Category: Pacific

Acute food insecurity is affecting 14 million people in Afghanistan who are without reliable access to water, food and basic health and nutrition services, following years of conflict and the economic crisis, which has been exacerbated following the Taliban takeover in August.  The alarm was sounded following a two-day visit to the city of Herat by Hervé Ludovic De Lys, UN Children’s Fund… Read More

Mohib Ullah, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), was shot dead on Wednesday by unknown assailants in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, located in the south of the country. The camp was established in August 2017 and houses more than 750,000 Rohingya, a mainly Muslim minority group from neighbouring Myanmar, who fled… Read More

The country has been in protracted crisis since Myanmar’s military leadership ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1.   It claimed with little evidence that the general election her party won last November in a landslide, was marred by voter fraud.  The takeover sparked widespread street protests, which were violently supressed by military and security forces.  More than… Read More

On 1 March, the Iraqi Parliament passed the Yazidi Survivors Law (YSL) to deliver long-awaited support not only for Yazidi women, but other ethno-religious survivors targeted by the ISIL extremist group, when it occupied large swathes of Iraq from 2014-2017.  “This law represents one concrete step taken by the Government of Iraq in the implementation of the Joint Communiqué on the Prevention and Response to Conflict-Related Sexual Violence signed… Read More

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 response has also declined and almost half of the country’s children are at risk of malnutrition. Moreover, the agency pointed out that only 17 per cent of the over 2,300 health facilities previously supported by the World Bank, are fully functional, two-thirds of which have run out of essential medicines. The… Read More

Published on Monday, the report detailed how these youngsters were victims of the indiscriminate use of mortar and artillery shelling, ground fighting, anti-personnel landmines and other explosive remnants of war.    In total, more than 3,500 children suffered one or more grave violations; chief among these was the denial of humanitarian access, killing and maiming, and the recruitment and use of… Read More

“But it is our judgment that there is no prospect, at the present stage, for the US to really withdraw its hostile policy towards the DPRK,” he added.  The Ambassador was speaking on the sixth, and final day of the high-level week of the General Assembly. After being held virtually last year due the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s gathering featured “hybrid” activities that included leaders in person along with virtual participants.     United… Read More

Referring to the recent UN Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda, for a better, greener, and safer future for all, Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia V. Bainimarama outlined what that vision means for his country. “We want islands inhabited by citizens who stand with nature and not against it. We want sustainable economic growth that is powered by clean energy and protected… Read More

Ms. Mohammed was speaking during a panel discussion on supporting a future for girls’ education in Afghanistan, held on the margins of the UN General Assembly. My answer to the question of what the international community can do for the education of Afghan girls is simple: Stand up for their rights.Respond to humanitarian needs.Invest more in livelihoods and connectivity. pic.twitter.com/0VLnCDU8VX… Read More

Ms. Bachelet’s alert came in a new report from her office OHCHR, which details widespread violations by the military against the country’s people, some of which may constitute crimes against humanity or war crimes.   Crisis escalating towards civil war  With the spiral of violence that has rocked Myanmar since February showing signs of escalation “into a widespread civil war”, the UN rights chief called for more action on the part of the international community.  … Read More