Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- Speaking ahead of a major peace conference in Myanmar, a United Nations independent expert has urged its participants to prioritise human rights issues in their discussions over the coming days, and to do more to ensure the process is fully inclusive.
- The United Nations rights expert on the situation of human rights in Iran has expressed outrage over the execution of 12 people on drug-related charges, just days after he had publicly appealed to the Iranian authorities not to go ahead with the capital punishment.
- The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine on 23 August, which follows a series of recent tests and launches the Council said is a “grave violation” of the DPRK's international obligations and “in flagrant disregard” of repeated calls to halt such activity.
- The United Nations’ mission in Afghanistan has condemned last night’s attack on a university in the capital, Kabul, that killed 12 civilians and injured more than 50 others, mostly students.
- Amid reports that the trial of Mir Quasem Ali, a senior opposition member, and its appeal processes were marred with irregularities and failed to meet international fair trial and due process standards, a group of United Nations human rights experts have urged the Government of Bangladesh to annul the death sentence imposed upon him, and to re-try him in compliance with international standards.
- China has made huge progress in poverty alleviation, but needs meaningful accountability mechanisms that citizens can use when their rights are violated in the context of development-related activities, a United Nations human rights expert said today
- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed deep dismay at the execution of 36 people in Iraq in relation to a 2014 massacre during which hundreds of military cadets were killed.
- A joint report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has found that the conflict in Yemen has resulted in the displacement of some 3,154,572 people.
- The United Nations human rights arm today expressed concern about the mounting constraints on the democratic space in Thailand – calling for a prompt return to civilian rule.
- New findings by the economic and social development arm of the United Nations in the Asia-Pacific have revealed that nearly 75 per cent of the region's broadband capabilities and access are concentrated in countries in East and North-East Asia while the Pacific subregion accounts for a mere 1.93 per cent.
- Amid a recent massive anti-crime and anti-drug crackdown in the Philippines that has claimed the lives of more than 850 suspected criminals, two United Nations human rights experts today urged the Government to end the wave of extrajudicial executions and killings, stressing that drug charges should be “judged in a court of law, not by gunmen on the streets.”
- Amid news of an agreement to close the Australian immigration detention centre on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today underscored the importance of finding permanent and sustainable resettlement solutions that address the needs of the refugees.
- The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today condemned the killing of a Kurdistan TV cameraman on 14 August, the second such murder in Iraq in a week, urging measures to improve the safety of journalists in the country.