Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- The top United Nations official in Afghanistan today condemned a suicide attack targeting national police in the country’s capital, Kabul.
- The Security Council today strongly condemned the ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 21 June, noting that these repeated acts are in grave violation of obligations under the relevant resolutions adopted by the 15-nation body.
- Concluding a three-day visit to Viet Nam, a United Nations envoy has called on the government, civil society and all stakeholders to take united action to eliminate violence against children.
- Progress on the economy and improving security is imperative so that Afghans have confidence in their Government, the United Nations envoy in Afghanistan said today.
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has reaffirmed the UN’s readiness to support Thailand as the country prepares to vote on a final draft Constitution.
- The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today expressed grave concern about a series of deadly attacks across Afghanistan, reiterating its call for anti-Government elements, including the Taliban, to immediately cease all attacks in civilian-populated areas and stop targeting civilians, including diplomatic facilities and personnel.
- Issuing a new report on the situation of minorities in Myanmar, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein has urged the Government to take concrete steps to end the “systemic discrimination” and ongoing human rights violations against minority communities, particularly the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state.
- Three United Nations human rights experts today called on the Government of India to repeal a regulation that has been increasingly used to obstruct civil society's access to foreign funding.
- Heavy monsoon rains since the beginning of June have caused flooding in five states and regions of Myanmar, resulting in 14 deaths and affecting at least 26,000 people, a United Nations humanitarian coordinator reported today.
- Deeply concerned by reports of fighting on 12 and 13 June on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is on an official visit to Belgium, met in Brussels today with top officials from both the African countries, with the parties calling for maximum restraint.
- The United Nations envoy in Afghanistan today condemned an attack targeting civilians gathered for Friday prayers at the Hisarak Jami Mosque in Rodat district, in Nangarhar province.
- Warning that we are dangerously close to breaking the limit of how we should use oceans, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today reunited with a Polynesian voyaging canoe crew who are using traditional methods to circumvent the world and highlight the importance of protecting our bodies of water.
- Officials in Eritrea have committed crimes against humanity, including enslavement, rape and torture, across the country over the past 25 years, according to a new report released today by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea.