UN / WEAPONS MASS DESTRUCTION

The Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Matthew Rycroft, told the Security Council that recent events in Iraq, Syria, and Malaysia involving chemical weapons, prove that “proliferation threats do not stand still, they are constantly evolving and we must remain alert to new trends.” UNIFEED

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:53
• Production Date: 16 March 2017
• Asset Language: English
• Personal Subject: LIU JIEYI; MATTHEW RYCROFT
• Corporate Name: SECURITY COUNCIL
• Subject Topical: BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS; CHEMICAL WEAPONS; NUCLEAR WEAPONS; WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
• MAMS Id: 1850191
• Parent Id: 1850191
• Alternate Title: unifeed170316d

Description

STORY: UN / WEAPONS MASS DESTRUCTION
TRT: 01:53
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 16 MARCH 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

16 MARCH 2017, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
“The nightmare scenario has been seen in too many places. In Iraq, where we have seen worrying persistent reports that terrorists are using chemical weapons; in Syria, where the UN mandated investigation has proven that chemical weapons have been used both by D’aesh and by the Assad regime; and now in Malaysia, where we were all shocked by reports that VX was used to kill Kim Jong Nam. As these events prove, proliferation threats do not stand still, they are constantly evolving and we must remain alert to new trends.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations:
“Preventative measures will count for little if there is continued impunity for those who use biological, chemical, or nuclear material as weapons. It isn’t enough just to condemn, we have to take action whenever a weapon of mass destruction is used, and we must make sure that there are meaningful consequences for state actors and non-state actors alike.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Liu Jieyi, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations:
“The fundamental way forward lies in discarding a cold war mentality, shaping architecture for all and by all on the basis of justice and nurturing a concept of shared, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security that by building an international and regional environment featuring universal security, enhancing the sense of security for all countries, and eliminating the hotbeds of terrorism and extremism and drivers for their proliferation.”
9. Zoom out, Council

Storyline

The United Kingdom’s Ambassador, Matthew Rycroft, told the Security Council today (16 Mar) that recent events in Iraq, Syria, and Malaysia involving chemical weapons, prove that “proliferation threats do not stand still, they are constantly evolving and we must remain alert to new trends.”

Addressing a Council meeting on the Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540, Rycroft said “the nightmare scenario has been seen in too many places,” including in Iraq, “where we have seen worrying persistent reports that terrorists are using chemical weapons,” or Syria, “where the UN mandated investigation has proven that chemical weapons have been used both by D’aesh and by the Assad regime” as well as in Malaysia, “where we were all shocked by reports that VX was used to kill Kim Jong Nam.”

The UK Ambassador said “preventative measures will count for little if there is continued impunity for those who use biological, chemical, or nuclear material as weapons” and added that “it isn’t enough just to condemn, we have to take action whenever a weapon of mass destruction is used, and we must make sure that there are meaningful consequences for state actors and non-state actors alike.”

Also addressing the Council, China’s Ambassador Liu Jieyi said “the fundamental way forward lies in discarding a cold war mentality, shaping architecture for all and by all on the basis of justice and nurturing a concept of shared, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security that by building an international and regional environment featuring universal security, enhancing the sense of security for all countries, and eliminating the hotbeds of terrorism and extremism and drivers for their proliferation.”

United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 was adopted in 2004 under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter affirming that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their means of delivery constitute a threat to international peace and security. The resolution obliges States, inter alia, to refrain from supporting by any means non-State actors from developing, acquiring, manufacturing, possessing, transporting, transferring or using nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their delivery systems.