Category: Pacific

In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Council expressed deep concern over the violence, noting that “recent developments pose particular serious challenges for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons.”  The UN continues to monitor developments in Myanmar, where the army seized power in February.  Subsequent pro-democracy protests were met with brutal… Read More

The State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2020 is part of a new series of regional climate reports by the UN weather agency, and covers much of Southeast Asia as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.  Real and potential risks  The report and accompanying story map were launched at the COP26 UN climate change conference… Read More

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, known as Naga, was originally scheduled to be hanged on Wednesday for drug offences after spending more than a decade on death row.  “We note that a temporary stay has been granted today until a final appeal can be heard tomorrow. However, we are seriously concerned that, if the appeal is dismissed, he could still be executed… Read More

“The humanitarian situation in Myanmar is deteriorating”, Martin Griffiths said in a statement, adding that “without an end to violence and a peaceful resolution of Myanmar’s crisis, this number will only rise”.  Growing displacement   Since a military takeover on 1 February ousted the democratically elected Government, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes due to violent crackdowns across the country.  I’m concerned about the increase… Read More

One recent Thursday, Ali Madad Ibrahimi accompanied an elderly man from Afghanistan to a registration desk under a big red and white tent in Jakarta’s central district. He translated instructions into the Afghan Dari language, and the pair entered a spacious hall where blue-uniformed officers sat behind rows of desks. He stayed by the man’s side until a COVID-19 vaccine… Read More

Nicholas Koumjian of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar was updating journalists on its work to collect, preserve and analyze evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations committed in the country.  The mechanism was created two years ago and prepares files that can facilitate criminal prosecutions in national, regional and international tribunals.    New challenges  While its mandate covers the period from 2011, “our work has faced new challenges and opportunities… Read More

“We are indeed in a race against time, as emphasized by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, to help these people prepare for winter,” said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Director-General. People are “broke and broken”, he insisted, after returning from a two-day visit to the country. “More than half the population is struggling to eat, malnutrition is reaching dramatic levels, especially… Read More

According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more than 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, between a pro-Government Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi rebels; the equivalent of four children every day.  These are just the incidents that the United Nations has been able to verify, so the true figure is “likely far higher”, said the agency in a statement released… Read More

Farhan Haq was briefing journalists in New York, after two explosions detonated near the entrance of the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital in Kabul, leaving at least 19 dead and dozens more injured, according to news reports. There was no claim of responsibility, but Taliban officials reportedly laid blame on an affiliate group of the ISIL terrorist network. “We express condolences to… Read More

A mother of four from Zaradnay Village, she visited the district hospital just before her due date on 17 August, to check on the progress of her pregnancy. An ultrasound revealed that the fetus was in a transverse position, meaning it was lying horizontally rather than head-down, a dangerous complication. Concerns over Caesarean The doctor told her she needed a… Read More