Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Indonesian fishing crews and local authorities who took part in rescuing more than 200 people adrift at sea, were hailed on Tuesday by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, for their “act of humanity”.
- Amid reports on Saturday that the Taliban had barred women from working for local and international NGOs, the United Nations said the decision would undermine the efforts of numerous organizations working throughout Afghanistan to help the most vulnerable, especially women and girls.
- Some 190 desperate people are on the verge of perishing at sea, adrift somewhere between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday, urging countries in southern Asia to rescue them.
- Millions of Afghan children have been vaccinated during the first nationwide integrated measles and polio campaign in Afghanistan since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the UN health agency said on Thursday.
- The UN family and the entire humanitarian community in Afghanistan condemned the Taliban’s decision to close universities to women and called on Wednesday for the de facto authorities to “immediately revoke the decision”.
- Despite their differing positions, dialogue between the Taliban authorities and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) must continue for the sake of the country’s people, the top UN official there told the Security Council on Tuesday.
- The resumption of public floggings and executions in Afghanistan must stop immediately, a group of independent UN human rights experts said on Friday in an appeal to the ruling Taliban leadership.
- No one should have to surrender their human right to migrate in order to find a living wage, the UN human rights office, OHCHR said in a new report published on Friday, highlighting the importance of temporary migratory labour programmes.
- Although the Philippines has made gains in combatting the sale and sexual exploitation of children, greater effort needs to be made to protect them, a UN-appointed human rights expert has said.
- UN refugee agency, UNHCR, on Friday, issued an alert over the dramatic increase in the number of people attempting to cross the Andaman Sea, from Bangladesh and Myanmar.
- Since last year’s military coup in Myanmar, military courts have sentenced more than 130 people to death behind closed doors, the UN human rights chief said on Friday, following the latest convictions announced this week.
- More than 40 people have been killed in Iran during the past week, including two teenagers, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday.
- Updating the Security Council on Monday, the head of UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) recalled that last Friday, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired what it described as a new-type of intercontinental ballistic missile.