Asia

Shahpirai, 30, is the sole provider for her husband and three children. “With my salary as a teacher, I could just afford to pay rent and buy food for my family, but not to seek treatment for my child”, she said. An upturn Her situation took a turn for the better last July, when while walking through her village she noticed people gathered in front of an elder’s house. “I asked what was going on and learned that some doctors were treating sick women and children”. The doctors were part...

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Thursday condemned Iran’s execution of a young man who was a minor at the time he was charged with committing a crime. Arman Abdolali, 25, is the second juvenile offender to be executed in the country this year. OHCHR expressed serious concern that his case follows the pattern of child offenders being convicted after a flawed trial and on the basis of forced confessions. “It is deeply alarming and shocking that his hanging went ahead, despite...

UN-appointed independent human rights experts urged the Chinese authorities on Monday to release on humanitarian grounds, imprisoned citizen journalist and human rights defender, Zhang Zhan. Since beginning a hunger strike, Ms. Zhan’s health has deteriorating rapidly, she is unable to walk, and her life is in danger, the rights experts said. “Failure by the Chinese authorities to act swiftly and effectively could have fatal consequences for Zhang Zhan”, the Special Rapporteurs warned...

The number of musk deer in Mongolia has plummeted by some 83 per cent since the 1970s, landing them on the country’s red list of critically endangered species. A UN-supported biodiversity initiative is helping to stop the deer from disappearing altogether. Herder community members. Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation The Ensuring Sustainability and Resilience (ENSURE) of Green Landscapes in Mongolia project, integrates biodiversity conservation and sustainable land and forest...

Nadya Zafira, an international relations student at Indonesia’s Gadjah Mada University, won a writing competition for her letter to UN chief António Guterres, in which she addressed the inequalities laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic, and how indigenous communities and youth are marginalized in global conversations on climate crisis. “In the past two years, my reality, yours, and many others, has changed dramatically. Not overnight, but rather, over a series of incremental global...

While humanitarian access has never been better, prices are soaring and needs continue to outpace the resources provided, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) explained. “The situation is disastrous. Every farmer we’ve spoken to has lost almost all of their crops this year, many were forced to sell their livestock, they have accumulated enormous debts and simply have no money,” said Richard Trenchard, FAO Representative in Afghanistan. “No farmer wants to leave their land. But...

UN News spoke with Samantha Mort, Chief of Communication, Advocacy and Civic Engagement at UNICEF Afghanistan, who assured that all offices remain open and warehouses full. Some 22.8 million people across the country are facing food insecurity, she explained, adding that they cannot access affordable or nutritious food.  Of the 38 million people living in Afghanistan, some 14 million children are food insecure. For Ms. Mort, “there’s no childhood” these days in Afghanistan. “It’s all...

Deborah Lyons, UN Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that despite an improvement in the security situation, Afghans feel abandoned by the international community and anxious about their new leadership. “Ultimately, the Taliban must decide on whether to govern according to the needs and rights of the diverse Afghan population, or whether to rule on the basis of a narrow ideology and even narrower ethnic base”, she stated. Disengagement...

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday urged authorities in Myanmar to immediately release all journalists who have been jailed for practicing their profession. Rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the conviction and harsh sentencing of American journalist Danny Fenster was emblematic of a wider plight of journalists in the country who have faced constant repression, in the wake of a military coup in February. Reverting to censorship “Journalists have been under attack...

The UN Security Council has called for an immediate cessation of violence across Myanmar, and efforts to ensure the safety of civilians, following reports of more clashes between the armed forces and militant groups. In a statement issued on Wednesday evening, the Council expressed deep concern over the violence, noting that “recent developments pose particular serious challenges for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced...