Asia Pacific

Waiting for food in Kyauk Kar village in Sagaing, Myanmar.
WFP/Ayuka Ibe

Myanmar: UN recommends measures to address ongoing food insecurity in cyclone-hit areas

17 March 2016
More than seven months after Cyclone Komen struck Myanmar, poor rural communities are still seeing increased levels of food insecurity, a situation highlighting their vulnerability to withstand similar emergencies in the future, warns a joint United Nations agency report released today.
Women selling vegetables in a market in Pyapon, Myanmar.
World Bank/Markus Kostner

Myanmar: UN chief welcomes election of first civilian President in more than 50 years

16 March 2016
Following the historic national polls last 8 November, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Htin Kyaw, who was elected today by the Myanmar Parliament as the first civilian President in more than five decades.
Special Representative and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) Nicholas Haysom.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe

'Survival will be an achievement' for new Afghan Government, says UN envoy

15 March 2016
The new Afghan Government, formed through a power-sharing agreement, must manage its difficult transition in 2016 by overcoming political, economic and security challenges, the top United Nations official in that country told the Security Council today, as the 15-nation body extended the UN mission there for another year.
Children with their parents in Chonrima district, Nampo City, Democratic People’s Republic ofKorea (DPRK).
UNICEF/Olga Basurmanova

DPR Korea’s ‘totalitarian’ governing structure ‘absolutely denies rights,’ UN expert warns

14 March 2016
An independent United Nations human rights expert today warned that repression remains unabated in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the country’s authorities continue to exercise the strictest control over all aspects of its citizens’ lives.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with Ms. Gil Won-ok, one of the victims who were drafted by Japan as so-called “comfort women” during the Second World War. At right is Yoo Soon-taek, wife of Mr. Ban.
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

Voices of survivors must be heard, UN chief says after meeting ‘comfort women’ victim

11 March 2016
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need to put the victims who were drafted by Japan as so-called “comfort women” during the Second World War at the centre of any resolution of the issue, following a meeting at United Nations Headquarters with one of the victims.
Rubble from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant caused by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
IAEA/Gill Tudor

'World has much to learn from Japan,' UN chief says on anniversary of earthquake, tsunami

11 March 2016
The world has much to learn from Japan if it is to make progress on saving lives and livelihoods, and reducing disaster losses, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon underlined on the fifth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider (file)

Missile firing prompts UN chief to call on DPR Korea to stop ‘destabilising acts’

10 March 2016
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “remains gravely concerned” by the situation on the Korean Peninsula following today’s missile launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), his spokesman said.
Tajikistan’s Parliament in session.
World Bank/Gennadiy Ratushenko

Tajik restrictions on opposition, civil society, media ‘eroding’ rights, says UN expert

10 March 2016
An independent United Nations human rights expert today voiced concern over the increasing Government restrictions on opposition parties, civil society and the media over the past year in Tajikistan.
Urban-search-and-rescue members of USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) at work in Nepal.
USAID's Disaster Assistance Response Team

As 'most disaster-prone region,' Asia-Pacific needs risk-sensitive development, UN reports

10 March 2016
The Asia-Pacific region continued to be the world's most disaster-prone region in 2015, requiring a paradigm shift from a response-recovery governance to a risk-sensitive development approach, according to a new United Nations report.
Emergency supplies for some 350,000 Fijians, including 120,000 children, affected by Cyclone Winston, were flown in by UNICEF from its global supply hub in Copenhagen, Denmark.
UNICEF

In boost to relief effort, UN-chartered jet brings life-saving supplies to Fiji

8 March 2016
A large plane carrying life-saving supplies arrived in Fiji on Monday, in a big boost to the United Nations emergency response to Cyclone Winston, one of the strongest storms in history.