Category: Pacific

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

“Nuclear weapons are nonsense. Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities. The UN Secretary-General warned that a… Read More

All of the 65 journalists interviewed in the State of Press Freedom in Cambodia said they had faced some form of interference in the course of their work – and more than 80 per cent described being put under surveillance, facing disproportionate or unnecessary restrictions, including access to information. “The findings in this report are very concerning, and I urge… Read More

“We deplore the hanging today of two men in Singapore and are deeply troubled by the planned execution of two others on 5 August,” OHCHR Spokesman Liz Throssell said in a statement. Drug crimes The two prisoners, a Malaysian and a Singaporean, were hanged at after being convicted in May 2015 of drug trafficking and their appeals rejected. Meanwhile, Abdul… Read More

“When my parents passed away, I followed their wish for me to take care of our family home in Sudaji Village. At that time, the village was already known as a tourism destination thanks to its cultural traditions and scenery and, in 2014 I started to realise my dream to develop homestays, where tourists stay with local families, in my… Read More

Nazeri Bin Lajim, a Malay Singaporean national, was arrested in April 2012 for trafficking more than 33 grammes of diamorphine. He was executed last Friday.   “Under international law, States that have not yet abolished the death penalty may only impose it for the ‘most serious crimes’, involving intentional killing,” the experts said. “Drug offences clearly do not meet this… Read More

Setting up a camera trap to monitor wildlife and encroachment in Malaysia., by UNDP But a fight to save the tigers is underway: in the last two years, more than 1,000 tiger traps have been destroyed, and a team supported by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) conducts patrols in illegal hunting hotspots. Rangers are involved in monitoring, intelligence gathering, and… Read More