Category: Pacific

Just two days ago, the United Nations launched its largest-ever humanitarian appeal for a single country, requiring more than $5 billion this year. Speaking to journalists in New York, the UN chief said the scale of the appeal “reflects the scale of the despair.” “Babies being sold to feed their siblings. Freezing health facilities overflowing with malnourished children. People burning their possessions to keep warm. Livelihoods across the… Read More

Mr. Shahbazi, now 20, was 17 when he was arrested for fatally stabbing a classmate during a fight involving four people.    He was scheduled to be executed on 5 January, which was temporarily halted.  Uphold international law  The experts said the court had relied in part on confessions reportedly obtained under torture and ill treatment when Mr. Shahbazi was… Read More

Close to 10,000 people are now estimated to be held in detention following the riots. “We understand that the Ministry of Interior has announced that some 9,900 people are in detention as of the 11th of January. Now, this is clearly a huge number,” said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell, briefing reporters at the United Nations in Geneva (UNOG). “Under international… Read More

Last Saturday, the body of a 13-year-old boy was discovered in Matupi, Chin State, while a 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy were injured by heavy weaponry in Loikaw, Kayah State, following intense airstrikes and mortar attacks. On the same day, a 7-year-old girl was injured by heavy weapons fire in Hpa An, Kayin State. UNICEF condemns the killing of at… Read More

Speaking in Geneva, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that $4.4 billion was needed for the Afghanistan Humanitarian Response Plan alone, “to pay direct” to health workers and others, not the de facto authorities. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called for $623 million, to support refugees and host communities in five neighbouring countries, for the Afghanistan Situation Regional Refugee Response Plan. “Today… Read More

The blaze was first reported just before 5 pm local time and caused considerable damage to sections of the largest camp of its kind in the world, affecting both refugees and members of the host community.  Response teams were deployed to protect refugees and bring the situation back under control, in coordination with the local authorities and fire brigade.  Coordinating… Read More

The limited research lab worked on almost 250 criminal cases last year, representing hundreds of individual samples from high-profile cases related to rhino horns, pangolin scales, elephant ivory, big cats, fish, bear parts, turtles and lion bones.  Lab upgrade  The facility is based at the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR), located in the capital, Hanoi, and has undergone… Read More

According to the agency, the rise is driven by the ongoing political crisis, poverty, displacement, and the economic fallout from COVID-19.  Needs are now widespread, from areas affected by conflict in border regions where humanitarian action has been focused for years, to impoverished urban areas where families have seen jobs vanish, incomes dry up, and destitution.  Assistance  In this context, WFP… Read More

Communities are still reeling from the effects of the typhoon, which made landfall in no less than nine places across an area the size of Austria, killing some 500 people. Relief teams have compared Rai to Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, which killed more than 6,000 people and left four million homeless. “It just ripped across an area that is enormous,… Read More

Speaking to journalists on Thursday in New York, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said the Organization continues to follow the situation “very closely.”  Mr. Dujarric confirmed several contacts between the UN and the authorities in the country, including a call on Thursday morning between Special Representative Natalia Gherman and the Deputy Foreign Minister, Mukhtar Tileuberdi.   During these exchanges, appeals… Read More