Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Welcoming the conviction of three army officials accused of the murder of a 15-year-old girl during the armed conflict in Nepal more than 13 years ago, the United Nations human rights arm has called on the authorities to implement the court’s decision.
- Young people from around the world today joined United Nations staff and international dignitaries in Changsha, China, to show support for protecting and preserving the cultural heritage along the Silk Route.
- The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling it “in grave violation” of the country's international obligations under six of the body's resolutions passed between 2006 and 2016.
- The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), calling it “in grave violation” of the country's international obligations under six of the body's resolutions passed between 2006 and 2016.
- Indonesia is on track to develop a sustainable and equitable healthcare system, but problems related to access and quality of services persist, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Puras, said today.
- Stressing that the rates of incarceration for Australia’s indigenous peoples have reached astounding, “tsunami” proportions, a United Nations human rights expert today called on the authorities to respect the peoples’ right to self-determination, to full and effective participation in society, and to step up the fight against racism.
- The conflict in Afghanistan is “partially forgotten,” the former United Nations Deputy Special Representative for the country has warned, calling for more aid for displaced families and a greater focus on bridging the poverty gaps.
- Some 400 million people in Asia and the Pacific still confront poverty as part of their daily lives due to widening income inequality, despite the region's impressive gains in reducing poverty in recent decades, a United Nations-backed report has found.
- The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the ballistic missile launch and a ballistic missile engine test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) this week in flagrant and provocative defiance of a number of Council resolutions expressly forbidding such activities.
- Presenting an oral update on the rights situation in Sri Lanka, the top United Nations human rights official today said that a general lack of trust in the impartiality of the justice system in the country regarding past violations and continuing “unwillingness or inability” to address impunity reinforces the need for international participation in a judicial mechanism.
- Over two-thirds of the population in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) suffers from food insecurity, malnutrition, and a lack of access to basic health and sanitation services, according to a latest humanitarian report, which also appeals for $114 million to meet the urgent need of the most vulnerable.
- The Security Council today extended the mandate of United Nations assistance operation in Afghanistan until 17 March 2018, stressing the political mission’s role in supporting an inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.
- The United Nations food security agency called today for rapid detection and response systems to address a new and potentially lethal outbreak of avian influenza in China.