Tag: Asia News

Their statement follows the recent publication of a long-awaited report by the UN human rights office, OHCHR, which found that “serious human rights violations” had been committed against the Uyghur and other predominantly Muslim communities there.  Support for UN report  In supporting the assessment, the experts highlighted the conclusion, which stated that “the extent of arbitrary and discriminatory detention of… Read More

“Our region spends less than half of the global average on social protection,” said ESCAP Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana. “Almost 60 per cent of the population has no social protection coverage against normal life events such as pregnancy, child-raising, sickness, disability, unemployment or simply getting old”. The 2022 Social Outlook for Asia and the Pacific: The Workforce We Need was… Read More

From 13 to 30 August, IOM partnered with local authorities in deploying its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) team to track and monitor internal displacement and identify the needs of those most affected in the Highlands region. As assessments in hard-to-access provinces continue, the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) is expected to rise.   Most immediate needs While security… Read More

With more than 33 million people impacted, that represents 15 per cent of the total Pakistani population, said Dr. Palitha Mahipala, World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in the country. Some “6.4 plus million people are in dire need of humanitarian aid”, he said, speaking from Islamabad to journalists in Geneva. In the past few weeks, record monsoon rains dumped more than… Read More

An ongoing economic crisis and political turmoil have pushed food price inflation to above 90 percent, with a shortage of fuel disrupting access, livelihoods, and food safety programmes, leaving millions vulnerable to food insecurity. Pregnant and anxious As the food voucher distribution gets underway, the women make their way up through an open staircase to the first-floor hall awaiting their… Read More

The report published on Wednesday in the wake of the visit by UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet in May, said that “allegations of patterns of torture, or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, are credible, as are allegations of individual incidents of sexual and gender-based violence.” In a strongly-worded assessment at the end… Read More

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN agency has classified the situation as a grade 3 emergency – the highest level of its internal grading system – which means all three levels of the organization are involved in the response: the country and regional offices, as well as its headquarters in Geneva.  “Floods in Pakistan, drought and famine in… Read More

An estimated 33 million people have been affected by the “worst flooding in decades “and more than 1,000 people, mostly children”, have died since mid-June when heavy rains began pounding the country, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday. The Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids. More than 1000 people have been… Read More

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who briefed ambassadors, reported on the ongoing hardships and uncertainty facing Afghans, nearly half of whom – 24 million people – require aid relief to survive.  #Afghanistan is more than a humanitarian crisis. But it is not a hopeless crisis. Preserving basic service delivery alongside humanitarian assistance remains the only way to prevent a catastrophe… Read More

Mangroves in Bon Taung village, Myanmar, by Green Network Tanitharyi Region (GNTR) The villagers had previously been unable to stop the purchase of an initial tranche of land, but when the company returned in an attempt to buy another 283 hectares of mangrove, locals were prepared; they had received a Securing Community Forest certificate, which served as a bulwark against… Read More