Asia Pacific

Afghan anti-corruption efforts receive financial boost with UN grants

23 October 2008
Three Afghan civil society groups working to combat corruption in the fledgling democracy will be able to boost their activities to promote accountability and transparency thanks to grants being provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Vitit Muntarbhorn, human rights Special Rapporteur in the DPRK

UN expert calls for steps to reverse ‘negative’ rights situation in DPR Korea

23 October 2008
The United Nations expert monitoring the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) today said that urgent action is essential to reverse the “very negative” human rights situation in the East Asian nation.
Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Full democracy in Myanmar will take generations to achieve – UN expert

23 October 2008
Democracy will take decades to take root in Myanmar, and in the meantime tangible, step-by-step benchmarks should be set up to spur progress in the Asian country, an independent United Nations human rights expert told the General Assembly today.
Kai Eide, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan

Top UN envoy deplores recent attacks against Afghan civilians

22 October 2008
The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan has condemned recent attacks against civilians in the violence-wracked nation, including a suicide bombing on Monday that killed five children in Kunduz, the murder of a number of passengers on a bus in Kandahar and the killing of a foreign aid worker in the capital, Kabul.

Western India’s rural poor to benefit from nearly $40 million UN-backed project

20 October 2008
A United Nations-backed project worth almost $40 million is aiming to boost agricultural production and employment prospects for some 95,000 poor households in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, an area that suffers from a harsh, arid climate and low rainfall.

Nepal: UN conducts training to help give excluded groups a voice

20 October 2008
United Nations human rights officials today convened a workshop in Nepal’s west today with the aim of giving traditionally marginalized groups a greater say in how the Asian nation rebuilds after its decade-long civil war.
ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer

UN urges Central Asia to strengthen ties with rest of continent for greater security

20 October 2008
Greater cooperation between Central Asia and the rest of Asia is essential to achieve sustainable development for the whole continent, given the current climate of global financial instability and food and energy insecurity, a senior United Nations official stressed today.

Current crises threaten to plunge more Afghans into poverty, warns UN official

20 October 2008
The various crises facing nations today could worsen the plight of millions of underprivileged people in Afghanistan, which is already ranked the fourth poorest country in the world, a senior United Nations development official cautioned today.

Enhanced dialogue among all parties vital for Myanmar’s political future – Ban

20 October 2008
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called on Myanmar’s Government and opposition to increase dialogue as the Asian country proceeds on the path toward national reconciliation and democratization, once again stressing the need for a credible and inclusive political process.
Stop killing journalists.
UNESCO

UNESCO deplores murder of another Thai journalist

17 October 2008
The United Nations agency tasked with protecting press freedom today condemned the recent murder of a local newspaper editor in southern Thailand, the second journalist to be killed in the South-East Asian country in less than a month and the fourth this year.