruction left by Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar and Bangladesh, humanitarians are continuing to provide life-saving assistance, and the need for an urgent increase in funding.
- Despite going into reverse on more than 30 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it’s not too late to “turn the tide” said the Secretary-General on Tuesday, who told Member States that the UN was “determined to do just that.”
- Following widespread diversion of lifesaving food aid in Ethiopia last month, the World Food Programme (WFP) has strengthened safeguards and controls in a bid to prevent further misuse, the UN agency said on Tuesday.
- The world is failing to live up to its commitment to protect civilians during wartime, Secretary-General António Guterres told the UN Security Council on Tuesday, urging greater respect for international humanitarian law.
- Civilians continue to bear the brunt of conflict-related violence and destruction, and during the Protection of Civilians (PoC) Week 2023, observed from 22 to 25 May, the UN and partners are working towards finding the best ways to protect them.
- More than one in four patients screened in violence-afflicted Gaza at UN-run health centres, require mental health and psychosocial support, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday, publishing its annual overview.
- A Ghanaian peacekeeper serving with the United Nations Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) will receive the 2022 United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year Award, it was announced on Monday.
- A crucial ceasefire poised to enter into force in restive Sudan on Monday evening should “pave the way” for peace talks to end the month-old conflict, the top UN official in the country has said.
- Although COVID-19 may no longer be a global public health emergency, countries must still strengthen response to the disease and prepare for future pandemics and other threats, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday in Geneva.
- The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine lost all external power for several hours on Monday morning, highlighting the urgent need to protect the facility and prevent an accident, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.
- The decision by El Salvador to extend a state of emergency aimed at cracking down on gangs undermines the right to fair trial, three experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council said on Monday.
- The theme of the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed on Monday, centres on moving from talk to action: build back biodiversity.