Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- The United Nations today condemned the killing of prominent human rights lawyer Rashid Khan Rehman in Pakistan and urged the Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.
- The United Nations is mustering planes, ferries and trucks to boost its relief efforts in the Philippines, with food still a priority almost three weeks after Typhoon Haiyan ripped into the country, killing over 5,230 people and affecting more than 13 million others, nearly 3.5 million of them left homeless.
- Asylum-seekers transferred from Australia to Pacific island processing centres, including survivors of torture and trauma and unaccompanied children, are living in arbitrary detention and harsh physical conditions that do not meet international standards, the United Nations refugee agency reported today.
- A United Nations expert today urged the international community to focus on the human rights situation in Eritrea which she said is extremely concerning with the most serious violations being committed and with up to 3,000 people flee every month, many of them unaccompanied children.
- Citing his efforts to ensure that economic growth benefits all segments of society in his own country, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today called on the United Nations to study the international community’s failure to improve the lot of the impoverished worldwide.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced his concern at the decision by the Supreme Court in the Maldives to postpone the second round of the presidential election and said the run-off should be held as soon as possible.
- Nearly 3.5 million garment workers in Bangladesh, recently beset by industrial accidents and a staggering loss of life, will get essential support to improve working conditions, strengthen labour inspection and upgrade building and fire safety at their workplaces, thanks to a new programme in partnership with the United Nations.
- A €60 million contribution from the IKEA Foundation will allow the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to reach millions of vulnerable children and women through health and education programmes, the world body announced today.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said he is “appalled” by today's terrorist attack on a Christian church in north-western Pakistan, and urged the Government to do everything possible to find and bring the perpetrators to justice.
- Gender equality and reproductive health are indispensable to sustainable development, and must be a key part of the post-2015 development agenda, participants said at a United Nations-organized regional conference in Thailand.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today praised Mongolia's “pioneering role” in of promoting the needs of landlocked developing countries, and its active role in sustainable development.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the President of the Marshall Islands today discussed ways to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the Pacific island nations.
- United Nations peacekeeping and a global sustainable development in the years after 2015 were on the agenda during talks today between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.