Category: Pacific

Myanmar has not done enough to resolve the nation’s internal-conflicts or protect human rights, including those of over a million ethnic Rohingya civilians who have been forced into exile, according to FFM Chairperson Marzuki Darusman. “There has been no movement toward a resolution of the crisis”, Mr. Darusman said after a 10-day visit to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. “The… Read More

In retaliation for the deadly violence on Easter Sunday, against Christians churches and upscale hotels in various parts of the country that left more than 200 people dead and hundreds of others injured, revenge attacks reportedly took place against mosques and Muslims’ homes on Monday. To be a Sri Lankan is to be a Buddhist, to be Hindu, to be… Read More

Mr. Guterres pointed out that he normally pays a “solidarity visit” to a Muslim country during Ramadan but, this year, he decided to visit the Muslim community in Christchurch, “to pay tribute to their courage, to their resilience, but also to pay tribute to the extraordinary unity and to the message of solidarity that was given by the people and… Read More

Simona Marinescu is the UN Resident Coordinator for the 28 islands that make up Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau. Speaking to UN News ahead of the Secretary-General’s visit, she described some of the issues facing the region, including how to get young people to gain more schooling and skills to get or start their own businesses on the islands… Read More

A hard-hitting report into the impact of humans on nature shows that nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades, while current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action, UN biodiversity experts said on Monday. Read More

In a statement given to the global news agency, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was “relieved” to learn of their release. Reuters journalists Wa Lone, who is 33, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 29, were convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail last September, after being convicted of breaking the Official Secrets Act. They had been investigating the… Read More

The cyclone lashed the coast with maximum wind speeds of up to 175 kilometres per hour (125mph), heavy rainfall and coastal flooding, with 28 million people living along the route of the massive storm. Highlighting the zero-casualty cyclone preparedness policy of the Indian Government, Denis McClean, a spokesperson for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), said that “the… Read More

Crop failures due to dry spells, heatwaves and flooding during the growing season, mean that those affected do not have enough food to see them through to the next harvest. The assessment for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), as the country is formally known, is based on data gathered by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and… Read More

In a joint statement, three UN Special Rapporteurs, or independent rights experts, said that “new accusations” against fellow rapporteur, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, had been made by officials in the Government of President Rodrigo Duterte, “clearly in retaliation for her invaluable work defending the human rights of indigenous people worldwide”. Government officials have accused Ms. Corpuz of being an affiliate of the… Read More

At the end of a joint visit to the country, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, head of UN migration agency (IOM) António Vitorino, and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, reiterated their commitment to find safe and sustainable solutions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, as well as helping them to make a safe and dignified return home. Since August… Read More