Category: World

António Guterres has released his latest policy brief on the crisis, which examines impacts on the 11 countries in the subregion and recommendations for the way forward that put gender equality at the centre of response efforts. “As in other parts of the world, the health, economic and political impact of COVID-19 has been significant across Southeast Asia – hitting… Read More

Creating greater understanding of the importance of these workers in ensuring regional food security is the goal of a new FAO-backed campaign launched on Wednesday. Described as “a call to action that everyone needs to hear”, it also aims to give voice to family farmers’ organizations and reach out to rural communities through the use of community radio across 15… Read More

The study is based on 100 first-hand accounts by North Korean women who said they were beaten or suffered other individual or collective punishment while in detention between 2009 and 2019. The women eventually managed to escape the DPRK, more commonly known as North Korea, and gave detailed interviews to staff from the UN rights office, OHCHR. Heartbreaking stories “It is… Read More

Tapan Mishra (centre), UN Resident Coordinator in Mongolia (file), by UN RCO Mongolia The general picture of the COVID-19 situation in Mongolia is very positive. The Government of Mongolia closed all educational institutions including kindergartens, schools and universities at the beginning of the year. It also introduced strict measures on social distancing, such as a ban on public gatherings, limiting… Read More

They said Narges Mohammadi appears to have contracted the virus in Zanjan Prison, located in the capital, Tehran, where she is serving a 16-year sentence stemming from her work on human rights. She has been in detention since 2015 and was sentenced in May 2016. ‘Life-or-death consequences’ “We are extremely concerned for Ms. Mohammadi’s well-being. We previously raised concerns that… Read More

When the first case of COVID-19 was discovered in Myanmar in late March, quarantine centres were set up in sites around the country. People arriving in a town—such as migrant workers returning home—had to quarantine at their local centre for 21 days.  One of the first people to work as a volunteer at the quarantine centre in the town of… Read More

Highlighting his predecessor Philip Alstom’s final report, UN-appointed independent Special Rapporteur Olivier de Schutter, insisted that without China’s “outsized contribution” in lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty during that period, overall progress globally towards reversing the scourge, suddenly appeared far less impressive. According to the World Bank’s international poverty line (IPL) – which is subsisting on $1.90… Read More