Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Sri Lanka is in the midst of the worst socio-economic crisis in its history, and the once robust health-care system is nearing collapse, with patients at risk from power shortages, a lack of medicines, and equipment shortages.
- During her first official visit to Bangladesh, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, met with a host of officials, civil society representatives and Rohingya refugees on Tuesday.
- UN special envoy for Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer travelled to the country for the first time since taking up her appointment last October.
- Although $4.4 billion is required to fund humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, $1.8 billion has been received so far, or roughly 40 per cent, a senior UN official told journalists in New York on Monday, warning of the dire consequences as winter approaches.
- A year of Taliban rule in Afghanistan has led to a deterioration in the lives of women and girls, affecting all aspects of their human rights, three UN agencies reported on Monday.
- The international community must dramatically increase efforts to urge the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to adhere to basic human rights principles, a group of UN independent rights experts said on Friday.
- On the island nation of Fiji, young people are working in solidarity with their elders, benefiting from their knowledge and experience to protect the fragile ecosystem.
- Despite an unprecedented scale-up in assistance in Afghanistan over the past year, immense needs still exist and the future looks bleak, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said on Thursday.
- In a visit to Mongolia on Tuesday, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the UN’s full solidarity for the country, which he described as “a symbol of peace in a troubled world”.
- Crimes against humanity continue to be systematically committed in Myanmar, with ongoing conflicts severely impacting women and children, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.
- In China, ethnic minority women from the 55 ethnic minority groups formally recognized by the country, are playing a vital role in protecting traditional knowledge and preserving cultural heritage.
- The UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, is leading efforts to protect women and girls’ rights to give birth safely and live without gender-based violence, according to a statement issued on Monday.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned a recent attack on a nuclear power station in southern Ukraine during a meeting in Tokyo on Monday with the Japan National Press Club.