Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- A United Nations human rights expert on Tuesday strongly condemned the killing of nine journalists in Afghanistan who were among the victims of Monday’s terrorist attack in the country’s capital.
- Raising alarm over a “sharp” escalation in hostilities in Myanmar’s Kachin province, a United Nations human rights expert has called on all parties to ensure greater protection for civilians.
- The United Nations Security Council is continuing its mission to Bangladesh and Myanmar, taking a first-hand look at the plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees who have fled across the border to escape violence.
- Strongly condemning terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and in Kandahar, senior United Nations officials, including Secretary-General António Guterres, underscored the need to bring those behind the attacks to justice.
- The lives of tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees hang in the balance as monsoon and cyclone seasons threaten camps in southern Bangladesh, the United Nations migration agency warned Friday, appealing for urgent financial support to prepare the area against floods and landslides.
- Following Friday’s summit between the leaders of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the Republic of Korea, Secretary-General António Guterres and other top officials expressed hope that the two countries would swiftly implement all agreed actions, including ridding the Peninsula of nuclear weapons.
- Sitting for green tea with Habiba Gulustani and her fellow activists provides a lesson in peace, conflict and patience. With her anxious six-year-old daughter spinning on her lap, she has the added disquiet of knowing that her city – Kunduz – was overrun in 2015 and again briefly in 2016 by insurgents, who still encircle the city. The few small airplanes that land here make a classic “corkscrew” landing – from a high altitude and quickly looping down – as a special precaution against potential ground fire.
- The world’s nuclear proliferation watchdog has welcomed the announcement by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to suspend its nuclear and missile tests and shut down its Punggye-ri atomic test site.
- Economic losses to disasters in Asia and the Pacific could exceed $160 billion annually by 2030, the United Nations development arm in the region warned on Tuesday, urging greater innovation in disaster risk financing.
- The arrival of pre-monsoon rains in southern Bangladesh has revealed an alarming level of risks for Rohingya refugees, United Nations humanitarian agencies said on Friday, warning that they do not have the funds needed to protect hundreds of thousands of desperate people once the rainy season begins in earnest.
- A group of United Nations human rights experts have called on Iran to annul the death sentence against a prisoner citing serious concerns that he was tortured in detention and did not receive a fair trial.
- Although the massive outflow of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh grabbed worldwide headlines, the international community must not forget that more than 400,000 of the minority group are living in dire situations at home, a senior United Nations official said Tuesday.
- Deciding upon complaints filed by Mohamed Nasheed, the ex-President of Maldives, a United Nations human rights expert committee has called on the Government to restore Mr. Nasheed’s right to stand for public office, including the office of the President.