Asia Pacific

A powerful earthquake hit northwest China's Qinghai Province on 14 April 2010

Asia-Pacific most prone to natural disasters but lacks preparedness – UN report

26 October 2010
Countries in Asia and the Pacific are more prone to natural disasters than those in other parts of the world, with people in the region four times more likely to be affected by natural catastrophe than those in Africa and 25 times more vulnerable than Europeans or North Americans, a United Nations report released today shows.
Secreatary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) holds a joint press conference with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand

‘Not too late’ for Myanmar to make upcoming polls more inclusive, Ban says

26 October 2010
With just under two weeks left until Myanmar holds its first elections in two decades, it is “not too late” for the South-East Asian nation to make the polls more participatory by releasing political detainees, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer

Asia-Pacific countries confer on upcoming G20 summit – UN

25 October 2010
More than two dozen Asia-Pacific nations have gathered for a United Nations meeting which kicked off today to discuss crucial issues related to economic growth and recovery ahead of next month’s summit of the so-called Group of 20 (G20).
Security personnel outside the UN compound in Herat, Afghanistan

Ban and Security Council condemn attack on UN compound in Afghanistan

23 October 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Security Council today strongly condemned the suicide attack on the United Nations compound in Afghanistan's western city of Herat, where members of staff of the UN mission in the country and other agencies are based.
The worst flooding in living memory in Pakistan

UN underlines need for disaster preparedness in Asian region

22 October 2010
Given their vulnerability to floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events, Asian countries must incorporate disaster risk reduction strategies into their national plans to enhance their readiness to respond to climate change, the United Nations agency tasked with minimizing the threat posed by natural disasters said today.
In 2006, the Maoist rebels and Nepalese government signed an historic peace agreement

Nepal: UN rights office raises concerns over extension of army officer

22 October 2010
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) today expressed its serious concern over the decision by the Asian nation’s Government to extend the tenure of an army officer with ties to breaches of human rights.
Tomás Ojea Quintana, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

UN rights expert calls Myanmar election process ‘deeply flawed’

21 October 2010
An independent United Nations human rights expert expressed disappointment today that Myanmar’s process for its upcoming elections – the nation’s first in two decades – is “deeply flawed,” urging the release of all prisoners of conscience, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
A boy gets his two drops of oral polio vaccine in Afghanistan

UN-backed de-worming campaign targets millions of Afghan children

20 October 2010
Millions of Afghan children will be protected against malnutrition, retarded growth and development and poor learning ability under a United Nations-backed de-worming campaign launched in schools across the country today.
Some of the more than 86,000 polling centre staff being trained for Afghanistan's September 2010 election

Afghanistan: top UN envoy welcomes release of preliminary poll results

20 October 2010
The top United Nations official in Afghanistan today welcomed the publication of preliminary results of last month’s parliamentary elections, but cautioned that the electoral process is not over, with considerable fraud having been identified.
Maoist combatants

Security Council reiterates support for Nepal’s peace process

20 October 2010
The Security Council today reaffirmed its support for the peace process in Nepal, which is currently in the throes of a political impasse, as the United Nations special political mission in the Asian nation is set to wrap up next January.