Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Even though overall conflict-related civilian casualty numbers in Afghanistan fell by one per cent in the first nine months of 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, child casualties saw a marked increase of 15 per cent, the United Nations mission in the country said today.
- A new report released by the United Nations mission in Afghanistan has concluded that the 23 July attack on a large, peaceful demonstration in the country's capital, Kabul, not only deliberately targeted civilians but also was a serious violation of international humanitarian law, which may amount to a war crime.
- The United Nations Security Council today strongly condemned the latest failed ballistic missile launch conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which took place on 14 October.
- Concluding a three-day mission to Myanmar today, the top United Nations aid official called on all sides to find peaceful ways to resolve their differences and urged strengthened humanitarian action to support the people affected by violence in the Southeast Asian country.
- The United Nations human rights chief today expressed concern about a growing crackdown by the Government of Viet Nam on human rights defenders, including the arrest this week of popular blogger and Government critic Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known online as Mother Mushroom.
- Every day, some 7,400 Afghan returnees cross the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan, prompting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to warn of an escalating humanitarian crisis.
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today offered his deep condolences to the Royal family, Government and people of Thailand on the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
- Nicholas Haysom has experience in challenging political situations. His service with the United Nations has seen him serve as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s top political advisor at UN Headquarters in New York – but has also involved service in some of the toughest field assignment locations, such as Iraq and Afghanistan.
- The United Nations mission in Afghanistan has condemned two separate attacks on mosques in the country that together killed about 30 worshippers congregated to mark Ashura, the Muslim day of remembrance.
- The United Nations envoy for Myanmar today expressed his deep concern at the violent attacks by unidentified individuals and groups against border guards and security forces on 9 October and the resultant fighting that claimed the lives of security personnel and civilians in the three affected areas of Northern Rakhine.
- After two months of intense flooding, the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK) is now facing another looming danger as a severe winter is closing with thousands of children still in need of urgent assistance, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partner agency Save the Children.
- Addressing a conference aimed at charting a way forward for conflict-ravaged Afghanistan, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged the international community to sustain its commitment to support the country and its people, while stressing the importance of holding both donors and the Afghan Government accountable for aid effectiveness.
- After a Singaporean teenage blogger was sentenced to jail for his social media posts, a United Nations human rights expert today warned that it is “exactly the wrong kind of message that any government should be sending to anybody, but especially to young people.”