Category: Pacific

“I was concerned that I might get infected. Everyone was afraid,” says 32-year-old World Health Organization (WHO) data collector Myat Mon Yee. Since March, Ms. Mon Yee, a computer studies graduate from South Dagon Township in Yangon, has been working at the South Okkalapa Hospital in the former capital. The hospital was planned as the Women’s and Children’s Hospital but… Read More

Counsellors report urgent demands for mental and psychosocial support, particularly among women and girls who are facing an increase in gender-based violence, in addition to challenges brought on by the crisis. Pema, a mental health counsellor who volunteers with UNFPA in central Bhutan, has witnessed this first-hand. “This lockdown has brought the whole country to a standstill, but domestic violence and… Read More

According to news reports, one person died and hundreds were injured on Monday, after demonstrators gathered in anger over alleged vote-rigging. The protests which attracted thousands, were reportedly largely peaceful, but turned violent as a group tried to enter Government buildings and stormed parliament. On Tuesday, several high-profile political detainees were reportedly released, include a former president who had been… Read More

According to the UN human rights office (OHCHR), conditions in Iranian prisons, suffering from chronic overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions, have worsened during the pandemic. Shortage of water and inadequate protective equipment, testing, isolation and treatment have led to a spread of coronavirus among detainees, reportedly resulting in a number of deaths.  Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,… Read More

Thaw Lay, a high school student from Yangon, the capital of Myanmar, knew that this school year would be unlike any other. “I was excited, but I also knew that things would be a little different, when school reopened later this year”, he recalls. Thaw Lay and his fellow students face unprecedented levels of disruption to their education: on 21… Read More

At least 13 people were killed and dozens more injured in the attack that targeted a district administrative building in Shinwar, where many civilians were present.  UNAMA outraged by killing of at least 13 civilians today in suicide attack, Shinwar #Nangarhar. Those responsible must be held to account. Extremists & spoilers need shunning, with full support to Afghans promoting a… Read More

With over 68,000 kilometres of track and serving over a mind-boggling eight billion passengers a year, Indian Railways is vast and amongst the most complicated and involved transport systems in the world. And, perhaps not surprisingly, moving hundreds of thousands of passengers each day across tens of thousands of kilometres of network requires enormous amounts of energy, energy which in… Read More

The Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), established by UN Women and the UN Global Compact, offer guidance to businesses, regardless of their size or sector.   According to UN Women, Thailand has done “comparatively well” in terms of women occupying senior business roles. Across the country, 24 percent of chief executive officers (CEOs) and managing directors are women, compared to an… Read More

Ambassador Craig Hawke delivered his speech in person, inside the General Assembly Hall in New York, noting that to defeat the coronavirus, “we will need to be our collective best”, back the World Health Organization and work together to distribute an effective vaccine, “on an equitable basis”. New Zealand has been lauded for its COVID-19 response with one of the… Read More

Speaking at the UN Assembly’s annual debate, via a pre-recorded video message, Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe invited the Government of Bangladesh to “show its genuine political will to cooperate, by strictly adhering to the terms of the signed agreements.”  “Should Bangladesh commit itself to the bilateral process it will find Myanmar a willing partner. Pressure tactics will be futile.… Read More