Category: Pacific

“This is critical to save lives and curb the impact of the virus, particularly in developing nations”, UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a regular press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.  Swelling numbers  Although Asia-Pacific countries host the vast majority of more than 80 million forcibly displaced people around the globe, they have benefited from only a fraction… Read More

The world needs a global partnership to beat COVID-19, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and address climate change, said the UN Secretary General in a video message for the opening day of the 2021 P4G summit in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) event aims to boost market-based partnerships and rally… Read More

A common excuse is that women panellists are a little harder to find; well, panel organizers just have to look a little harder. ‘Manels’ are an aberration when the issue being discussed directly concerns women, such as sexual and reproductive rights. Youth activists had a motto, “nothing about us without us”; the same applies to women’s issues. If we want… Read More

“The military authorities are showing no sign of letting up in their brutal crackdown on opponents in a bid to consolidate their hold on power”, spokesperson Rupert Colville told journalists at a media briefing. Military authorities are showing no sign of letting up in their brutal crackdown on opponents in a bid to consolidate their hold on power – OHCHR spokesperson Rupert… Read More

While some businesses have reiterated their public support for the rule of law and human rights, and cut ties with the junta in the aftermath of the 1 February coup, many continue to engage in business with the military as if nothing has happened, Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and members of… Read More

The terrorists who exploded a bomb near a girls’ school in the mostly Shiite district of west Kabul in Dasht-e-Barchi on Saturday “must be held accountable” for their “heinous crime”, the UN Special Representatives for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and on Violence Against Children, Najat Maalla M’jid, said in a joint statement.  According to news reports, scores of people – many of them students between the ages of 11 and 15 – were killed and hundreds of others injured.  Safeguard girls education  The UN officials also called on the Afghan authorities to urgently protect the right to education… Read More

For the nearly 900,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, 2021 marks the fourth year since their mass displacement from Myanmar, which was preceded by decades of influxes triggered by systematic discrimination and targeted violence.   StatelessnessDiscrimination Targeted violence  Over the past few decades, nearly 1 million Rohingya have fled their homes in Myanmar in search of peace and safety. While many fled across borders, some remain displaced… Read More

Across the region of almost 2 billion people, more than three new COVID-19 infections are being recorded every second, while over three lives are lost every minute to the disease, according to UNICEF. George Laryea-Adjei, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, warned that the scale and speed of the COVID-19 surge is “outstripping” countries’ abilities to provide life-saving treatment for… Read More

“In my career, there have been times when people I work with in the music industry have advised me to concentrate on building an audience and making money, and do my activism later. They think that social activism and art are two different worlds that can’t exist together. But my team and I don’t agree. We aren’t saying that everyone… Read More

Gerald James Daly, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bhutan., by UN Photo “Bhutan has been exemplary in the way it has responded to COVID-19. Practically the entire eligible adult population of more than 530,000 people (anyone in Bhutan with no history of allergic reaction to the COVID-19 vaccines is eligible) have received the first dose. The initial batch of AstraZeneca… Read More