Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- An effort to reverse land degradation in the Philippines and boost sustainable agriculture as well as the livelihoods of farmers, is being supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
- Allegations of torture and ill-treatment leading to the death of ethnic Rakhine men and boys being held in incommunicado detention by Myanmar’s military, has prompted three independent UN rights experts to call for an end to the practice and for “credible, independent” investigations.
- A United Nations human rights expert warned on Monday that Sri Lankan authorities must take urgent action to strengthen respect for freedom of religion or belief and address simmering ethno-religious tensions.
- Myanmar’s military must stop using sexual and gender-based violence to terrorize and punish ethnic minorities, according to a new report released on Thursday by the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission.
- End the crackdown on freedom of expression, was the strong call to the Government by India from five United Nations independent rights expert on Thursday.
- Relentless sequence of disasters in Asia-Pacific ‘sign of things to come’, cautions UN regional bodyChanging patterns and worsening impacts of natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific, coupled with environmental degradation and climate change, are not only making efforts to predict such catastrophes more difficult, but are also a “sign of things to come”, the United Nations development arm in the region has warned.
- The appointment of Sri Lankan Lieutenant-General Shavendra Silva as Commander of the country’s army is deeply troubling, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said in a statement released on Monday, adding that the military leader had been given the role despite “serious allegations of gross violations of international human rights and humanitarian law against him and his troops during the war”.
- Afghanistan is at a “crucial moment” in its history as it marks 100 years of independence, the head of the UN Mission there said on Monday, following a series of terror attacks in recent days.
- The daily struggle to survive for Myanmar’s Rohingya people in one of the world’s largest refugee settlements, has caused “overwhelming” despair and jeopardized the hopes of an entire generation, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Henrietta Fore, said on Friday.
- After two consecutive days of chaos at Hong Kong International Airport, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Michelle Bachelet expressed her concern and condemned “any form” of violence or destruction of property and urged the demonstrators to “express their views in a peaceful way”.
- More than 500,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal crackdown in Myanmar two years ago, have received identification cards that the UN insisted on Friday were critical to safeguarding their right to return home.
- Indigenous peoples in the Philippines are increasingly involved in the national conversation about protecting and conserving the South East Asian country’s key biodiversity areas, thanks to support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
- The UN Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for ‘maximum restraint’ over the territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, which has been disputed by India and Pakistan, since the end of British rule in the late 1940s.