Category: Pacific

“The atrocities grow higher by the day,” warned UNICEF Afghanistan Representative Hervé Ludovic De Lys, in a statement. “All of them are children whose right to protection, under international humanitarian law, has been disregarded by warring parties.” ‘People have suffered enough’  Newly appointed UN Humanitarian Affairs chief and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, joined the condemnation of attacks against civilians in… Read More

Amid the “triple impact of poverty, the current political unrest and economic crisis”, coupled with the rapidly spreading third wave of COVID-19, that is “practically like a tsunami that’s hit this country”, the people of Myanmar are “experiencing the most difficult moment in their lives”, WFP Myanmar Country Director Stephen Anderson said, from Nay Pyi Taw.  Hunger doubles WFP needs $86… Read More

“The only guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination”, he said in a video message to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Japan, held on Friday morning, local time.  The annual ceremony commemorates the 6 August 1945 atomic bombing of the city during the Second World War.  The UN chief recalled the impact.  “On this day seventy-six… Read More

UNAMA said civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence as fighting enters cities, according to a post on its official Twitter account.   Deepening concern for Afghan civilians in #Lashkagah as fighting worsens. Latest reports show 118 civilians injured & 40 killed within last 24 hours as Taliban continue ground assault & Afghan Army attempts to repel. UN urges… Read More

So-called “anti-Government elements” targeted entrances of the clearly marked UN facility with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire just hours after Taliban fighters penetrated Herat city and clashed with Afghan security forces near UNAMA’s provincial headquarters.  “This attack against the United Nations is deplorable and we condemn it in the strongest terms”, said Deborah Lyons, the UN Special Representative for the country.   “Our first thoughts are with the family of the officer slain and we wish… Read More

Speaking to UN News, the organisation’s top aid official in Myanmar, Acting Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan, described how people have been severely impacted across the country since the junta’s power grab on 1 February. #Myanmar humanitarian update: ▶️Over 220,000 people displaced by conflicts & insecurity since 1 February. ▶️Thousands more impacted by recent floods. ▶️Humanitarian response is ongoing, but constrained… Read More

While initial reports revealed that an estimated 2,500 shelters were damaged or destroyed – affecting more than 12,000 refugees, in the last 24 hours alone, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that nearly a foot of rain fell on camps hosting more than 800,000 Rohingya refugees.  “That’s nearly half the monthly rainfall average for July in one day”, pointed out the UN agency.   Since August 2017, some… Read More

Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said junta forces have engaged in at least 260 attacks against medical personnel and facilities, resulting in at least 18 deaths.  Meanwhile, over 600 health care professionals are currently eluding outstanding arrest warrants, and at least 67 have been detained.   No time for complacency  He urged the Security Council and Member States “to use all the… Read More

A particularly sharp rise in casualties occurred in May when international military forces began withdrawing from the country and fighting intensified following the Taliban offensive to take territory from Government forces. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported in its Afghanistan Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict midyear update, that there were 1,659 civilians killed and 3,254 wounded; a… Read More

UN News asked Resident Coordinator, Valerie Julliand, about the situation in the country and what the rest of the world could learn from Indonesia’s experience. What is the current situation in Indonesia? UN Indonesia Valerie Julliand, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Indonesia. UN Indonesia Indonesia, like many of countries in South East Asia, had until recently been successful in mitigating the… Read More