Asia Pacific

Asia-Pacific developing nations to drive global economy in 2011 – UN report

5 May 2011
A new regional report by the United Nations finds that developing countries in Asia and the Pacific will continue driving the global economy in 2011, while warning that high food and fuel prices as well as volatile capital inflows pose fresh challenges.
Jyoti Sanghera, head of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal

Nepal: UN rights office deplores appointment of man suspected of serious crime

5 May 2011
The United Nations human rights office in Nepal today voiced concern over the appointment to the Cabinet in the South Asian country of an individual alleged to be a suspect in a case of kidnapping and murder.
IAEA Deputy Director General Denis Flory

Situation at damaged Japanese nuclear plant remains ‘very serious’ – UN official

5 May 2011
The situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remains very serious nearly two months after it was damaged in an earthquake, a senior official with the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said today, as he outlined the ongoing measures taken by the Japanese authorities in response to the accident.
This woman who was displaced by the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan returned to find her house badly damaged

Kyrgyzstan: UN rights chief urges follow-up action on report on ethnic violence

4 May 2011
The United Nations human rights chief today welcomed the newly released report of the commission that probed last year’s inter-ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan and urged the country’s Government to act quickly on the recommendations.
Winnowing rice in Tajikistan in Central Asia

Central Asian nations can benefit from stronger trade ties, UN official says

3 May 2011
The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today called for boosting trade ties among Central Asian nations, saying they could have a particularly beneficial effect on food security for countries in the region.
Young girls from Loro in Timor-Leste use traditional nets to catch prawns and crabs in a nearby river

UN report urges Timor-Leste to use oil wealth to boost other economic sectors

3 May 2011
A United Nations report released today recommends that Timor-Leste should use its oil wealth to boost sustainable development in the other sectors of the fledgling South-East Asian country’s economy and reduce inequality between urban and rural communities, according to a United Nations report released today.