Discrimination and violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people remains a serious problem in countries right across the Asia Pacific, a recent meeting of the region’s national human rights institutions has heard.

Building support for a national human rights institution among government and parliamentary stakeholders is a crucial step in strengthening rights protection in the Pacific, participants told a regional workshop in Samoa.

National human rights institutions participating in the Durban Review Conference have identified priority areas to tackle racism and promote greater understanding between different groups.

A global plan of action could provide an important boost to national, regional and international efforts in protecting the rights of trafficking victims, says the UN’s Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The new centre aims to build on existing human rights achievements in south-west Asia and the Arab region through training and documentation activities involving a wide range of governments, institutions and individuals.

A new study has identified 25 countries in the Asia Pacific as ‘hotspots’ of food insecurity, with the region home to more than 60 per cent of the world’s undernourished people.

Anarkali, 25, has been named RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan Person of the Year, for her contribution to building democracy and civil society in Afghanistan.