Asia Pacific

Displaced people at a camp near Peshawar in Pakistan

UN prepares to facilitate voluntary return of conflict-displaced Pakistanis

12 November 2010
The United Nations refugee agency said today it is preparing to help internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Pakistan who fled military operations in South Waziristan last year to return to their villages after some of them expressed their desire to go back home.
Thousands of people people remain displaced because of flooding in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: joint UN-government assessment begins in flood-affected areas

12 November 2010
United Nations agencies have begun a joint assessment mission with the Government of Sri Lanka after record rains caused flash floods in parts of the capital, Colombo, and other areas.
India has embarked on a new pathway towards developing a low-carbon transport system

India launches UN-backed action plan to slash transport emissions

12 November 2010
India, the world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, has launched a new United Nations-backed project to reduce emissions and develop a low-carbon transport system.
Araba Bibi, a widow from Jala Bela village, sits next to her home which was destroyed by the floods

Pakistan: UN forum stresses need for disaster risk reduction after recent floods

11 November 2010
Disaster risk reduction is crucial to strength Pakistan’s capacity to respond and withstand emergencies like the recent floods that killed nearly 2,000 people and caused $9.7 billion in damages to infrastructure, homes, crops and livestock, experts at a United Nations meeting have stressed.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses MDGs forum in Seoul, Republic of Korea

Ban urges focus on development as G20 leaders meet in Seoul

11 November 2010
As leaders of the world’s major economies gather in Seoul to discuss currency policies and trade imbalances, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need to focus on improving the lives of the poor and achieving development goals such as slashing poverty and hunger.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses journalists at the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club

Ban: G20 nations must not forget plight of world’s poorest at Seoul summit

10 November 2010
The world’s richest nations must take into account the needs of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people in their plans for reinforcing the global economic recovery – that was one of the key messages from the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ahead of the two-day Group of 20 (G20) summit set to begin in Seoul on Thursday.
Volunteers hand out meals to refugees at a camp set up on the Thai border with Myanmar

UN agency assisting over 15,000 refugees fleeing fighting in Myanmar

9 November 2010
The United Nations refugee agency is assisting more than 15,000 refugees who fled into northern Thailand on Monday after fighting broke out between ethnic Karen rebels and government troops in Myanmar.

UN-backed measles vaccination drive targets India’s highest risk children

9 November 2010
The next stage of a measles immunization drive supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) began today in India, aiming to reach 134 million children and prevent an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 annual deaths from the disease.
In many areas of the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, flood waters could remain for another six months.

Fresh funds enable UN to continue aiding flood-affected Pakistanis

8 November 2010
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said today it has received a $90 million donation from the United States which, combined with other recent contributions, will help prevent a reduction in food aid to millions of people affected by the recent catastrophic floods in Pakistan.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on a visit to Yangon, Myanmar on 3 July 2009

UN chief calls for credible transition to democracy after Myanmar polls

8 November 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged authorities in Myanmar to ensure a credible transition towards democracy following the “insufficiently inclusive” vote held on Sunday in the South-east Asian nation.