Category: Pacific

In Cox’s Bazar, she visited camps housing Rohingya refugees who, after terrible repression and human rights violations, fled Myanmar five years ago “to get some safety,” she said. “An estimated 1.1 million Rohingyas are in Bangladesh right now, meaning Cox’s Bazar, some of them in Bhashan char,” Ms. Bachelet said after visiting several sites inside a camp. They described their… Read More

“The situation can be best described as a pure catastrophe,” said Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Deputy Special Representative in Afghanistan, who is also the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country.  We fed over 21 million people last year. And we will not stop. We will not give up until no Afghan goes to bed hungry, no child is denied… Read More

“It has been a year of increasing disrespect for their right to live free and equal lives, denying them opportunity to livelihoods, access to health care and education, and escape from situations of violence,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director at UN Women.  🚨What is happening in #Afghanistan is an alarm bell for us all. 🚨 It shows how decades of… Read More

“Projects Abroad” youth volunteers conserving Fiji’s beaches., by UNDP One such project involves young people conserving and protecting Fiji’s coral reef and the marine environment around the island. The programme, backed by the UN, seeks to marry the enthusiasm and drive of young people, with the wisdom and experience of older generations. Youth are learning age-old sustainable fishing techniques, as… Read More

“The future is immensely bleak for Afghans if more is not done by the international community to ensure the Taliban changes its modus operandi and complies with its human rights obligations,” they said in a statement.  The experts recalled that following the Taliban takeover last August, they had appealed for the international community to take “stringent actions” to protect Afghans… Read More

Following the Taliban takeover last August, UN agencies and their partners remained in Afghanistan, providing aid to nearly 23 million people, or nearly 94 per cent of all those who require support.  Humanitarians expanded their operations to reach communities across all 34 provinces, and their work has saved lives and even successfully averted a famine last winter.  A ‘tragic reality’ … Read More

The evidence gathered to date by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which is outlined in its Annual Report, indicates that sexual and gender-based crimes, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, and crimes against children have been perpetrated by members of the security forces and armed groups. “Crimes against women and children are amongst the gravest international… Read More

Mr. Guterres was speaking to journalists at a press conference in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, following a meeting with the Foreign Minister, Battsetseg Batmunkh.  My gratitude to President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa & the people of Mongolia for their generous hospitality. Mongolia has shown its commitment to non-proliferation & disarmament by declaring itself a nuclear-weapon-free zone. I hope many other countries will follow… Read More

“UNFPA is committed to meeting the critical health and protection needs of women and girls,” said Kunle Adeniyi, UNFPA representative in Sri Lanka.  “Our focus is to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence response services to reduce the long-term repercussions of the current crisis.” Appealing for at $10.7 million, UNFPA hopes to coordinate interventions with other UN agencies… Read More

“Any attack to nuclear plants is…suicidal,” the UN chief said, adding that he hoped that the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be able to access the plant for inspection. Both Moscow and Kyiv have denied responsibility for the strike on the Zaporizhzhia plant over the weekend.  While Europe’s largest nuclear power site has been under Russian control since… Read More