Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Concluding a ten-day mission to China, a United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team has found that the country’s nuclear and radiation safety frameworks are effective, but will require further development due to rapid nuclear energy growth.
- Noting greater vulnerability of the health of migrant populations, including heightened risks of infectious diseases, malnutrition, substance abuse and maternal and neonatal mortality, the United Nations health agency has urged a regional meeting of health officials in south-east Asia for an increased focus on their health needs.
- Wrapping up an 11-day trip to Asia, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today hailed the region’s economic growth and progress on development, but expressed concerns about some challenges facing the countries there, including the tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea.
- Speaking at a gathering of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the focus of cooperation between the two organizations on a range of sectors, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- While announcing a strategic action plan to deal with the issue, the United Nations health agency today called for a whole-of-society approach to address the double burden of malnutrition which affects populations across south-east Asia, particularly women and girls.
- Seeking $150 million for aid efforts in Afghanistan, the top United Nations relief official today called on the international community to urgently scale up its support for the war-torn country so that it can meet the rising humanitarian needs of more than one million people who are on the move, either internally displaced or returning from neighbouring countries.
- Health ministers in south-east Asia today reaffirmed their commitment to achieve the target of controlling, eliminating and eradicating neglected tropical diseases (NTDS), with the United Nations health agency voicing its support for their efforts.
- The United Nations Security Council today condemned the ballistic missile launches conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday, 5 September.
- The top United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) official in Thailand has expressed deep concerns over the continuing violence in the country’s restive southernmost provinces and its impact on children, including an explosion that killed a four-year-old girl and her father today.
- Expressing concern over recent incidents of intimidation of opposition politicians and their supporters, civil society, and peaceful demonstrators in Cambodia, the United Nations human rights arm has called on the authorities there to create an environment that is conducive to the enjoyment of human rights.
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned Friday's bomb attack on a night market in Davao City in the Philippines that killed at least 12 people and injured dozens, his spokesman said today.
- At a G20 summit in the southeastern city of Hangzhou in China, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the conference's focus on sustainable development and climate change, urging all countries to take early action on these.
- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is saddened to learn of the death of President of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, according to the UN chief’s spokesperson.