Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- The United Nations and Myanmar are seeking an additional $41 million as part of a revised response plan to provide urgent humanitarian relief for some 115,000 people who have been displaced by inter-communal violence in the state of Rakhine and are lacking basic services.
- Despite significant eradication efforts, high opium prices led to an increase in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan this year, a joint report released today by the Government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has found.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today highlighted the role played by Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar’s reconciliation efforts, and re-affirmed the commitment of the United Nations to helping the Asian nation in its efforts.
- A United Nations independent expert today welcomed the latest presidential amnesty releasing a number of prisoners of conscience in Myanmar, and called on authorities to continue this systematic liberation without conditions, stressing that this is key for the country's democratic transition and reconciliation process.
- Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated the people of Timor-Leste on the 10th anniversary of their country’s restoration of independence, hailing the “impressive advances” over the past decade, and noting that national institutions are now able to safeguard stability and democracy.
- Countries in Asia and the Pacific must come closer together and increase cooperation to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth and prosperity, a United Nations top official stressed today at a regional gathering in Bangkok, Thailand.
- The head of the United Nations agency tasked with defending press freedom today denounced the murders of two Pakistani journalists and expressed alarm over the continued deteriorating security of journalists in the country.
- The United Nations refugee agency today called on Indonesian authorities to carry out a swift and thorough investigation into the reported death of an Afghan asylum-seeker following a failed escape attempt from a detention facility in the country.
- A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today urged the Government of Pakistan to take decisive measures to end sectarian violence and protect religious minorities after a second incident of targeted killings in two weeks.
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that it will appoint Japanese tea master Sen Genshitsu as a Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of his contributions to peace and culture.
- The needs of people affected by floods in Pakistan are rising as winter approaches and reported outbreaks of water- and vector-borne diseases, the United Nations reported today, warning that funding for humanitarian assistance in the country remains low, with stocks of some relief items severely depleted.
- The United Nations will provide 20,000 insecticide-treated mosquito nets in temporary shelters and other areas in flood-hit Thailand in a bid to protect people from dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases, as weather forecasts predict more heavy rainfall over the weekend.
- The United Nations refugee agency today called for continued support for southern Kyrgyzstan, noting that while the overall situation in the Central Asian nation is peaceful, tensions persist in some areas that suffered inter-communal violence last year.