Category: Pacific

One of the UN teams on the ground, the refugee agency UNHCR, transported tons of relief items into the provinces of Khost and Paktika, where several thousand houses were destroyed or damaged by the 5.9 magnitude quake that struck early on Wednesday. The latest tally from Thursday evening indicated that at least 1,036 people have been killed and more than 1,643 injured, in… Read More

Ambassadors stood and observed a minute of silence for the victims of the disaster before being briefed by Ramiz Alakbarov, Acting Special Representative at the UN’s Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, and Martin Griffiths, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator.  Mr. Alakbarov provided an update on the earthquake, citing latest figures which revealed nearly 800 confirmed deaths and more than 1,400 injured, before… Read More

The men were sentenced to “have four fingers on their right hands completely cut off so that only the palms of their hands and their thumbs are left”.  OHCHR is deeply concerned that the amputations are imminent.  Guillotine already installed  Of the eight prisoners, seven were identified as Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Sharafian, Mehdi Shahivand, Amir Shirmard, Morteza Jalili, Ebrahim Rafiei,… Read More

At least 1,000 people have been killed, according to media reports, and numbers are expected to rise.  Nearly 2,000 homes reportedly were also destroyed and scores of people displaced.  UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was saddened to learn about the tragic loss of life, noting that Afghans were already reeling from the impact of years of conflict, economic hardship… Read More

WFP is working to provide life-saving food, cash and voucher assistance to three million of the most vulnerable people who can no longer meet their food needs due to the unprecedented economic meltdown. Action plan Last week, the UN and partners launched a joint Humanitarian Needs and Priorities Plan (HNP) requesting more than $47 million, to aid some 1.7 million… Read More

The countries of Central Asia retain their Soviet-era socio-economic and political ties with the Russian Federation.  Migration, and in particular remittances, is at the center of this intricate, historical relationship, say Hyo Jeong Jung, IOM Labour Migration Specialist based in Kyrgyzstan, and Michael Newson, Senior Regional Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion Specialist, based at IOM in Vienna. Russia’s geographical proximity, cultural… Read More

The six Special Rapporteurs were alarmed by the recent escalation of arbitrary arrests of teachers, labour activists, union leaders, lawyers, human rights defenders, and others.  Demonstrations have spread across Iran since early May, following the Government’s decision to cut subsidies on food items. At least five protesters have been killed as a result of excessive use of force by security… Read More

“In the wake of years of conflict, and since the takeover by the Taliban in August last year, the country has been plunged into a deep economic, social, humanitarian and human rights crisis,” said High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet. Systematic oppression She admired the courage of Afghan women in demanding their inalienable rights while facing a “critical” situation under increasingly repressive… Read More

“What we are witnessing today is the systematic and widespread use of tactics against civilians, in respect of which there are reasonable grounds to believe the commission of crimes against humanity and war crimes”, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told the Human Rights Council. ‘Dire situation’ Since last year’s coup, at least 1,900 killings by the military have been reported, the… Read More

Noeleen Heyzer said that since she took up the job six months ago, Myanmar has “continued to descend into profound and widespread conflict”. Already one of the world’s largest refugee emergencies, she reminded that multidimensional crises there have left over one million internally displaced people (IDPs) across the country with “serious regional and international ramifications”. Nearly one million mainly Muslim Rohingyas… Read More