Category: Pacific

The number of new infections in India is tipping over 300,000 per day and more than 200,000 have died from the infection, although many there believe the figure could be a lot higher. Anshu Sharma, works for the UN News Hindi service and has filed this personal account, from her base in New Delhi, about living in the shadow of… Read More

“In India’s time of need, the UN is doing everything it can to rapidly provide critical equipment and supplies to central and state governments”, said Resident Coordinator Renata Lok Dessallien.  In India’s time of need, the @UN is doing everything it can to rapidly provide critical equipment & supplies to central and state govts – including 7000+ oxygen concentrators, lab supplies, setting up of… Read More

According to the Office, almost 50 clashes between the military and the Kachin Independence Army were reported in several places in Kachin state, including use of airstrikes by security forces as well as mortar shelling by both sides, displacing nearly 5,000 people and damaging several homes. “Around 800 people returned to their villages of origin within a few days and… Read More

In a statement, the experts said that the appointment process “failed to implement the essential requirements of the Paris Principles, including the need for an open, transparent and participatory process with broad consultations”. ?? #Nepal: UN experts express serious concern for independence & integrity of Nepal’s National Human Rights Commission after recent appointment of new members. The experts urge the… Read More

In an open letter to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, UN-appointed independent expert on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, wrote “this is literally a matter of life or death” for those who believe they can freely exercise this right, “without fear of attack.”  Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing led the coup that brought down the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu… Read More

In a message to the annual session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Secretary-General António Guterres underlined the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the blueprint for a strong recovery, leaving no one behind. “That starts with universal health coverage and social protection, and decent work.” The UN chief also called for making “peace… Read More

Mohammad Alam is one of  800,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled unrest in neighbouring Myanmar over the past several years and who are now sheltering in Cox’s Bazar. He told UN News about losing all his possessions in the fire and how he and others are trying to rebuild for the future. “I never thought I was going to face… Read More

UN Resident Coordinator Gianluca Rampolla believes that the public health communications and system strengthening, undertaken during the outbreak of the virus in PNG, will help to put the “local health system on a better platform to combat future pandemics.” Ahead of World Immunization Week which begins on 24 April, he explains why. “On Friday, I received my first dose of… Read More

The operation will focus on poor townships in Myanmar’s main cities “and other areas where population displacement has recently taken place” since the 1 February coup, WFP said in a statement.   Within the next six months, the UN agency warned that an additional 3.4 million people will go hungry, particularly in urban centres, over and above the 2.8 million… Read More

Speaking during a Security Council meeting on cooperation between the UN and regional and sub-regional organizations, he highlighted the relationship with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), underlining the bloc’s important role in diplomacy, conflict prevention and peacebuilding.  Crucial role in urgent crisis  “Today, ASEAN’s role is more crucial than ever as the region faces an urgent crisis in… Read More