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UN / SYRIA HUMANITARIAN
STORY: UN / SYRIA HUMANITARIAN
TRT: 02:23
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 26 JANUARY 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
26 JANUARY 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O'Brien, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“So much suffering in just twelve months, and it’s all under our collective watch. And yet as we start 2017, and hard as it is to imagine it, there are some emerging reasons to hope. Since the 30th of December a nationwide ceasefire continues to hold despite some breaches. This has provided a rare moment of respite for many, and we must all do everything in our power to see that it is consolidated and extended.”
4. Med shot, delegates
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O'Brien, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“The agreement by Russia, Turkey, and Iran in Astana to establish a trilateral mechanism to preserve and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire is a welcome development. Saving Syrian lives is the shared priority of all of us. And the UN stands ready to assist in the establishment of this mechanism. It is also my hope that further consolidation of the ceasefire will help to create a supportive environment for the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva under the auspices and lead of the United Nations as per relevant Security Council resolutions.”
6. Pan right, delegates
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stephen O'Brien, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs:
“We have capacity to deliver to hundreds of thousands of people in besieged and hard to reach areas every month. And we are ready to move should the access be allowed by the parties to the conflict. We call on all of you, distinguished Council members with influence over the Syrian authorities, and on members of the humanitarian task-force to do more to ensure the support of the Syrian government to deliver life-saving assistance through the existing structures and mechanisms.”
8. Wide shot, Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Amir Mahmoud Abdulla, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP):
“Six years into the crisis, the humanitarian and food security situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. 7 million people in Syria are already good insecure and a further 2 million are at risk. That’s 9 million people inside Syria, half the current population in need of food, agriculture, and livelihood assistance.”
10. Zoom out, Council
The United Nations (UN) top humanitarian official today (26 Jan) told the Security Council that after “so much suffering” in Syria in 2016, “there are some emerging reasons to hope” in the new year.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O'Brien, said that “since the 30th of December a nationwide ceasefire continues to hold despite some breaches.
He said this “has provided a rare moment of respite for many, and we must all do everything in our power to see that it is consolidated and extended.”
O’Brien said “the agreement by Russia, Turkey, and Iran in Astana to establish a trilateral mechanism to preserve and ensure full compliance with the ceasefire is a welcome development” and expressed hope that “further consolidation of the ceasefire will help to create a supportive environment for the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations in Geneva under the auspices and lead of the United Nations as per relevant Security Council resolutions.”
The talks to strengthen the ceasefire in war-torn Syria ended this week in Astana, Kazakhstan, with agreement on how to monitor the effort started last month.
In addition to representatives from the three countries, the two-day talks were the first time that Syrian opposition participated in the discussions alongside representatives of the Syrian Government.
The Under-Secretary-General stressed that difficulties remain in the delivery of aid. He said “we have capacity to deliver to hundreds of thousands of people in besieged and hard to reach areas every month. And we are ready to move should the access be allowed by the parties to the conflict. We call on all of you, distinguished Council members with influence over the Syrian authorities, and on members of the humanitarian task-force to do more to ensure the support of the Syrian government to deliver life-saving assistance through the existing structures and mechanisms.”
In his address to the Council, the Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Amir Mahmoud Abdulla, said “six years into the crisis, the humanitarian and food security situation in Syria continues to deteriorate. 7 million people in Syria are already good insecure and a further 2 million are at risk. That’s 9 million people inside Syria, half the current population in need of food, agriculture, and livelihood assistance.”
With more than 650,000 people in besieged areas in Syria, according to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the ceasefire is expected to allow greater humanitarian aid to areas previously cut off by the fighting.
It is also expected to help create a supportive environment for engagement between the Syrian parties ahead of the 8 February talks in Geneva.
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