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UN / SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS REAX
STORY: UN / SYRIA CHEMICAL WEAPONS REAX
TRT: 3:06
SOURCE: UNIFEED-UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 30 AUGUST 2016, NEW YORK CITY
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UNHQ exterior
30 AUGUST 2016, NEW YORK CITY
2. Pan left, Syrian ambassador approaching stakeout
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations:
“After studying the contents of the Joint Investigative Mechanism’s third report, it is clear to us that the conclusions within it were not convincing because they are based solely on the testimonies of witnesses provided by the armed terrorist groups or their incubator environment.”
4. Wide shot, Syrian ambassador
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations:
“So if the terrorists tomorrow launch or drop a biological weapon or a nuclear weapon, that will not be covered by the JIM’s activities. ‘Go to hell Syrian people. We will exterminate you. But you know what; this is not part of our mandate.’”
6. Wide shot, Syrian ambassador
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Bashar Ja’afari, Permanent Representative of Syria to the United Nations:
“I have forwarded over 100 letters – 100 letters – containing all kinds of information, relevant information, regarding the use of toxic gas in my country. And the hypocrisy of some members of the Security Council is that they just need, not only one case to blame the Syrian government, they need only a quarter of a case, a fifth of a case, in order to mobilize the media and the Security Council against my government and my country.”
8. Pan left, Virginia Gamba approaching stakeout
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Virginia Gamba, Head of Security Council Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapon Use in Syria:
“We cannot allow chemical weapons to become the norm of the already unspeakable conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic or anywhere else. The perpetrators must be identified and held accountable to deter such actions in the future. It is the panels hope that the results of the Mechanism’s investigation will contribute to this process.”
10. Wide shot, Virginia Gamba
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Virginia Gamba, Head of Security Council Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapon Use in Syria:
“The Leadership Panel actually proved that in effect in these three cases, two of them the perpetrator was the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, in particular the air force, and in the other case it was ISIL,in relation to sulfur mustard. In relations to whether he’s pleased or not, I have to say that no one is very pleased with our report because it is very impartial, very objective, and it was independent.”
12. Wide shot, Virginia Gamba
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Virginia Gamba, Head of Security Council Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapon Use in Syria:
“What they do with it, it’s the imperatives and the prerogatives of the Security Council, but I do not believe we will feel in any way diminished by any decisions the Council takes because we stand by what we did in an objective, impartial, and professional way.”
14. Pan right, Virginia Gamba leaving stakeout
Syrian Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said the conclusions of the Joint Investigation Mechanism’s (JIM) report were “not convincing” as it was “solely” based on the testimonies of witnesses “provided by the armed terrorist groups or their incubator environment.”
In a meeting held behind closed doors today (30 Aug), the Security Council discussed a report on the use of chemical weapons in Syria. In the report, the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) on the issue found that the Syrian air force was responsible for using chlorine gas in two of the cases it investigated, while Da’esh (ISIL) used mustard gas in another.
Speaking to the press following the meeting, Ja’afari said the report did not produce material evidence that chlorine was used. He said it put “the Syria government on one side and 50 other parties on the other side” which included governments that had “sworn enmity” to his country. Ja’afari said his government was keen on knowing the truth and therefore it was necessary to continue studying the two cases with the available evidence and expand the investigation.
Jaafari said he sent 17 letters to the JIM asking them to investigate the use of toxic gas in 17 different cases, but was constantly met with the response that the incidents could not be investigated because it was not covered by the Mechanism’s mandate. He said his complaints were not directed towards the JIM itself, rather to “those who drew the procedures and rules of the JIM and limited its moves.” He stressed that there was “a lack of political will to fulfil the JIM’s mandate.”
JIM chief Virginia Gamba said her team proved that the Syrian air force used chlorine in two cases and Da’esh used sulfur mustard in another. She said, “no one is very pleased with our report because it is very impartial, very objective, and it was independent.”
Gamba said the JIM’s mandate was “very explicate” in that they could only investigate those cases in which the OPCW’s fact finding missions to Syria concludes that a toxic substance or chemical weapons had been used. She said the JIM received claims from sources other than the Syrian government as well on the alleged use of chemical weapons which could also not be investigated.
Gamba said, “We cannot allow chemical weapons to become the norm of the already unspeakable conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic or anywhere else. The perpetrators must be identified and held accountable to deter such actions in the future.” She said it was up to the Council to decide what to do with the report but her team would not “feel in any way diminished by any decisions the Council takes because we stand by what we did in an objective, impartial, and professional way.”
The Security Council established the JIM in resolution 2235 last year to identify “to the greatest extent feasible” those involved in the use of chemical weapons in Syria. It was mandated to investigate nine cases which took place between April 2014 and September 2015 which were identified by the OPCW fact finding missions to the country.
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