Category: Pacific

The report, We wanted workers, but human beings came, published just ahead of International Migrants Day, zeroes-in on schemes in operation across the Asia-Pacific region – the largest single migrant-producing region in the world.  “Migrant workers are often dehumanized”, said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, reminding that “they are human beings entitled to human rights and full… Read More

Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, concluded an 11-day visit to the country on Friday, where she met with government officials, UN agencies, civil society representatives, faith-based leaders, diplomats, and local boys and girls.  She commended a recent law that requires social media platforms and internet service providers to step up efforts to… Read More

“The military continues to hold proceedings in secretive courts in violation of basic principles of fair trial and contrary to core judicial guarantees of independence and impartiality”, Volker Türk added, calling for the suspension of all executions and a return to a moratorium on death penalty.  Dealing out death   On Wednesday, a military court sentenced at least seven university students… Read More

The Southeast Asia waterway is one of the deadliest in the world and more than 1,900 people have already made the journey since January – six times more than in 2020. ‘Grave risks’ at sea “UNHCR warns that attempts at these journeys are exposing people to grave risks and fatal consequences, said UNHCR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “Tragically, 119 people have… Read More

“The Republic of Korea can play a vital leadership role in denying the Myanmar junta the means to continue holding 54 million people hostage while becoming a leader in providing humanitarian support to those in desperate need’’, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,  in a statement on Monday. ‘Lead by example’ He urged the… Read More

Citing the DPRK’s official news agency and various government sources, Rosemary DiCarlo told ambassadors that at around 10:15 am local time, the so-called Hwasong-17 missile flew a distance of 1,000 km at an altitude of approximately 6,100 km.    “It is reportedly the first successful test of the DPRK’s largest and most powerful missile, capable of reaching all of North America”,… Read More

Mr. Guterres was speaking at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, memorial site of the infamous S-21 interrogation and detention centre under the bloody regime, which lasted from 1975 to 1979. ‘An essential reminder’ It is estimated that up to 18,000 people from across Cambodia were brought to the facility, located in a former secondary school in the heart of the… Read More

Mr. Guterres was speaking to journalists a day after addressing regional leaders attending the 12th Summit between the UN and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Avoid at all costs “As I told yesterday’s summit meeting, we must avoid at all costs the division of the global economy into two parts, led by the two biggest economies –… Read More

Long before the country’s first-ever international debt default in May 2022 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which added to the country’s problems, tea estate labourer Nagamma had already cut back on meals, as global trade froze during the coronavirus pandemic.  Blood, sweat and leeches  Her precarious situation in Sri Lanka’s central highlands hasn’t changed, but it’s not for want of… Read More

Csaba Kőrösi painted a near apocalyptic picture of ordinary life in the Taliban-ruled nation that has endured almost five decades of “relentless conflict”, urging the international community to make up the $2.3 billion shortfall in the UN humanitarian appeal for $4.4 billion. ‘Moral imperative’ In a powerful speech to ambassadors in New York, during a full session of the UN’s most representative… Read More