Category Archives: South Asia
International Support For Afghanistan Must Go Beyond Security Needs
LONDON – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for a coherent political strategy to assist Afghanistan in its quest for peace, security and development, noting that the country’s challenges cannot be overcome by military efforts alone. “We must recognize that while … More
First batch of child soldiers discharged by Maoists in Nepal
NEW YORK – The first batch of thousands of child soldiers, who served in the Maoist army during Nepal’s decade-long civil war, returned to civilian life today, the United Nations announced, voicing hope that the discharge will speed up the … More
Deeming Sri Lanka Execution Video Authentic, UN Calls For War Crimes Probe
NEW YORK – An independent United Nations human rights expert said today there are strong indications that the video of alleged extrajudicial executions by Sri Lankan soldiers that aired last August on British television is authentic, and called for an … More
Opium cultivation in Afghanistan drops by a fifth
KABUL – Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has gone down by a fifth as compared to last year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported today, attributing the decrease to good local leadership coupled with bad weather. The … More
South Asian countries must toughen their laws to protect children
NEW YORK – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has called on South Asian governments to strengthen their laws to tackle child trafficking, a neglected form of the wider scourge of human trafficking. Although there are few reliable estimates of … More
International adoption in Nepal creates conditions for child abuse
NEW YORK – The intercountry adoption business in Nepal has created a culture of child abuse including the abduction, trafficking and sale of children, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and a non-governmental organization (NGO) said in a report released … More
Afghans Must Fight Corruption, UN Envoy
NEW YORK – The top United Nations envoy to Afghanistan has urged everyone in the South Asian nation, from citizens to Government officials to the media, to stand up against corruption, stressing its damaging impacts on peace and development efforts. … More