Asia Pacific

Security Council team slated to visit Afghanistan to review the country’s progress

19 November 2008
The Security Council today provided details of its mission later this month to Afghanistan, where it will reaffirm support for the Government and its people as they rebuild their strife-ridden country.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Myanmar: UN rights experts demand new fair trials for jailed political prisoners

18 November 2008
Five independent United Nations experts on human rights today demanded that authorities in Myanmar hold fair and open re-trials for dozens of prisoners of conscience sentenced to lengthy prison terms and immediately release their jailed defence counsels.

UN-backed conference aims to close gaping ‘digital divide’ in Asia-Pacific

18 November 2008
Overcoming the “digital divide” between the poorest countries and developed economies in Asia and the Pacific is the focus of a two-day meeting organized by the United Nations regional office in Bangkok that kicked off today.

As winter nears in Kyrgyzstan, UN aid officials voice fears on living conditions

18 November 2008
United Nations humanitarian officials are voicing concern for an estimated 700,000 people in Kyrgyzstan, with many lacking decent shelter and facilities as the often bitter Central Asian winter approaches.

Stealing a march on winter, UN pre-positions food aid for hungry Afghans

17 November 2008
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has already delivered 23,000 tons of food for nearly 1 million Afghans, some of whom will be cut off from supplies once winter’s bitter cold arrives and heavy snows set in.

International Monetary Fund approves $7.6 billion package for Pakistan

17 November 2008
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Pakistan have agreed to an assistance package worth $7.6 billion to help the Asian country combat the worst effects of the global financial turmoil.
António Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees

UN refugee chief heads to Afghanistan to assess repatriation operation

14 November 2008
The top United Nations refugee official will be visiting Afghanistan next week to assess the progress and challenges in the world’s largest voluntary repatriation programme, which has already assisted some 4.3 million people in returning to their homeland.

Citing civilian deaths, UN urges end to ‘senseless’ violence in Afghanistan

13 November 2008
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has unequivocally condemned three recent attacks that have resulted in numerous civilian deaths and injuries, and called for an end to the “senseless” violence that is plaguing the country.

Rise in mobility across South-East Asia puts millions more at risk for HIV – UN report

13 November 2008
The growing number of people crossing boundaries in South-East Asia searching for economic opportunity puts millions at risk to HIV infection with little or no protection or access to services, according to a United Nations report launched today.

Man-made ‘brown clouds’ darkening cities, threatening health in Asia

13 November 2008
A three-kilometre-thick “brown cloud” of man-made pollution, which stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China to the western Pacific Ocean, is making Asian cities darker, speeding up the melting of Himalayan glaciers and impacting human health, according to a new United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.