Asia Pacific

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé (right) and India’s Commerce Minister Anand Sharma

UN welcomes India’s decision to continue making generic HIV/AIDS drugs

6 July 2011
The head of the United Nations agency concerned with the fight against HIV/AIDS today welcomed the announcement that India would continue to make generic drugs to combat the disease and said the decision will save millions of lives.

UN and Asian technology groups agree on standards

6 July 2011
The United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) today announced that it had signed an agreement with key Asian standards developers aimed at allowing new technologies to come to market more quickly and at a lower cost.
Special Representative for Afghanistan Staffan de Mistura briefs Security Council

Afghan transition must be about more than security – UN envoy

6 July 2011
The transition towards greater Afghan leadership and ownership is on track, the top United Nations envoy to the country reported today, while adding that the process must not just be about security but also be linked to social, economic and human rights elements.
UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein (file)
UN Photo/Eric Kanalstein (file)

Malaysia: UN rights office concerned at reported crackdown ahead of planned protests

5 July 2011
The United Nations human rights office today voiced concern about measures being taken by authorities in Malaysia, including restricting freedom of expression, ahead of a peaceful demonstration scheduled for this Saturday.
Children, mothers and the elderly are among the DPRK's most vulnerable members of the population

DPR Korea: UN launches emergency operation to avoid food shortages

5 July 2011
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched an emergency food supply operation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to assist some 3.5 million vulnerable children, mothers, and elderly persons, the agency said today.
UNAIDS rejects prejudice and misconceptions about men who have sex with men and transgender people

UN lauds India’s efforts to provide homosexuals, transgender people with HIV services

5 July 2011
The United Nations agency spearheading the global response to HIV/AIDS today lauded India’s efforts to provide prevention and treatment services for men who have sex with men and transgender people, while stressing the need to scale up services and eliminate homophobia.
ESCAP Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer

Sound governance crucial for water resource management, UN official says

5 July 2011
Sound governance and knowledge of water management principles are crucial for sustainable water resources, a top United Nations official in the Asia-Pacific region has told the opening session of a regional conference on the issue.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Thailand: Ban welcomes orderly conduct of parliamentary polls

4 July 2011
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the conduct of parliamentary elections in Thailand and voiced hope that the polls will help consolidate democracy, reconciliation and stability in the South-East Asian country.

Asia-Pacific States agree at UN meeting to cooperate on disaster risk reduction

1 July 2011
Ministers and senior government officials from 31 countries, meeting at a United Nations-supported conference in Bangkok, have agreed to work more closely together on disaster risk reduction and make it central to national development strategies, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) reported today.