Asia Pacific

Photo: UNHCR/A. Di Loreto (file photo)
UNHCR/A. Di Loreto (file photo)

Protections must be enforced as part of Australia-Malaysia refugee deal – UN

25 July 2011
The United Nations today stressed the need to ensure that protection safeguards are enforced as Australia and Malaysia carry out a refugee exchange deal aimed at curbing people smuggling and the dangerous boat journeys that lead to loss of life at sea.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

UN nuclear agency chief visits Fukushima power plant for first-hand assessment

25 July 2011
The head of the United Nations nuclear agency today visited the tsunami-damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to gather first-hand information on the damage and repair operations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported.

Exports led Asia-Pacific out of the global economic crisis – UN report

25 July 2011
Exports have led Asia and the Pacific out of the global economic crisis, according to a new United Nations report, but it will be difficult to continue the growth without opening new markets within the region, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) reported today.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Ban calls on Myanmar to consider ‘early action’ on release of prisoners

25 July 2011
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed a meeting between Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi and a Myanmar Government minister, and urged the Government to consider release of political prisoners, according to a statement issued by a spokesperson.
Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP (file photo)

Closing trade, development gaps can unleash Asia’s economic potential – UN official

21 July 2011
Overcoming key development and trade gaps can unleash the potential of Asia and the Pacific to be leader in the global economy, the top United Nations official in the region said today.
Chaloka Beyani, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

UN expert urges Maldives to tackle displacement caused by climate change

21 July 2011
An independent United Nations human rights expert has urged Maldives to put in place measures to handle internal displacement caused by climate change and natural disasters – an issue the Indian Ocean nation is all too familiar with having experienced the 2004 tsunami.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. UN/M. Garten

Republic of Korea can serve as example to help other countries prosper, Ban says

20 July 2011
The Republic of Korea should draw from its own experience of poverty and suffering to help other countries achieve sustainable development, good government and prosperity, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says.

UN agency helps set up new observatory for sustainable tourism in China

19 July 2011
The United Nations and China have opened a third sustainable tourism observatory in the world’s most populous country to monitor the environmental and socio-economic impacts of tourism.
The Temple of Preah Vihear.
William Brehm

UN court orders Cambodia and Thailand to remove troops from around temple site

18 July 2011
A United Nations court today ordered Cambodia and Thailand to withdraw their military personnel from around a disputed temple site near their joint border and to agree not to engage in any further fighting in the immediate area.
UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

UN tourism agency pledges continued support for India after deadly bombing

18 July 2011
The head of the United Nations entity that promotes the development of responsible tourism has expressed shock at last week’s terrorist bomb attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai and pledged the agency’s full support to the South Asian country’s Government.