Asia Pacific

Following are UN Secretary‑General António Guterres’ remarks at his virtual meeting with Pacific Islands Forum leaders, today:

Pacific leaders met with United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres on 23 September 2021 in a virtual meeting held on the margins of the high‑level week of the seventy‑sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message to the High-level International Conference on Central and South Asia:  Regional Connectivity, in Tashkent today:

The World Food Programme (WFP) warned that an Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis shows that 350,000 people are facing catastrophic conditions of hunger in Tigray, Ethiopia — the highest number of people classified in a “phase 5 catastrophe” in a single country in the last decade.  WFP increased food distribution to reach 1.4 million people.

Despite a decline in the numbers of migrants arriving in Europe via the central Mediterranean route in recent years, hundreds — including at least 632 so far in 2021 — continue to die, finds a new report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Office, which cites risks created by policy decisions.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to the seventy‑seventh session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), held today:

Acute hunger could soar in more than 20 countries over the coming months without urgent, scaled-up assistance, a report issued today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme warns.  Yemen, South Sudan and northern Nigeria top the list, according to the “Hunger Hotspots” report.

The Security Council today reiterated its deep concern about developments in Myanmar, following the state of emergency imposed by the military on 1 February and arbitrary detention of members of the Government, including State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint.

Violence in the Central African Republic is disrupting critical supply routes, according to the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Bangui.  Following recent attacks on aid convoys and peacekeepers, more than 1,600 trucks carrying food and medicine are blocked at the border with Cameroon, as food prices spike.

NEW YORK, Friday, 11 December (Department for Operational Support) — On 9 and 10 December, Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) as a Guest of the Chair.