Category: Pacific

In a statement issued by Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “the continuing military crackdown…is unacceptable and demands a firm, unified and resolute international response”.   I am deeply shocked by the killing of dozens of civilians, including children & young people, by security forces in Myanmar today. The continuing military crackdown is unacceptable and demands a firm, unified… Read More

The donated AstraZeneca vaccines left Mumbai for the Danish capital of Copenhagen, where they will be safely stored and distributed to UN peacekeepers serving in various missions.    Lauding India as “a longstanding and steadfast supporter of peacekeeping”, UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said, “an effective roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine to all peacekeepers is a key priority for the… Read More

“It was the morning of a normal working day before fighting escalated close to the hospital. I heard a mother screaming at the gate”, midwife Shrook Khalid Saeed told UNFPA, at the Al Shaab Hospital in the district of Crater, in Yemen. By the time she arrived at the entrance to the hospital, hostilities in the area had flared and… Read More

4.2 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at increased risk of catching a host of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid. On this year’s World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November, we look at how Ratna Khawas has fought ridicule and tradition to improve hygiene in her Nepalese village, with the… Read More

Christine Schraner Burgener underscored her commitment to efforts to end the crisis that has erupted in the wake of the military coup in early February, saying she remains “deeply disturbed” by ongoing violence committed by the security forces. “Tomorrow, Armed Forces Day, marks Myanmar’s liberation from foreign power.  Ensuring peace and defending the people should be the responsibility of any… Read More

The blaze displaced more than 45,000 mostly Rohingya refugees originally from neighbouring Myanmar, and destroyed the camp’s main hospital and other important health, nutrition and education centres. Eleven people are reported to have died in the fire and about 400 are still missing.  “This fire has ripped through one of the most vulnerable communities in the world. Rohingya refugees need… Read More

In a statement on Thursday, Tom Andrews warned that the “pace and scope” of the international response to the military coup in the southeast Asian nation “is falling short of what is required to head off a deepening crisis”.  “Conditions in Myanmar are deteriorating … but they will likely get much worse without an immediate robust, international response in support… Read More

Addressing the eighth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development, convened by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Amina Mohammed, highlighted the importance of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  “ show the way to inclusive, resilient and sustainable economies and societies that respect people and planet”, she said.  Ms.… Read More

More than six months after formal Afghan peace negotiations between the Government and Taliban representatives were launched in September, Deborah Lyons, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said via video conference that now was “a timely moment to take stock” and assess what must be done to support the path towards peace.  She told ambassadors that… Read More

The 47-member council on Tuesday adopted a resolution on Tuesday, brought by Britain on behalf of a group of countries, boosting UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet’s staff and powers, with a view to future prosecutions. 22 countries voted in favour of the text, 11 opposed and 14 abstained, including Sri Lanka’s neighbours, India and Nepal and most Muslim majority countries, except… Read More