Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the United Nations needs to prove “multilateralism delivers”, the President of Indonesia has said, telling world leaders, gathered virtually “all of us bear the responsibility” to further strengthen the global Organization.
- The President of the Republic of Korea has signaled his country’s support to developing nations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which includes ensuring they have equitable access to any vaccines against the deadly new coronavirus.
- The assaults by security forces in Myanmar on villages in Rakhine state “need to stop”, and a ceasefire should be declared immediately, said the UN independent rights expert on the situation across the country on Tuesday.
- While every country has its own strategy to fight coronavirus, the world needs coordinated international efforts and a common purpose to end the crisis, the President of the Philippines said on Tuesday, underlining the importance of universal access to anti-COVID-19 technologies in the recovery from global pandemic.
- The Chinese President Xi Jinping called for enhanced international solidarity to fight the coronavirus on Tuesday during his UN General Assembly address, declaring that his country would aim to become carbon neutral, in the wider battle against climate change, by 2060.
- Drug trafficking has long been a problem in the Golden Triangle, the region where Thailand’s Chiang Rai province meets Myanmar and Laos. In this blog, Gita Sabharwal, UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand, and Jeremy Douglas, who represents the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, explain how the United Nations and the Thai government are working together to tackle the issue.
- The first ever direct talks between Afghan Government representatives and the Taliban which began on Saturday, present “a major opportunity” to finally realise the “long-held aspirations” of the people, for a peaceful future, the UN chief has said.
- The United Nations has strongly condemned Wednesday's attack in the Afghan capital Kabul, targeting the official convoy of the country's First Vice President, Amrullah Saleh.
- Dozens of Rohingya refugees are believed to have died in the Andaman sea after spending more than 200 days afloat, owing to a “collective unwillingness” of countries to take them in, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.
- Transforming food systems in Asia and the Pacific to make them more sustainable, resilient and productive, is vital for countries to rebound from the impact of COVID-19 and address chronic undernourishment, a UN regional forum on food security has heard.
- Independent UN rights experts have called on the Government of Pakistan to end the secret detention of a human rights defender, who has not been heard from in more than nine months.
- The UN’s top official in Afghanistan has warned that with the formal launch of direct peace negotiations imminent, near-record violence in the country is creating an atmosphere of mistrust that risks derailing long-sought talks between the Government and the Taliban.
- Whilst no country can claim to have beaten COVID-19, some countries have been noticeably more effective in curbing the spread of the disease. Kamal Malhotra, the UN Resident Coordinator in Viet Nam, explains why the country’s response to the pandemic has been so successful.