Asia Pacific

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a press conference in Hanoi, Viet Nam

Myanmar: top UN officials call for credible democratic transition

29 October 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today repeated his call for a credible democratic transition in Myanmar, with the United Nations human rights chief stating that, eight days before scheduled elections, conditions in the country do not meet international standards for free and fair polls.
An elderly woman awaits assistance at an evacuation centre for those displaced by the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia

UNICEF sends relief supplies to survivors of Indonesian disasters

29 October 2010
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is sending relief supplies to support the Indonesian Government’s humanitarian effort following the eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano and the tsunami that affected communities in the country’s Mentawai Islands earlier this week.
Rescue workers arrive at the scene of the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia

Asia-Pacific nations agree on disaster readiness strategy at UN-backed forum

28 October 2010
Recognizing the vulnerability of their region to natural disasters, 50 countries across Asia and the Pacific today agreed at a United Nations-backed conference to make risk reduction a component of their national climate change adaptation policies to cope with extreme weather events.
Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia.

Ban voices sadness at loss of life in Indonesian disasters

28 October 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he is deeply saddened by the loss of life and destruction of property in Indonesia as a result of the eruption of the Mount Merapi volcano and the tsunami that affected residents of the country’s Mentawai Islands.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attends a Gala dinner in Hanoi, Viet Nam

Development, regional cooperation top Ban’s talks with leader of Viet Nam

28 October 2010
The global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were among the issues discussed today by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President Nguyen Minh Triet of Viet Nam in Hanoi.
Hiroshima Peace Memorial

In Hiroshima, General Assembly President pays tribute to atomic bomb victims

28 October 2010
General Assembly President Joseph Deiss today laid a wreath in Hiroshima to honour the memory of the more than 100,000 people who died in the atomic bomb blast 65 years ago.
Vinegar effects on film material© Austrian Film Archives

On World Day, UNESCO urges preservation of audiovisual heritage

27 October 2010
Warning that the world’s audiovisual heritage is endangered, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today called for stepped up efforts to reverse the neglect and decay of these “ephemeral” documents.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)

UN-backed Cambodia tribunal vital in global fight against impunity, Ban says

27 October 2010
The United Nations-backed tribunal in Cambodia dealing with mass killings and other crimes committed under the Khmer Rouge three decades ago is crucial in the world’s fight against impunity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in the South-East Asian nation today.
Distributing seeds to vulnerable farming families hit by the floods in Pakistan

UN agency steps in to help Pakistani farmers after floods destroyed seed stocks

27 October 2010
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is distributing wheat seeds that will benefit over half a million farming families, or nearly five million people, whose seed supplies were destroyed during the recent flood disaster.
Rescue workers arrive at the scene of the Mount Merapi volcano in Indonesia

UN helps Indonesian authorities assess needs after tsunami and volcano

27 October 2010
The United Nations and its partners are helping the Government of Indonesia to assess the needs of people affected by the tsunami and the volcano eruption which hit the country earlier this week, the world body reported today.