Category: Pacific

Arfia Omid works for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Afghanistan where one in three girls are married before their 18th birthday and only  19 per cent of females under 15 years old are literate.  She has written this letter to her unborn child. “My lovely baby, I haven’t met you yet, but I already know how beautiful you are… Read More

The experts said they were “shocked” that the execution of Javid Dehghan, on 30 January, was carried out despite their urgent appeal last week to the Iranian Government to halt it, as well as calls by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and the civil society.  “We informed the Iranian Government of grave concerns that Mr. Dehghan’s death sentence followed… Read More

Security Council members “emphasized the need for the continued support of the democratic transition” inside the country, after a military junta was installed on Monday ending five years of civilian rule, announcing that it was taking power for the period of a year before fresh elections. A day earlier, the Council was reportedly unable to agree on the wording of… Read More

Louise Mabulo has been recognized as a prodigy of the culinary world since the age of 12, when she appeared on the Filipino version of the TV show Junior Masterchef. Since then, she has won several awards for her cooking, and has become a world-renowned social activist.  Ms. Mabulo, a 2019 UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Young Champion of the Earth,… Read More

The report is based on 656 interviews with men, women and children in 63 detention facilities across the country, and covers the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2020.  It found nearly a third, or 30.3 per cent, had been subjected to torture or other forms of ill-treatment. Although this represents a slight decrease compared to 2017-2018, the… Read More

Christine Schraner Burgener addressed ambassadors during a closed meeting held the day after Myanmar’s military seized power and detained top political leaders and activists, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. I am deeply concerned that the military coup in #Myanmar could further exacerbate the problems of the most vulnerable, including #Rohingya Muslims. I condemn the… Read More

“Given the security presence on the streets in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, as well as in other cities, there are deep fears of a violent crackdown on dissenting voices”, High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet said in a statement on Monday.  “I remind the military leadership that Myanmar is bound by international human rights law, including to respect the right to… Read More

In a statement issued by his spokesperson on Sunday, Secretary-General António Guterres also voiced “grave concern” regarding the declaration of the transfer of all legislative, executive and judicial powers to the military.  “These developments represent a serious blow to democratic reforms in Myanmar”, the statement said.  Volkan Bozkir, President of the UN General Assembly, also voiced concerns over the situation… Read More

The Tonga Rural Innovation Project © IFAD/ Todd M. Henry COVID-related travel restrictions, and increasing prices of imports, have created new challenges, on top of destructive weather events, such as tropical cyclones which can sweep over the archipelago, destroying crops and infrastructure. UN-supported projects are encouraging the inhabitants of Tonga’s 36 inhabited islands to return to rural areas and grow food,… Read More

The child workers run considerable risks: in just one day, in July 2020, some 200 people died in a mudslide at a jade mining site in Hpakant. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in Myanmar has successfully helped to halve child labour in three communities, as part of a pilot project and, with 2021 marking the International Year for… Read More