Asia Pacific

Amb. Heraldo Muñoz

Head of Security Council Al-Qaida sanctions committee begins mission

10 October 2003
The chairman of the United Nations Security Council's committee on sanctions against Al-Qaida and the Taliban today begins a round of visits in Europe, Asia and the Middle East to coordinate action against the two groups.

Timor-Leste will need continued help after UN departs, Annan says

10 October 2003
Timor-Leste will need continued international assistance after the United Nations pulls out next year, Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a new report released today.

Warring Afghan factions agree to UN-monitored peace agreement

9 October 2003
Leaders of two factions in northern Afghanistan today signed an agreement designed to reduce tensions in the area where tank-led battles caused high casualties Wednesday and Thursday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported today.

Human rights in Cambodia could be undermined by economic policies - UN

9 October 2003
Government policies to reduce poverty in Cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world, are not in line with the country's obligations to improve human rights, a situation that calls for informed public debate, a senior United Nations official says in a report released today.
Most Afghans depend on agriculture for their survival

UK to assist Hazaras in Afghanistan – UN agency

6 October 2003
The United Kingdom will give $6 million over the next four years to help some 430,000 farmers in one of the poorest regions of Afghanistan to establish and maintain a reliable system of sustainable agriculture, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today.

Security Council mission to visit Afghanistan

6 October 2003
The United Nations Security Council is planning a visit to Afghanistan later this month to inspect and reinforce the peace and reconstruction process there.

UNICEF chief congratulates Afghans on birth registration drive

6 October 2003
The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) today congratulated the Afghan Transitional Government for an "unparalleled success" in registering the births of 775,000 children under the age of one.

Afghanistan: UN refugee agency deplores attacks on aid workers

5 October 2003
Responding to a spate of attacks on relief personnel in Afghanistan, the United Nations refugee agency today condemned the trend while vowing to continue its work on behalf of the country's beleaguered people.

UNICEF opens rehabilitation centres for child soldiers in Sri Lanka

3 October 2003
The first few dozen Sri Lankan child soldiers released by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been placed in a transit centre that was formally opened today by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in the first stage of a new programme to prepare them for civilian life and reunite them with their families.
An Afghan school girl

UNICEF hails entry of 1 million Afghan girls to school

2 October 2003
More than 1 million girls in Afghanistan have entered schools since the fall of the Taliban, which banned their attendance, in “a testament to the courage and wisdom of the Afghan people, and the generosity of the international community,” the United Nations children’s agency said today.