Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- North Korea’s humanitarian situation remains dire, with widespread chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, the United Nations emergency food relief agency has warned, urging greater and sustained funding for its aid operations there.
- The United Nations on Sunday called on anti-Government elements in Afghanistan to immediately stop using improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in civilian areas, after the UN mission in the country recorded a sharp rise in civilian casualties caused by the explosives this year.
- The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has voiced ‘great concern’ for the safety and security of seven Rohingya men who have been sent home by Indian authorities, after reportedly being denied access to lawyers, or full consideration of their asylum applications.
- Aid is getting through to victims of last Friday’s deadly earthquake and tsunami, which struck the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, but stricken communities are still in dire need, UN aid agencies said on Friday.
- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday conferred the Organization’s highest environmental honour on India’s Prime Minister, recognizing Narendra Modi’s efforts against climate change and pollution.
- Denouncing attacks and intimidation in the week since formal campaigning began for Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections next month, the United Nations voiced outrage on Tuesday at the death of 14 civilians, killed by a suicide bomber at a campaign rally. A further 42 were wounded.
- UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday praised India’s progress on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the pursuit of Sanitation for All and Affordable and Clean Energy, which featured heavily during day-two of his official visit to the country.
- Four days after a deadly earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, UN agencies and partners have warned that some communities have yet to be reached and the death toll may rise, as the scale of the destruction unfolds
- On Tuesday, as part of his official visit to India this week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres laid a wreath in honour of Mahatma Gandhi, at the Raj Ghat Memorial, in New Delhi. Describing him as “the greatest soul that ever lived”, the UN chief said that Gandhi’s example “demonstrates that the way to reach objectives, is through non-violence.”
- The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, took part on Monday in the opening ceremony of the Organization’s newly-refurbished headquarters for its multi-agency operations, known as UN House, in the Indian capital, New Delhi.
- TImor-Leste, a country which the United Nations shepherded to independence from Indonesia 16 years ago, is a prime example of what the world Organization can do in resolving international conflicts and disputes, Delegation Chair Maria Helena Pires told the General Assembly on Monday.
- Rescue workers are still trying to reach areas of Sulawesi in Indonesia affected by an earthquake and tsunami, UN humanitarians said on Monday, noting that more than 840 people have died and more than 600 have been severely injured in the disaster.
- The United Nations needs to adapt to meet the challenges facing the world, Thailand’s Deputy Foreign Minister Virasakdi Futrakul told the General Assembly on Monday, endorsing Secretary General António Guterres’s efforts to make the Organization more effective.