UN / KANG SYRIA MADAYA

United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Kyung-wha Kang told the Security Council “you cannot let more people die on your watch” as in recent days, the Syrian town of Madaya shocked the world's conscience with harrowing images of malnutrition and hunger. UNIFEED - UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:20
• Production Date: 15 January 2016
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: KANG KYUNG-WHA
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL
• Subject Topical: FOOD SECURITY; HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS; PEACE AND SECURITY
• Geographic Subject: SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 1548081
• Parent Id: 1548081
• Alternate Title: unifeed160115c

Description

STORY: UN / KANG SYRIA MADAYA
TRT: 02:20
SOURCE: UNIFEED - UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 15 JANUARY 2016, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

15 JANUARY 2016, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“In recent days, the Syrian town of Madaya has shocked the world's conscience with harrowing images of malnutrition and hunger. Regrettably, siege and starvation as a weapon of war has become routine and systematic in Syria, with devastating consequences for civilians. The barbarity of this tactic cannot be overstated. By besieging civilian towns and villages the parties to the conflict have launched a vicious war on ordinary men, women and children, with callous indifference for their lives, health and well-being.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“A siege that denies people access to the basic necessities of life is unlawful, unacceptable and unconscionable. There can be no reason or rationale, no explanation or excuse, for preventing aid from reaching people in need. It is a grave violation of international law and it must stop immediately.”
7. Med shot, Syrian delegate
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Tragically, the situation in Madaya is not unique. Around 400,000 people in Syria are trapped in areas besieged by the various parties to this conflict. This includes towns and villages besieged by ISIL, by Government and allied forces, and by non-state armed groups and the Al Nusra Front. More broadly, the United Nations estimates that 4.5 million people reside in areas in Syria that are considered to be hard-to-reach, subject to various forms of restrictions on the movement of people and goods that severely limit their access to services and assistance.”
9. Wide shot, Council
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Kyung-wha Kang, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Food, water and medicine are not bargaining chips or favors that the parties to a conflict can grant or deny at will; they are basic necessities that lie at the very essence of survival and the right to life, which this Council and its Members have a responsibility to protect. You cannot let more people die on your watch.”
11. Wide shot, Council

Storyline

United Nations Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Kyung-wha Kang told the Security Council today (15 Jan) “you cannot let more people die on your watch” as in recent days, the Syrian town of Madaya shocked the world's conscience with harrowing images of malnutrition and hunger.

Kang said “regrettably, siege and starvation as a weapon of war has become routine and systematic in Syria, with devastating consequences for civilians.”

The “barbarity” of this tactic, she said, “cannot be overstated.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has confirmed cases of severe malnutrition among children in the besieged Syrian town, where doctors are working around the clock to save lives with very limited resources and local relief workers have reported 32 people have starved to death in the past month.

Kang told the Council that “a siege that denies people access to the basic necessities of life is unlawful, unacceptable and unconscionable.”

She added that “there can be no reason or rationale, no explanation or excuse, for preventing aid from reaching people in need,” noting that this is “a grave violation of international law and it must stop immediately.”

The humanitarian official pointed out that “the situation in Madaya is not unique” as “around 400,000 people in Syria are trapped in areas besieged by the various parties to this conflict.”

She said that “this includes towns and villages besieged by ISIL, by Government and allied forces, and by non-state armed groups and the Al Nusra Front.”

Kang stressed that “food, water and medicine are not bargaining chips or favors that the parties to a conflict can grant or deny at will; they are basic necessities that lie at the very essence of survival and the right to life, which this Council and its Members have a responsibility to protect.”

The UNICEF team and staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) were able to screen 25 children under five for malnutrition using the Mid-Upper Arm Circumference measurement. Twenty-two of the children showed signs of moderate to severe malnutrition. All of these children are now receiving treatment at the health facility using specialized medical and nutrition supplies that the UN and ICRC delivered on Monday.