Asia Pacific

Women visit UNFPA-supported clinic in Pakistan serving internally displaced persons (IDPs)

Aid agencies boosting support for Pakistan’s displaced, reports UN

18 June 2009
International and local humanitarian aid groups have ramped up their efforts to support the 2.5 million people forced to flee their homes by the violent conflict in north-western Pakistan, United Nations spokesperson Michele Montas said today.

Iraq: UN-supported forum pledges to work out sharing of natural resources

17 June 2009
Participants of a high-level United Nations-backed conference on “The Future of Iraq” have committed to working towards the resolution of outstanding issues involving the sharing of energy revenues between the central Government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the UN mission in the country said today.
Aung San Suu Kyi

UN rights experts press Myanmar to give Aung San Suu Kyi fair trial

16 June 2009
A group of independent United Nations human rights experts today called on the authorities of Myanmar to ensure an “open and fair” trial for opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and her two aides.
A ballot for the 20 August 2009 elections in Afghanistan

Crucial to ensure credible Afghan polls, stresses UN envoy

15 June 2009
The top United Nations official in Afghanistan has stressed the need to ensure that the elections slated for August are credible and that their results are accepted by all, noting that the candidates can contribute to this by campaigning with “dignity and fairness.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Ban keeping close eye on developments in post-election Iran

15 June 2009
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he is keeping an eye on the situation in Iran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory over opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi in last week’s election is being contested.
UNESCO Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura

UNESCO chief deplores killing of reporter in the Philippines

12 June 2009
The head of the United Nations agency tasked with upholding press freedom today lamented the death of a Filipino journalist shot in the crossfire of a standoff between police and a suspected criminal gang.
Two women refugees and their children in one of the camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border

Thailand: UN working to assist 2,000 recently-arrived Myanmar refugees

12 June 2009
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today it is working with the Thai Government to help meet the needs of some 2,000 Karen villagers who fled Myanmar in early June.
UNHCR staff in Geneva hold a minute's silence for their slain colleague, Aleksandar Vorkapic

Pakistan: UN refugee agency assessing operations after recent bomb attack

12 June 2009
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is reviewing the way it operates in Pakistan and assessing what adjustments need to be made to ensure staff safety, following Tuesday’s bomb attack in Peshawar in which two UN staffers were killed, but added that there is no question of pulling out.
Overcrowding remains a problem at the transit/IDP sites in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

Access to displaced Sri Lankans has improved, UN reports

12 June 2009
The United Nations humanitarian wing reported today that access to camps in Vavuniya housing some of the hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by the recently-ended conflict in Sri Lanka has improved, though some delays are still being experienced.
Security Council members gather before unanimously voting to adopt a resolution expanding financial sanctions on the DPRK

Tougher UN sanctions on DPR Korea send ‘clear and strong’ message – Ban

12 June 2009
The United Nations Security Council today imposed tougher sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), including a tighter arms embargo, sending what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a “clear and strong” message to Pyongyang following last month’s nuclear test.