Category: Pacific

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

Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, said a $1.3 billion appeal, launched earlier this year, is less than 40 per cent funded.  Some 18 million Afghans, or half the population, require assistance. A third of the country is malnourished, while half of all children under five are experiencing acute malnutrition.  The $450 million received so far, half of… Read More

Stan Swamy, who was 84, was jailed last October on terrorism charges which UN Special Rapporteur highlighting the work of human rights defenders worldwide, Mary Lawlor, insisted were fabricated. The Jesuit priest faced harassment and repeated interrogations in prison and died in custody on 5 July, despite requests for his release as his health deteriorated, she said. In a statement,… Read More

The agency said that families were fleeing extortion by non-State armed groups and the dangers posed by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, along major roads. Many also reported a breakdown in welfare support and a loss of income, owing to the rising insecurity. Emergency aid To help those with acute needs, UNHCR and partners have provided newly displaced Afghans with… Read More

According to news reports, at least four have been declared dead, with around 80 still missing, when record high levels of rain fell across the region, triggering the landslide in the residential area. .@antonioguterres is saddened by reports of loss of life & destruction caused by a mudslide in Japan. He extends his deep condolences to the families of the… Read More

The World Heritage Committee, convened under the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said the country has not done enough to protect the world’s largest coral reef system from the impacts of climate change.  Climate change and coral bleaching  Despite commitments and progress under a long-term sustainability plan known as Reef 2050, the Great Barrier Reef continues to deteriorate,… Read More

From politics to security, the peace process to the economy, Deborah Lyons, Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said the “possible slide toward dire scenarios is undeniable”.  “The relentless spirit of the Afghans and their incredible resilience is being severely tested”, she said, reminding that what happens there is “of global consequence”, and the Security Council needed to be fully aware of the gravity of the situation.   Unfolding reality  She described the mid-April announcement, led by… Read More