Category: Pacific

The UN chief was “very encouraged” by President Moon Jae-in’s announcement on Wednesday of South Korea’s commitment to get to net zero emissions by this date, according to a statement issued by his Spokesperson.  Secretary-General @antonioguterres encouraged by President Moon Jae-in’s announcement of the Republic of Korea’s commitment to get to net zero emissions by 2050, joining a growing group… Read More

“Education is the fundamental right of every girl and boy, everywhere”, stressed Aida Girma, UNICEF’s Representative in the country. “Schools must never be targeted”. According to news reports, the lethal blast targeted the Jamia Zubairia religious school, or madrassa, in the Dir Colony Area of Peshawar, while students were studying.  We stand together in shock & grief after the heinous… Read More

Minority groups, including the Rohingya Muslim community and ethnic Rakhine population, have been disproportionately affected, said a senior OHCHR spokesperson in Geneva.  “While the elections represent an important milestone in Myanmar’s democratic transition, the civic space is still marred by continuing restrictions of the freedoms of opinion, expression and access to information, and the use of language that could amount… Read More

“The Secretary-General is very encouraged by Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s announcement of Japan’s commitment to get to net zero emissions  by 2050, which is a very significant positive development, and hereby expresses his appreciation for Prime Minister Suga’s leadership,” said the statement released by UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.  Japan’s announcement comes two weeks after a call by Mr. Guterres for UN Member States to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and to submit more ambitious Nationally… Read More

Many of the dead and wounded were children, said UNAMA, “in a deliberate targeted attack at a Kabul college – a callous and senseless war crime”, the mission added, in messages posted to its Twitter account. At a time when Afghans should feel hopeful, the horrific rise in violence, particularly in the last few weeks, erodes this spirit. Those responsible… Read More

“We will continue to work together to maintain international attention on the Rohingya crisis and to shift from short-term critical interventions, to a more sustained and stable support”, said the closing statement from co-hosts the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the European Union (EU), United Kingdom and United States. ??? ??? ??? ????????? ??? ??? ??? ?????? ????? 3 ????? ???… Read More

In a statement, the independent rights experts called for an end to a crackdown on peaceful protests. “The imposition of a state of emergency is the latest in a series of draconian measures aimed at stifling peaceful demonstrations and criminalizing dissenting voices”, they said.   Urging authorities to allow students, human rights defenders and others to protest in a peaceful manner, the UN experts called for demonstrators to “be allowed to… Read More

The UN labour agency highlighted that in the first half of 2020, Asian imports had dropped by up to 70 per cent. Moreover, as of September, almost half of all garment supply chain jobs, were dependent on consumers living in countries where lockdown conditions were being most tightly imposed, leading to plummeting retail sales. The COVID-19 crisis has hit the… Read More

António Guterres underscored the importance of working together to address pressing issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate response and rising geopolitical tensions.   I have appealed for an immediate global ceasefire to focus on the one true fight: the battle against #COVID19. The Security Council has joined this call. We need to step up our efforts. The clock is… Read More

Michelle Bachelet issued a statement calling on the Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), expressing regret at legal constraints faced by NGOs, including by the application of laws that her Office (OHCHR) perceives to be problematic.  Foreign Contribution Regulation Act  Ms. Bachelet cited as worrying the use of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which a number of UN human rights bodies have also said is vaguely… Read More