Tag: Asia News

In Geneva, a spokesperson for the WHO confirmed during a scheduled press briefing that Chinese scientists had been invited to participate in a meeting of the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 (TAG). The 30-strong expert group was formed in June 2020 to advise the UN health agency and Member States on coronavirus mutations and variants. The group’s last meeting was… Read More

“Banning women from humanitarian work has immediate life-threatening consequences for all Afghans,” they insisted. Some aid programmes have already had to stop temporarily, owing to a lack of female staff, at a time when more than 28 million people in Afghanistan need “assistance to survive” the brutal winter, economic collapse and the risk of famine, the agency principals noted. In… Read More

“No country can develop – indeed survive – socially and economically with half its population excluded”, said the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan’s borders”.  He urged the de facto authorities to “respect and protect” the rights of… Read More

UNHCR issued a statement explaining that two groups of survivors had been brought to shore off the coast of north-west Indonesia.  Believed to have been at sea for more than a month, the UN agency expressed relief that they are now safe in Indonesia.  After highlighting their plight, Ann Maymann, UNHCR Representative in Indonesia said, “we welcome this act of… Read More

A statement issued by Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that Secretary-General António Guterres was “deeply disturbed by the reported order of the de facto Taliban authorities” and that the UN chief “reiterates the rights of all women to participate in the workforce thus contributing to the greater good.”  According to media reports, the Taliban ordered all foreign and domestic non-governmental groups (NGOs) in Afghanistan to suspend… Read More

Afghanistan has vaccinated 5.36 million nine- to 59-month old children against measles while 6.1 million infants to 59-month-olds received oral polio vaccine during the vaccination drive held from 26 November to 12 December. Based on the data from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health Expanded Programme on Immunization, the campaign covered 329 districts in all 34 provinces of the country –… Read More

However, its pleas continue to be ignored. “This shocking ordeal and tragedy must not continue”, said Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR’s Director for Asia and the Pacific. “These are human beings – men, women and children”, he added. Unraveling the situation Reports indicate that they have been at sea in dire conditions for a month, lacking sufficient food or water, and with no efforts from any… Read More

In a statement, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also urged the de facto authorities to “reopen girls’ schools beyond the sixth grade and end all measures preventing women and girls from participating fully in daily public life”. Clear and present violation UN Human Rights High Commissioner Volker Türk described the ban as “another appalling and cruel blow to the rights… Read More

Briefing ambassadors, the new UN Special Representative in Afghanistan and UNAMA chief, Roza Otunbayeva, highlighted ongoing political and human rights concerns – as well as several positive developments – since the Taliban’s seizure of power in August 2021. “We do not see eye to eye with the Taliban on a number of issues, but the focus is, and should be,… Read More

These punishments began after Taliban Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada last month ordered judges to uphold aspects of Islamic law.  “We call on the de facto authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on the death penalty, prohibit flogging and other physical punishments that constitute torture, or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and guarantee a fair trial and due… Read More